16,000 learner drivers have been caught behind the wheel of a automobile without having supervision or without having displaying L-plates given that new laws had been introduced during 2008 banning learner drivers, including those who are on a second provisional licence, from driving a vehicle alone.
Road safety chiefs have appealed to parents asking them to quit novice motorists from driving on their own after it was revealed that 16,132 summonses had been issued to learner drivers because laws changed in July 2008.
8,413 learner drivers were issued with summonses for driving without having a totally licensed driver present. A further 7,719 men and women had been ordered just before the courts for not displaying L-plates when driving. Being convicted of either offence could be punished with a €2,000 fine and/or a three-month prison term.
Noel Brett, chief of the Road Safety Authority said, “Drivers who are most at risk of killing or becoming killed on our roads are those who hold learner permits and those in their first 3 years soon after passing their test. It is not whether you have a licence it has to do with encounter and confidence. I am disappointed that the gardai would have summoned that a lot of people. I appeal to parents to become a lot more involved in teaching and supervising their young person’s driving. They shouldn’t tolerate a scenario where cars are made offered or insurance is created obtainable.”
A lengthy awaited Graduated Licensing Program is to be announced by the Road Safety Authority, which will include new rules about the minimum number of lessons a leaner must take.
Mr Brett believes that since of ‘an inflated sense of their own confidence and invulnerability’ amongst new drivers, changing the opinion of the parents was equally as critical as attempting to get rid of the irresponsible behaviour of some inexperienced drivers.
Families are happy to invest time and funds into their children’s hobbies and Mr Brett thinks they should do the exact same for driving lessons and accompany the learner drivers on the roads. Brett said, “It is the most inexperienced drivers who disproportionately feature in death and injury collisions not just in Ireland but internationally.”
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