Sir, – Your Front Page article (December 11th) states there are 271,000 learner drivers in this country. That a recent Garda operation found 50 per cent of learner drivers were driving unaccompanied is hardly surprising.
Why do learner drivers feel it is necessary to break the law? Perhaps most of them have no choice. It is rare that a job is to be found within walking or cycling distance of one’s home. Outside the cities, public transport is minimal. Even in the cities, public transport is often not suitable. A qualified driver may not be available, or a lift with someone going your way. The job may not pay enough to justify renting a dwelling closer to it.
Instead of criminalising learner drivers with penalty points and €1,000 fines, it might be better if the Road Safety Authority produced a TV series on how to be a better and safer driver, which would be shown regularly on TV and the internet. Then anyone, of any age, at any time, could revise their driving skills. Keep the compulsory driving lessons. Also, perhaps all learner drivers could be restricted to a maximum of 65km/h, with penalty points awarded for breaking that particular law or non-display of L-plates.
Finally, something which the Government might understand. If you can’t get to work, how can you take up that job and pay tax to the Government? If 271,000 decided not to drive, that’s 271,000 fewer road taxes to be collected, 271,000 fewer insurance policies to be sold, less excise duty and VAT at 91 cent per litre. God only knows how much would be lost to the exchequer.
There is a problem with driving standards in this country, but criminalising and beating down learner drivers starting out in life is not the most effective way of going about it.
I have had a full driving licence since 1993 and am not writing merely because I am a learner driver. – Yours, etc,