Driving test delays are forcing young drivers in Cavan and Monaghan to break the law. That's according to the Irish Road Haulage Association. Irish Hauliers has accused the Road Safety Authority of mismanagement of the driving test system as new Garda figures show a 22% increase in the numbers of learner drivers in the Louth, Cavan and Monaghan Garda division caught driving unaccompanied. There are currently 12,518 provisional license holders in Cavan, 8,077 in Monaghan.
Speaking to Northern Sound, President of The Irish Road Haulage Association, Ger Hyland has called for a radical overhaul of our driving test system to include testing for motorway driving skills, night time driving and safe overtaking on secondary roads. He has branded our testing system a laughing stock and compared it to a pilot being taught how to fly a plane without ever leaving the runway.
He told Northern Sound; "The current 40 minute driving test allows for an approximate driving time of between 15 and 20 minutes, often in heavy urban slow moving traffic. This would be a great test of one’s ability to sit in a traffic jam, but if we are honestly testing driving skills and driver preparedness, the test as it stands is a shambolic exercise in raising funds for the RSA. The increases in the numbers of learner drivers caught driving unaccompanied is only the ones Gardaí are catching and we feel this is just the tip of the iceberg.
"The Irish Road Haulage Association, IRHA, is calling for a root and branch review of the Road Safety Authority and their operation of the Irish driving test system. An inadequate testing system is forcing young learner drivers out on our roads without a full license. The IRHA is concerned for the safety of their drivers who are coming across inexperienced drivers on a daily basis on Irish roads."
