It was announced last month that learner drivers who fail to display L plates will now receive penalty points as part of a new crackdown on dangerous driving.
For the first time, learner drivers who fail to display L or R plates will now receive two penalty points and a fixed charge fine. If the offence involves a court appearance, this will increase to four points. Drivers will also receive a penalty point if they are found to be driving unaccompanied while on a learner permit.
The crackdown on Learner drivers was introduced by Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe, following news that 2013 saw the annual number of road deaths rise for the first time in several years.
While it is hard to argue against the law, that all Learner drivers should be accompanied and display plates, in theory, the new penalty points system does nothing to support people who are willing, able and attempting to obtain a full-licence.
When applying for a learner’s permit, the state now requires you to sit a series of modules with a trained instructor. Each module must be signed off before the instructor can take you further in your driving career. From speaking with a number of instructors, the average student will take three lessons per module.
Based on a German model, the idea was introduced to promote safer driving as a whole.
The problem with this model is that learning to drive is now a privilege to those who can afford to spend roughly €1,500 on driving lessons.
For those who gained a permit before April 2011, they can still choose to learn to drive without the planned EDT modules, but there are still barriers to this method that have not been addressed with the new penalty point infrastructure.
Under the new laws, you must (and rightly should) display L plates. For those who are driving without a fully-licenced driver, they will be pulled over and will be given points.
Yet, nobody questions how a learner driver will gain confidence to drive alone if they never drive without supervision. How will they build up their own judgement, and road competence, if they can subconsciously rely on somebody else to monitor their every movement?
While it also sounds like an easy request to drive with a fully-licensed driver, finding someone with three-years’ driving experience to sit with you every time you want to take your car out is going to be a task in itself. There are also no designated roads for learners to practice their skills, and there is no monitoring of the standard of the driver accompanying the ‘novice’ which could lead to bad habits, or ill-advised tutoring.
Australia offer a two-tiered learner permit system – where learner drivers must pass a Hazard Perception skills test. Once this is completed, learner drivers can drive without supervision, but must apply for their full-licence within a set-time frame.
The theory though, is a smart one. If you require a certain set of skills to pass this test and you succeed, it naturally means that the final test will be a straight-forward affair. It also means that completely new drivers are aware that until they own a certain set of skills required for safe driving, they should probably stick with instructors and lessons before venturing out alone.
The system is more inclusive of learners – and takes away the pressure or nerves of taking a full-test.
In many parts of the UK, learner drivers can partake in a two week intensive driving course, where they are brought through the skills, techniques and road situations of being a driver. Following this, students can opt to take a driving test at the end of their two week course.
Although this argues against the importance of experience in theory, the pupils tend to have completed 90 hours of driving by the time they step forward for their test.
It may not be an ideal scenario, but there are perks. They learn to drive with a qualified instructor, they gain practical experience in the car (including using motorways and parallel parking) and then they have an opportunity to sit their test in a timely manner.
The current waiting time for a full-time test can be anything from two to four months depending on location and test centre preference. So if you are unsuccessful in your first attempts (whether that is skills, nerves or other factors) you then must wait at least eight weeks before you can attempt to tackle the roads again (legally).
I agree it’s important to monitor new drivers on our roads, and promote safe-driving practices, but delivering penalty points seems like an unfair punishment when there are no supports in place for the average person looking to gain experience as a driver.
While there are month-long waiting lists, and driving lessons still averaging €35- €50 per lesson, it is likely more learner drivers will continue to break the rules of the road and fail to display plates for fear of being landed with points before they even have the chance to own a full-licence.
Would it not be a better alternative to encourage L plates, but remove the points system once a skills test has been applied?
We all know the importance of keeping road deaths down. I’m just not sure Learner drivers deserve to shoulder such a hefty burden of the blame.
