Brakes on for learner drivers as new deadline looms

Last October, the Minister for Transport postponed his decision to change the law on learner drivers driving unaccompanied - next month he's due to introduce it again. Are our many thousands of learners ready?

IT'S A FAIR BET that you'll remember where you were on October 25th last year if you were one of the 420,000 people in Ireland in possession of a provisional driving licence at the time.

That was the date Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey announced that, from five days hence, holders of second provisional licences would no longer be allowed by law to drive unaccompanied, as part of a national road safety initiative.

Cue a huge row, with the main source of discontent being that the notice period was very short. In April 2007, the average waiting time for a driving test nationally was 28 weeks. The chance of getting one within a few days was viewed by many as a laughable concept.

Three days after the Minister's controversial announcement, under pressure both from the public and the Opposition, he reversed his decision, saying that the date of implementation would be extended to June 30th, 2008.

For a very long time, when it came to provisional driving licences in this country, the follow-through system to gaining a full licence was a shambles. Long waiting times for tests, together with a lack of motivation for provisional drivers to apply for them, contributed to a makeshift solution which continued for years.

Although the law was clear that drivers on first, third and subsequent provisional licences were obliged to have a fully-licenced driver in the car with them, in practice a blind eye was turned to them all. Due to a peculiar loophole in the law, drivers on a second provisional were allowed to drive unaccompanied, even if they had failed a test, as they were deemed to be experienced.

Cork-based actor and drama facilitator Medb Lambert falls into that category. She failed her first test last year. Now on a second licence, she is due another test in June. "I have to pass," she says. Lambert commutes for work two days a week to Kilkenny during the academic year. What will she do after June 30th if she doesn't pass? "For the summer I'm based in Cork, so I'll get out my bike, get my friends to sit in the car with me and practice like mad for the next test, but I imagine that lots of people will try to keep driving anyway and hope they don't get caught. What else can they do, if they live in the country?"

"I'm due to take on a series this summer that will be filmed at coastal locations in Clare, so I'm in trouble," explains Maggie Breathnach, a Dublin-based television producer on her first licence and waiting for a test. She's been driving for 14 months. "My boss is not going to be very happy if I tell him I can only take buses. Besides, there's no public transport for where I need to get to. The job would be impossible to do without a car." She has no back-up plan if she fails. "Everybody is keeping very quiet now about being on provisionals. I have my L-plates up, but, without a doubt, many people have already taken them down."

Earlier this month, Hibernian Insurance conducted a survey of 500 randomly-selected drivers holding provisional licences. Only one in 10 to whom the law currently applies admitted to always driving accompanied with a fully licenced passenger. Almost half said they were never, or very rarely, accompanied by a licensed driver.

Miriam (not her real name), from Artane, Dublin, is a childminder who is on her first provisional licence and took a test in March. "I failed, big time," she admits. "I've applied for another test, but meantime I'm still driving, usually unaccompanied. I drive with my own baby in the car, but I wouldn't drive with anyone else's. It's not possible for me to drive accompanied all the time. The only time I get out to practice is the evenings, and my husband has to be at home minding the baby."

Laura has her L-plates up, and doesn't intend to take them down after June 30th, even though she will be visible as the sole person in her car to the authorities. "It's more a matter of trying to dodge the guards," she explains. "They'll probably get them out in force for the first couple of weeks and then it will ease off."

The signs that reforms to the system were finally going to happen started in May last year when SGS Ireland won a contract to provide an additional 100,000 driving tests to the 45,000 it had already been given. This outsourcing was a key part of the €10 million allocation made in the preceding budget to try and reduce waiting times for tests to a minimum of eight weeks.

By July, of the 400,000 on provisional licences - which included 2,500 people over 65 - only 140,000 had actually applied for a test. Furthermore, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) estimated that 30,000 people were on their fifth or subsequent licence. They proposed a clampdown on the practice of drivers on second licences being permitted to drive unaccompanied, maintaining it was a concession which had long been abused. The Minister was reported to be studying these proposals.

In September, Noel Brett, chief executive of the RSA appealed to the insurance industry to encourage people to take their test - which one in five people were cancelling at that time. "The insurance sector has a role to play here in incentivising people to get through the test. Once people have access to a test, but don't take one, there are serious issues for insurance companies to address," he said.

Joe Woods from Maynooth, on a first provisional licence, is one of those no-show people who have cancelled tests. "I applied for two tests on the basis that I might get serious about learning to drive. You can defer, so I deferred twice to the maximum, as I only took a few lessons and didn't drive otherwise. I'd be definitely put off applying for a test again by the new legislation."

Insurance companies routinely charge a higher policy fee for those who do not have a full driving licence. Despite the fact that driving unaccompanied on a first, third and subsequent licence has long been an offence in law, this has never affected insurance cover.

Michael Horan is the non-life insurance manager of the Insurance Federation, the representative body for insurance companies in Ireland. Will there be any changes to policy cover for drivers without a full licence after June 30th? "Under road traffic legislation, if you have a licence to drive, you have to be able to get motor insurance," he says. "People should drive within the terms of their licence. However, we're talking about our insurance position. If you are an innocent victim knocked down by a driver on a provisional licence, it's not your fault they don't have a full licence. We will continue to have full insurance policies for all drivers."

In late October, seven weeks after the RSA statement about planning a clampdown, the Minister made his first controversial announcement. Offending drivers would face a fine of €1,000 for a first offence and €2,000 for a second. They would face the same penalty for not displaying L-plates. According to the Department of Transport, "the benefit to the learning driver" of being accompanied by a passenger with a full licence of at least two years, is "the guidance and advice of a driver".

By October 31st, four days after the first official announcement, 38,000 people had rushed forward to apply for a test. However, as the overall national pass rate was 52 per cent, this suggested that many people would still be on provisional licences by the June cut-off date.

Noel Brett of the RSA has gone on record as saying, "On July 1st, my expectation is that the law will be enforced." It will be the responsibility of the gardaí to ensure that the new - and existing - legislation for provisional licence holders is upheld from the end of next month.

This week, the Garda press office was unforthcoming as to exactly how proactive they were going to be, but told The Irish Timesthat the gardaí "are charged with enforcing legislation and as with all legislation, we will enforce it in a proportionate and appropriate manner".

TESTING TIME: STATS
Since November 1st, 230,360 driving tests have been offered. There were 16,939 no-shows. The pass rate was 59 per cent.

As of this week, 126,643 people are still waiting for a test date. National average test waiting time is now eight weeks.

Since November 1st, gardaí have detected 1,092 cases of unaccompanied driving by provisional drivers.