Motorway driving not in training plan

Motorway driving is not going to form part of the new driver training system due to be unveiled in the coming weeks by the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

Despite being an acknowledged weakness among Irish driving licence holders, the RSA has decided that it would not be possible to include this aspect of driving training in the practical test for safety reasons.

Since last October the driver theory test has been expanded to include additional questions, including new questions on motorway driving. This aspect of driving is also addressed in more detail in the recently updated Rules of the Road.

And to address the lack of motorway driving experience among existing motorists, the RSA is running a series of TV ads demonstrating the correct way to join, drive on and exit a motorway. The issue came to the fore last week during the pile-up in fog on the M7 and M9 in which one young mother died. Motorists involved in the crash admitted driving too fast for the conditions while keeping pace with the other traffic on the route.

The learner permit system, which is to replace the current provisional system, will make it more difficult for drivers to get a licence. A restricted licence will be given to drivers for the first two years after they pass their test, during which time these motorists will have to comply with a zero alcohol limit and a reduced penalty points threshold.

While on this permit, learner drivers are expected to be accompanied by a motorist who has held a full driving licence for at least three years. In Britain, younger drivers on a restricted licence can be disqualified after obtaining half the points of more experienced drivers.

The Minister for Transport Martin Cullen told the Fianna Fáil ardfheis that this move will see a driver's licence become harder to obtain and easier to lose. The measure targets the relatively high number of fatalities among drivers in the first 24 months of obtaining a licence.

Last October he was given a list of more than 20 proposals to tackle the disproportionately high death rate among 17- to 24-year-old drivers by the RSA. A young male in this age cohort is seven times more likely to be killed in a crash than other age groups within the population. The proposals are based on measures used in England, France, Holland and Australia to deal with the issue of road deaths among younger drivers.

Mr Cullen said the learner permit system would place restrictions on holders of provisional licences. Compulsory training will also be a key part of the new system and learner drivers will have to show they have completed a set number of hours training with a registered instructor. Under a plan to regulate driving instructors, they will have to obtain a three-part tax and vehicle clearance certificate and be vetted by gardaí.

The new statutory mechanism will replace the current voluntary Driving Instructor Register of which only two-thirds of instructors are members. When the new register is in place it will become an offence for a non-registered instructor to provide driver training.

Addressing the behaviour of 17- to 24-year-old drivers has been a priority of the RSA. However, seven young men were killed on the State's roads last weekend.