New research from insurance giant Aviva shows that almost half of all Irish drivers believe that the rule which says learner drivers must be accompanied by a fully-licenced driver ought to be scrapped.
Bring back the amnesty?
Some 49 per cent said that the rule should be scrapped entirely, while 25 per cent said that it should be temporarily lifted until the current driving test backlog is cleared.
The research, conducted for Aviva by iReach, surveyed 1,000 respondents. The data also showed that 19 per cent - almost one in five - believe that we should see a repeat of the 1979 'amnesty' for learner drivers in order to clear the current backlog of tests.
More women (27 per cent) than men (24 per cent) believe that the rule on accompanied drivers should be dumped, while the majority of those who think that the rule should be done away with are in the 18-24-year age category, so there may be more than a few of those with 'skin in the game' so to speak.
No insurance cover
Of the 51 per cent who want to see the rule kept in place, the majority say that it's for safety reasons. Mike Kavanagh, Aviva Driving School, said: "It is against the law for drivers with a learner permit to drive unaccompanied on Irish roads or indeed for someone to allow their vehicle to be driven by an unaccompanied learner driver and penalties will apply to those who do so if convicted. These include the impounding of the car, and the owner of the vehicle could be fined up to €1,000, in addition to receiving four penalty points on their licence. Learner drivers must always have someone with a full driving licence in the car with them and that person must have their licence for a minimum of two years. The reality is that a learner driver with no accompanying driver has no insurance cover if they cause an accident.
"New figures released under the Freedom of Information Act last May highlighted that there was a backlog of over 70,000 people waiting for their driving test. Whilst we have sympathy for those who are waiting for extended periods to sit their test, it is heartening to note that most drivers recognise the importance of adhering to the rule from a safety perspective. We have all heard the anecdotes whereby learner drivers have sometimes lost out on employment opportunities or indeed college places as they were unable to sit their test when they wanted. However, safety for inexperienced drivers and indeed other road users must remain paramount even if it is inconvenient."
60,000 amnesty drivers
In 1979 over 60,000 drivers were given an amnesty as they were granted a full driving licence without sitting a driving test due to the large backlog of driving test applicants at that time. Some 81 per cent of those surveyed think it would be 'reckless' to reintroduce such a scheme.
"The number of cars on our roads over 40 years ago was significantly less than those on our roads today and it is no great surprise that most of those surveyed would consider that the introduction of an amnesty for learner drivers would be reckless. Today's cars are faster and more powerful than those built in the '70s" concluded Mike Kavanagh.