More than 24,000 vehicles have been seized from unaccompanied learner drivers by gardaí since the road safety laws were strengthened in 2018.
Figures provided by An Garda Síochána show that 4,888 cars have been seized from unaccompanied learner drivers in the first nine months of this year alone.
There has been a year-on-year increase in seizures from unaccompanied learner drivers since the Clancy Amendment came into effect, rising from 2,511 in 2019 to 3,373 in 2020. There were 4,032 cars seized in 2021; 4,305 seized in 2022; and 5,035 cars seized in 2023.
It brings the total number of cars seized to 24,180 since the amendment was enacted in December 2018, when 36 cars were seized.
The amendment was introduced after a campaign led by Noel Clancy, whose wife and daughter were killed in a road traffic collision in December 2015 involving an unaccompanied learner driver.
It allows gardaí to impound vehicles, the release of which is subject to a fee, while learners face a €160 fine and two penalty points. Vehicle owners who allow unaccompanied learners to drive their car also face seizure, prosecution and a fine of up to €1,000.
Susan Gray, founder of the Parc road safety campaign group, whose husband Steve was killed in a collision involving an unaccompanied learner driver in December 2004, said the figures show a “massive problem”.
“It doesn’t seem to be the deterrent to the many that we had hoped it would be,” Ms Gray said.
“The buck starts and stops with the Road Safety Authority (RSA) as far as we’re concerned,” she said, adding: “We wouldn’t have so many learner drivers out there if they insisted that they sit a test before renewing a permit.”
Some 368,924 learner permits were held by drivers at the end of August of this year, according to the RSA.
Figures show that 67,163 of those were on their third or subsequent learner permit, 29,198 of whom had not yet taken a test.
Further data shows that 10,515 learner drivers have renewed their permit 11 times “or more”.
To get a third or subsequent learner permit, those who have sat and failed a test are issued a two-year permit, while those who have booked a test are issued a one-year permit.
A loophole persists in that once learner drivers can prove they have applied for a test, they can renew their permit for a year and repeat this process indefinitely.
A spokesman for the RSA said it encourages all learners to apply for and sit their test once they have completed the necessary learning.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
