Confusion over rate of provisional driver deaths

At least ten per cent of the hundreds of people killed on Irish roads each year are provisional licence holders.

Between 1996 and 2002 the percentage of provisional drivers killed each year ranged from 8 to 12 per cent, according to data released by the National Roads Authority (NRA) to ireland.com.

In 2002, of the 346 drivers killed in fatal crashes 313 were full-licence holders and 33 had provisional licences, close to 10.5 per cent.

However, it is understood the actual rate of fatalities from provisional drivers may in fact be higher and more representative of the fact that 20 per cent of people driving do so with provisional licences.

In the same year there were 1,758,124 full licence holders and a further 352,524 provisional licence holders on the road, just over 20 per cent.

The NRA believes there may be underreporting of the number of provisional drivers killed due to the method by which it collects fatal accident data.

Within 24 hours of a fatal crash gardaí complete an accident report and submit it to the Garda Traffic Policy Bureau. There the daily Garda traffic statistics are compiled.

A copy of the accident report is also sent to the NRA, which compiles traffic statistics based on this information. From this information it is able to provide a breakdown of full and provisional licence holders involved in fatal crashes.

However, statisticians in the NRA believe the true percentage of provisional drivers killed is higher because sometimes the licence category on the accident form is blank.

This is because this section of the form is not compulsory and there are cases where the deceased may not have their licence with them. In cases where the licence status is blank the NRA awards full licence status to the deceased.

This information is sent to the Garda Traffic Policy Bureau, but it is not forwarded to the NRA. A source in the Traffic Policy Bureau said this was because the licence status was only of interest to gardaí when deciding what type of criminal proceedings have to be considered.

The Department of Transport plans to introduce a Driver Testing and Standards Authority within the next few months.

A spokeswoman for the Department said that legislation would restrict the amount of time a person could drive on provisional licence and would also make completing a set number of hours of professional training a prerequisite to sitting the driving test.