The government dropped a proverbial bombshell on the hundreds of thousands of provisional licence holders in the country last week with the announcement of the new road safety strategy for 2007-2012.

Part of the strategy includes a wholesale revision of the current licensing system, with new drivers being required to hold a ‘learner’s permit’ for a minimum of six months before being allowed to sit their tests. It was initially announced that the loophole which allowed those on their second provisional to drive unaccompanied would be closed, with all learner/provisional drivers required to have someone who has held a full license for at least two years with them in the car at all times. However, after a backlash from thousands of young drivers, lobby groups and businesses, the Minister for Transport Noel Brennan has now backed down and this measure will not be implemented until June of 2008.
In addition to the introduction of learner permits, all those who pass their test will from now on have to display ‘R’ plates on their car for the first two years of driving. Not yet implemented, but currently under discussion, are a a series of restrictions for both ‘L’ and ‘R’ plate drivers, including a lowered speed limit, double penalty points for all driving infractions and a zero blood-alcohol limit.
Hot Press spoke to two young drivers on provisional licenses to get their views on how the new regulations would affect them. 23-year-old David Duffy is a working musican living in Cork. He is on his first provisional, which he has held for just under six months, and applied for his driving test a month ago. “I would rarely have an experienced driver in the car with me,” he says. “I usually just drive to gigs myself and the car would be full with gear.” He’s not fully convinced of the merits of having an experienced driver in the car with him: “I don’t think it matters whether the license has been held for a year or two years, or even ten. I know people who’ve been driving for that long and they’re terrible at it – I don’t see how they would be of help me if they were in the car.”
David says he’s considering taking his L-plates off the car as he can’t afford to stop driving. “If I don’t drive, I can’t work,” he explains. “If the Guards are going to be looking out for people with L-plates on their own in the car and as soon as they see one, pull them over, then to be honest I’d prefer to run the occasional risk of being stopped at a checkpoint than run the constant risk of driving around with them on.”
22-year-old Niamh McSharry is on her second provisional, having let her first one lapse after failing her first driving test. She has already applied for another test, but doesn’t expect to be offered a date until next April at the earliest, leaving her in limbo for several months. “I just think it’s a bit ridiculous,” she says. “I can understand why they’re trying to cut down on the amount of provisional license holders on the road, but they should have announced it last year and given people time to prepare. A lot of people are going to be stuck now. I live on my own, without my parents or any fully-licensed driver. Outside of lessons, I won’t have the opportunity to practise before my test now.”
Although the initial announcement suggested that the gardaí would begin strict enforcement of the new rules immediately, Minister Dempsey and the Road Safety Authority have now changed their tune, saying that gardaí will be taking a measured approach to enforcement in the first few months, “using discretion and common sense as opposed to automatic prosecution”.