This article is from page 4 of the 2006-05-09 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
ALMOST 10 per cent of Clare’s drivers have not yet passed the driving test, with 605 of them on their fifth or successive provisional, according to Government figures.
There are 9,725 Clare people driving on provisional licenses with 5,527 on their first license, 1,549 on their second, 559 on their third and 557 on their fourth.
Nationally, there are 410,602 people on provisional licenses.
Fine Gael TD, Pat Breen said yesterday that the high number of provisional license holders in Clare was “symptomatic of the nationwide crisis in driving test waiting lists”.
He added, “That there are almost 10,000 people in Clare on a second, or subsequent, license demonstrates that these people are frustrated at the waiting periods involved.
“This is contributing to the sense some people have of not feeling compelled to go for a full driving license. This situation has been calling for an effective solution for years now. We need to have driving tests held in a timely manner and when they are in place, for road safety reasons, we have to move to stop provisional license holders being able to reapply for those licenses indefinitely.”
Deputy Breen added that figures released to him earlier this year showed that there were approximately 3,000 people on the driving test waiting list in Clare. According to those figures, Shannon has a waiting period of 45 weeks, Ennis, 32 weeks; and Kilrush, 27 weeks.
Senator Brendan Daly (FF) said it was unacceptable that there are so many provisional drivers on the road and it had to be dealt with.
“The unions and the Department of Transport have to resolve their difference,” he said. “There is a need for more driving testers in order to eliminate the backlog and that needs to happen now.”
Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) said he would be concerned at the 1,000 or more people who were driving on their fourth and fifth licenses.
“These people have failed their test multiple times and continue to drive on our roads,” he said.
“More should be done to ensure that these people pass their tests. They should be compulsorily required to have more driving lessons to ensure that they pass.
“That said, I know of many provisional drivers who are competent drivers. I would also like to know the proportion of L-plate involved in traffic accidents.
“This type of information could feed into proper Government policy on the issue.”