Madam, – I am incensed by the pointless loss of teenage life earlier this week in Co Kerry. This is just the most recent in a long line of teenage deaths on our roads. It is about time that measures were put in place to reduce the number of families who have to bury children needlessly.
As a parent, I hope never to face the death of a child. Driving a car in this country should not be seen as a right but a privilege, a privilege which should only be given to those who have received the proper training. Young men are widely accepted as being the riskiest drivers on our roads today, yet there is no restrictions placed on their driving. It is ludicrous to think that a complete driving novice can get a provisional licence, buy a car, receive insurance and drive on our roads without any kind of certified training.
Also, a person can pass the driving test regardless of their experience. If you manage to pass the test you’re instantly seen as being completely trustworthy behind the wheel.
It is time for the Road Safety Authority and Government to insist that every driver should have proper certified driving lessons before taking the test. In addition, the use of P-plates should be implemented for people who pass the test to indicate they are on a probationary period. While these two things will improve the quality of our driving, the only way to reduce the teenage carnage on our roads is for the Government to insist that the car driven by any person below the age of 21 should be fitted with a speed restrictor. If I was a politician I’d rather lose a few votes than accept that my inaction cost the lives of more teenagers. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Yet another teen tragedy involving cars, and everyone is fulminating about driving and youth and dangerous driving. However, let’s congratulate all those teenagers and young adults who drive every day and don’t crash their cars.
Most won’t admit it, but just about every driver in Ireland has probably had close calls when driving: we’ve all driven too fast or cornered too quickly; and most of us have done something inadvertently stupid only to wrestle back control, seconds from doom.
The latest tragedy in Co Kerry is actually, and thankfully, a reasonably rare occurrence. Many, many thousands of young people drive every day, evening and night and don’t crash. The more they steer tonnes of metal around our road network, the better they get at it. Just like us older people who’ve thankfully made it this far, they’re doing their best. – Yours, etc,