92,000 learner drivers will be affected by law change

THE NUMBER of holders of second provisional driving licences who will be directly affected by next week’s changes in the driving licence system is 92,000, Road Safety Authority chief executive Noel Brett said yesterday.

Mr Brett said the authority had changed the term “provisional licence” to “learner permit”to reflect the fact that it is a permit to learn, “not a licence to drive”. He said the total number of drivers on learner permits could be as high as 200,000 next week.

But he insisted the figures were not a problem and maintained that applicants for tests were now waiting just over seven weeks, which was within the definition of “testing on demand”.

Speaking to The Irish Times, Mr Brett said there were 335,828 learner permit holders on the books as of May 31st. “Of these, 125,667 had applied for a test and 86,000 had been given a definite date for the test.” With testing currently running at 12,600 per week, the system had the ability to deal with the waiting list for a test by the first few days of July.

But he said there were always going to be about 200,000 learner permit holders who were not ready to take the test. Drivers must hold a learner permit for six months before they can be approved for a test. Others may have deferred their test because they might be pregnant or out of the country, he said.

There is another group, however, of drivers who have failed the test – the failure rate is about 52 per cent – who would add to the numbers potentially affected, in the early days of next week.

Mr Brett said the authority would be bringing out a new advice pack in the coming week aimed at parents, guardians and others who will be sitting in as the approved driver when a permit holder takes to the road, in a bid to achieve a greater test success rate.

Mr Brett added that public concern about the disruption the changes might cause to learner permit holders should be seen in the context of road safety.

He said of the 141 people killed killed by June 27th: “So far this year 13 young drivers in the ages 17 to 20 have been killed. In the age group 21 to 25, 13 have been killed; in the age group 26 to 30, just six have been killed.”

Nine passengers had been killed, who were aged between 17 and 20; five were in the 21 to 25 age group; and one in the age group 26 to 30.

Mr Brett said the figures spoke for themselves about the risk to young drivers but he added that a 17-year-old was seven times more likely to be in a fatal incident than a more mature driver. “When the young driver has two peers in the car the chances of a fatal crash increase by 68 per cent,” he said.

The new advice pack for accompanying drivers will coincide with a radio and internet campaign aimed at warning passengers – principally young women – not to get into a car with bad drivers.