400,000 more drivers have full licences

The number of drivers with a full licence has increased by almost 400,000 to over 2.53 million in the five years to 2007, according to data due to be released by the Department of Transport today.

According to the Irish Bulletin of Vehicle and Driver Statistics, at the end of December last there were 427,724 holders of a provisional licence, accounting for 17 per cent of all drivers.

In total there were 2,539,090 driving licences in issue.

The Department of Transport report also shows the most popular engine size private for Irish motorists was the 1.3 to 1.4 litre capacity sector and that 180,754 new and imported used cars were licenced last year, a rise of 4 per cent compared with the previous year.

This brought the privately-owned car fleet to 1,882,901 with motorists showing a continued appetite for importing used vehicles. Over 87,500 used vehicles were imported last year, a rise of over 6 per cent.

Half of the private car fleet was over 6 years old with 1,229,328 four years and older. At the end of last year there were 2.4 million cars, buses, lorries, motorbike and tractors on Irish roads.

Around 40 per cent of goods vehicles were six or more years old with 57 per cent over four years old.

In terms of engine size, less than one per cent had a capacity above three litres although the number of cars and Sports Utility Vehicles in this class has almost tripled to nearly 14,000 since 2001.

The number of cars in the next category down, between two and three litres is also relatively small with just 94,419 vehicles or around 5 per cent of all private cars. This segment has increased over the last year. In 2006 it accounted for 80,025 cars and around 4.5 per cent of the total.

The vast majority of cars, at 85 per cent are in the one- to two-litre segment with 160,2036 vehicles registered in this class.

Two-thirds of vehicles on Irish roads had a petrol engine, one third used diesel and 3,449 used liquid petroleum gas and other fuels.

Last year was a strong one for tractor sales with a 20 per cent rise in the number registered to 80,239 while there were an almost 10 per cent rise in the number of motorbikes registered to 37,178.

Unlike previous years the report does not outline pass/fail rates for driving tests or pass rates for the National Car Test. Responsibility for these has transferred to the Road Safety Authority.