Young new drivers face year-long passenger ban
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Tuesday April 27 2010
NEWLY qualified young drivers face a possible year-long ban on carrying passengers to stop them being distracted and crashing.
The radical proposal is being considered by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) following months of consultation involving all the road safety agencies, the Irish Independent has learned.
Research shows young drivers aged 17 to 24 who are accompanied by two friends are 86pc more likely to have a fatal crash than if they were on their own in the car.
The distraction of engaging with friends makes inexperienced drivers lose significant concentration and they are prone to crash.
"Their concentration goes with the gags, the chat and the radio," RSA chairman Gay Byrne told the Irish Independent.
"And one of the boys is bound to say 'Hey, Mick, this is a high-performance car. Let's see what she can do'.
"Two miles down the road they slam into a tree or a wall and they are all dead," he said.
"The proposal is that for between six and 12 months after they pass the test, the young driver could not carry any passengers.
"The problem with young fellas is that you cannot get to them unless there is enforcement, and they get the message," he added.
Mr Byrne yesterday said the measure would first have to be approved by the RSA board as part of the ongoing overhaul of the driver licensing regime.
He said the restriction could be in place for between six months and a year.
Yesterday the Irish Independent revealed almost 14,000 learner drivers have been summonsed for driving without L-plates or for being unaccompanied by a qualified driver.
The road safety supremo and broadcaster said it was very disappointing so many people had blatantly disregarded the law.
Mr Byrne added: "But it just shows that if you persist (in breaking the law ) you will be caught."
Ahead of the notoriously treacherous May bank holiday weekend, he pleaded with all drivers to drive carefully and reduce their speed, as this was the single biggest cause of deaths on Irish roads.
Mr Byrne yesterday launched a new resource for pre-schools, 'Simon and Friends', aimed at encouraging road safety among children aged five years and under.
Speaking at the launch, Mr Byrne said it was never too early to start educating young people on how to be safe on the road.
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The programme contains four individual storybooks featuring characters that promote road safety messages among pre-school children. It is being rolled out to 4,700 pre-schools nationwide.
Meanwhile, the National Car Testing (NCT) Service yesterday told customers they were entitled to a free test if they had to wait more than four weeks.
Fine Gael TD John O'Mahony said many drivers who had to wait more than four weeks had already paid the €49 and were now entitled to a full refund.
An NCT spokesperson said the four-week free-test rule had been in place since the system started 10 years ago.
However, the average waiting time was now running at three weeks and the number entitled to a free test was not large compared with the overall volume of tests.
- Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
