Sir, - If the State cannot test the thousands of people on provisional licences as quickly as they present themselves, why cannot this be done by some body such as the AA? It seems crazy that the testing of people in other areas of expertise may be trusted to Universities and professional bodies, while the examination of a person's ability to drive a car has to be kept under the strict control of an obviously over-worked/understaffed department of local government.
The AA is just one of the possible alternatives: the testing of drivers could become a lucrative source of income to companies and/or individuals - comparable to those that test cars for roadworthiness or clamp them for illegal parking. The current staff of testers could be maintained to supervise the whole system so that it would be standardised and fair. The idea of being required to test cars for road-worthiness by the EU made me realise how "Irish" we really are in having little regard for the road-worthiness of drivers. - Yours, etc.,
Honor O'Connor, Llewellyn Grove, Dublin 16.