Madam, - There has been much concern recently regarding the number of provisional licence holders on Irish roads and the delays for driving test applicants. The Government acknowledges the urgent need to reduce both the waiting list and the numbers of "unqualified" drivers. But what is so urgent about this need, and what benefits will meeting it bring? Much of the debate has centred on the Government's inefficacy in combating these problems. The solutions put forward include increasing the number of testers, making them healthier so they attend work more often, increasing the pass rate or contracting out the tests to private operators.
However, the debate has focused on the wrong issues. The central concern must be road safety. It is the fundamental reason the test exists and drivers are required to undergo training. The pressure to increase the number of full licence holders is based implicitly on the assumption that they are safer drivers, less likely to cause harm. Where is the evidence to show that this is true?
One of the critical issues to be considered is what exactly the Irish test achieves in terms of safer roads. What is a full licence really worth? It is a qualification that can be earned by following a prescribed set of tasks for as little as 15 minutes and may be earned with or without any professional training. While it probably does ensure that a qualified driver has some technical competency, it does little else. The most terrifying thought is that one in two drivers who take the test cannot achieve that absolute minimum standard and that most of these failed drivers continue to drive regardless. However, is it much less terrifying that the so-called "qualified" drivers on our roads have had to meet such low standards?
The Government's strategy is, first and foremost, to tackle the huge waiting lists and get the numbers of provisional licence holders down. This strategy has nothing to do with road safety or best practice and everything to do with politics and courting votes.
As with everything, the issue comes down to money. Passing your test = lower insurance premium = happy voter. Despite the outrage of the public at the, now clichéd, "carnage on our roads", there are no votes in effective road safety. - Yours, etc,
BRIAN DOLAN, Glendown Park , Templeogue, Dublin 6W.