Crackdown on Prov License Drivers - Will it stick?

chum said:
are you insured while driving on prov license without person with full license.
Click to expand...

No. But the insurance company will payout to the 3rd party anyway. So there is little point the comprehensive insurance if you mainly drive by your self.
 
Not sure if this has been mentioned, but won't all this simply mean that anyone on a provisional who actually drives with L plates up (I realise many don't) will now remove them to avoid being stopped/checked etc?

In itself an offence of course...
 
Caveat said:
Not sure if this has been mentioned, but won't all this simply mean that anyone on a provisional who actually drives with L plates up (I realise many don't) will now remove them to avoid being stopped/checked etc?

In itself an offence of course...
Click to expand...

most likely but really will the gardai want the extra work load that this creates? Northern Ireland has wait times of 2 weeks in places, their longest wait time is 9 weeks, if we had a system like that then this whole thing would be a non issue
 
What about all the people who got handed out free licences years ago.They should have to sit a test and not be exempt.I think the gov should be able to let people sit a test every 2-3 weeks and not have to wait.Its unfair if someone has to wait a few months not through their own fault to sit a test.I doubt it will be really enforced by many guards unless u have an accident or come to a check point.
 
redchariot said:
This is a great day for Irish motoring. It is about time the whole drving alone with a provisonal licence was clamped down. One of the stupidest things that I ever heard of, is the 2nd provisional licence rule where you can drive alone.

In practically every other country in Europe and probably the world, this practice would be totally unacepptable. In the North, you wouldn't even consider for half a second driving on your own. It is clamped down on heavily and ingrained in their culture; when I mention to anybody up there, the way it is down here, they are absolutely horrified.

Those people who compain that it has been going on for years seem to forget that they were breaking the law (except if on 2nd provisional licence); it just wan't enforced.

Bring it on, get the Gardai out there and start putting a stop to this nonsenical practice right away.
Click to expand...

While ill agree that it's a stupid system and having learned to drive in Sweden with their system it's the only common sense way to do it. But then again you cant just dump this on people. The government have allowed this system for yrs and to suddenly illegalise and therefor force people to stay at home is ridiculuous. In sweden if you didnt have a car there were other options, here if you dont have a car your colloxed.
 
L-Plate drivers I feel sorry for them!

Have just read about laws for L-Plate drivers from Monday and have to say that I think it's a bit too draconian. I know the Road Safety Authority have to deal with the deaths on the road in the best possible way but surely they realise that many people will have no option but to break the law next week. Young people have to get to work and public transport isn't always an option, people have to get kids to childminders, people have to work and live and need to drive to do so - having a qualified driver with you at all times seems impossible. Surely this creates drivers who will not be confident once they qualify because for the first time they are on their own driving!. I think they should have introduced a curfew by which time L-Plate drivers have to be accompanied, such as weekends or after 8pm - this just seems too drastic this morning and came with little or no warning.
 
contemporary said:
most likely but really will the gardai want the extra work load that this creates?
Click to expand...

I suppose I was looking at it more from the driver's position. A driver on a provisional (without L plates) could be stopped and potentially maybe fined for 1. Driving unaccompanied and 2. Not having L plates displayed?

Without L plates displayed, will there simply have to be loads of checkpoints, stopping every vehicle, to identify these drivers?

I don't know how this is going to work.

I would add that I don't feel much sympathy for those who are on their nth provisional and keep failing or deliberately missing tests - bascially, you obviously have a problem with driving so shouldn't be on the road anyway. There are plenty of these people around.

If this now means you can't get to work - tough.
 
Re: L-Plate drivers I feel sorry for them!

There's a thread on this underway already in the Car section ney001.

Maybe these should be merged?
 
Caveat said:
Not sure if this has been mentioned, but won't all this simply mean that anyone on a provisional who actually drives with L plates up (I realise many don't) will now remove them to avoid being stopped/checked etc?

In itself an offence of course...
Click to expand...

Yes probably.
I asked a friend this morning what difference the new laws would make to him and his response was: 'Well, Ill be taking the L-plates down'
 
I just heard this morning that even if you are a full license holder over the required 2 years and you accompany a learner driver, if you (as the passenger) have been drinking, the learner driver is breaking the law! Feck me this is just absolutely crazy - what in effect they are saying is that if you are out for some drinks and then ring your wife to collect you, you are breaking the law in this scenario ... I can't believe this is considered moderate. Why don't they just label all learner drivers as killers as this is effectively what they seem to be saying. My wife as it happens is a perfectly safe driver - she failed her test due to driving too slow on a motorway - hardly makes her a killer does it! This nanny stateism is going too far.
 
Listening to Ray D'Arcy the CEO of the RSA has just said that most accidents are caused by people within 2 years of passing their test.. which kind of contradicts what everyone has been saying about most accidents caused by "learner" drivers doesn't it?
 
webtax said:
[broken link removed]
I'm sure there are plenty of other statistics available, which would explain why the insurance industry view learner drivers as the highest risk in terms of accidents & why the RSA are targetting this group. It stands to reason that inexperienced drivers or those who already have failed the test are a major cause of accidents.
Click to expand...

To be fair that research doesn't support their argument to any great extent. Young drivers on full licenses have just as bad a record. A curfew on young drivers would make more of a difference to saving lives in my opinion than stopping people driving to work from places where the government is not providing them with proper public transport.

I just don't understand why they are giving about 4 days notice to people. Why couldn't they have made it from the 1st Jan and encouraged people to sit their tests before then which is what they are trying to do. It does sound stupid when you consider that they can't even agree on how to lower to alcohol limit. I would have thought that was easy. 0%
 
being allowed to drive a few tons of metal around at high speeds in public is a privilage and not a right - some people should wake up to the fact

driving too slow on a motorway can be very dangerous by the way....
 
They seem to be few people in this thread who did not bother looking into the changes brought in yesterday before making any comments.

L plate (red L on white background) will still have to be displayed if driver holds a provisionnal license . The provisional licenses will be gradullay phased out as they expired.

No new provisional license will be issued. Instead, a Learner permit will be issued. Drivers holding a Learner permit will have to display an L plate on yellow backgound.

Basically, from the above, i do not see much change other than the color of the L plate and the terminology used for the permit.

But people currently on second provisional license are the most impacted as they need to be accompanied at all time...
IMO, it was daft to allow driver in the first place holding a second pro. license not to have to be accompanied.
That is now being corrected BUT may be with an unrealistic time frame.


A "flexible" system had been put in place to facilitate people driving needs. It has been abused and did lack of enforcement.
I think this is the main point some people have an issue with.. crack down on out-laws..
 
Ceist Beag said:
I just heard this morning that even if you are a full license holder over the required 2 years and you accompany a learner driver, if you (as the passenger) have been drinking, the learner driver is breaking the law!
Click to expand...

That makes perfect sense to me, whats the point of an inebriated fully licensed driver in the car with someone on a learners permit?
 
briancbyrne said:
yes I have - waiting, and waiting, and waiting on a resit
Click to expand...

So you've failed your test - which means you are not fit to drive on the roads (under the law of the land) but you think it's ok to drive and put everyone else lives in danger......great to see you're keeping both eyes on the road too whilst you change the radio over........
 
bacchus said:
L plate (red L on white background) will still have to be displayed if driver holds a provisionnal license
Click to expand...

Don't think anyone has suggested otherwise. The point is that people on provisionals, driving alone, will now be less likely to comply with this requirement as it would draw attention to their learner status.
 
I sat my test in November 2006, failed as i broke speed limit 61 in a 60 mile zone,tester was in bad form so i knew i failed by the tiem i wsa finished i was a nervous wreck in the car with him was afraid to move incase he barked at me, applied the following day and still waiting in a new date i need to drive to work 30 mins from where i live if i took public transport i wud have 2 get 2 buses and then walk for 10 mins who says the buses are always going to be on time....I think its a complete joke
 
truthseeker said:
That makes perfect sense to me, whats the point of an inebriated fully licensed driver in the car with someone on a learners permit?
Click to expand...

Truthseeker let me make this a bit more real for you - people in rural areas want to go for a pint once in a while. They want to be responsible so instead of the bad old days of bringing their car they have their partner bring them instead and then ask their partner to collect them later on. So now in this pious new world of ours how do you expect this responsible couple to manage? Maybe we just drink at home and become an even more isolated community than we are already becoming?
 
Ceist Beag said:
Truthseeker let me make this a bit more real for you - people in rural areas want to go for a pint once in a while. They want to be responsible so instead of the bad old days of bringing their car they have their partner bring them instead and then ask their partner to collect them later on. So now in this pious new world of ours how do you expect this responsible couple to manage? Maybe we just drink at home and become an even more isolated community than we are already becoming?
Click to expand...


What would you do if you didnt have a partner to collect you from the pub?

Why dont you have a soft drink in the pub?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top