Resitting of tests by drivers to be examined

The Department of Transport has said the possibility of qualified drivers having to resit their driving tests every 10 years will be examined once the current testing backlog is cleared.

This would follow the setting up of the new Road Safety Authority, to be established by Minister for Transport Martin Cullen later this year. It will be responsible for all aspects of road safety, including vehicle and driver testing, enforcement and road planning.

Its initial priority will be to overhaul the driving test system to clear the huge backlog of provisional licence holders waiting for up to a year to do their tests.

Mr Cullen hopes to get waiting times down to an average of four to six weeks.

Once the waiting lists have been reduced to sustainable levels, serious consideration will be given to retesting full-licence holders on a periodic basis, the department said yesterday.

"This is something we will be looking at as part of overall driving-test reform," a spokeswoman said yesterday.

Mr Cullen is seeking to outsource some testing, a move which is being opposed by driving testers' unions. The dispute is currently being considered by the Civil Service Arbitration Board.

The spokeswoman said any proposals to retest qualified drivers would not be discussed until the arbitration process is complete. However, she said the Minister was of the belief that people would be less likely to slip into bad driving habits if they knew they would be tested periodically.