Madam, - Your editorial (August 24th), about the current provisional licence debacle overlooked one important point: driver indifference.
By any measure the requirements of the Irish driving test are not the most exacting European standards that a person has to reach to obtain a licence: roundabouts are not obligatory; there is no mandatory dual carriageway, motorway or night driving. The routes on which people are tested are well known and don't present unusual hazards, yet close to half the people fail first time.
This is indicative of nothing less than driver incompetence. The testers are not trying to catch people out but simply to ensure that they display a basic level of cop-on behind the wheel.While Impact could have shown more flexibility in helping resolve this mess, if people properly prepared for their test in the first place the backlog would be much reduced.
As long as politicians tolerate habitually incompetent drivers on our highways and byways no progress will be made. Despite the road carnage no political voices of any hue question the rationale of allowing repeat test failers maintain their provisional licence. If a candidate is incapable of demonstrating basic road skills on a second or third attempt, should they be driving at all?
The incentive of reduced insurance premiums is obviously not tempting enough, so perhaps we need more stick than carrot. Compulsory professional lessons or more restricted licences for serial incompetents might help focus driver attention first time around.
Imagine the outcry if pupils, on average, failed half their subjects in the Leaving Cert and the subsequent pressure on the education system if they repeated.
Hopefully the new Road Safety Authority will not be so weak-kneed as our politicians in tackling our endemic culture of failure.- Yours, etc,
MARK DALY,
Clonsilla,
D 15.