New Licence System

Niall1234 · 14-07-2007 9:28pm #1

Anyone want to guess at how the new learner driver licence system is going to work.

I've heard rumours of a 6 month driving permit to replace the provisional licence. Going to be limited licence to.

- Can't drive at night.
- Limited to 80 kph.
- Accompanied driver rule to be strictly enforced.

I've also heard of a the R reg similar to NI being enforced. IMO, this would be a bit over the top. If you pass your driving test then you should be a good enough driver to drive at 100 kph. Might only cause crashes due to frustrated drivers being held up on N roads.

BrianD · 14-07-2007 9:32pm

A zero alcohol/blood limit should also be added. I think it would be an excellent idea to get people into a zero booze while driving frame of mind from teh start.

foxy06 · 14-07-2007 9:36pm

What are the lmitations of an R plated driver and how long does it last?

Wishbone Ash · 14-07-2007 9:39pm

foxy06 wrote:

What are the lmitations of an R plated driver and how long does it last?

One year and limited to 45mph.

Niall1234 · 14-07-2007 10:14pm

45 mph really is a bit excessive. More of a hazard on the roads than anything.

murphaph · 14-07-2007 10:56pm

Being stuck behind an R driver up the north is a royal pita. The scheme was supposed to be a UK pilot project but the rest of the UK never adopted it while NI doggedly retains it. OTT methinks.

Chris_533976 · 14-07-2007 11:24pm

Wishbone Ash wrote:

One year and limited to 45mph.

Not here plz till the Interurbans are all done. Can you imagine being stuck behind 45mph drivers on roads you cant overtake on :eek:

Del2005 · 15-07-2007 5:00am

I think we're getting mixed info here.
You can drive on a leaners permit at 80km/h but when you pass your test you can only drive at ~75km/h. Doesn't make sense, but I suppose this is Ireland and if it can be cocked up we'd manage it

Chris_533976 · 15-07-2007 11:47am

Also with test waiting times at a year you would have to get two learner permits to be able to take the test.....

Niall1234 · 15-07-2007 12:50pm

No Del. The limit is 45 mph in Northern Ireland. Presumably it would be 80 kph down here.

Complete nonsense if brought in down here.

The limit of not being able to drive at night is completely unworkable.

talkingclock · 15-07-2007 1:04pm

Niall1234 wrote:

the limit of not being able to drive at night is completely unworkable.

QFT! in winter night starts at 4:30pm and ends at 8am. how am i supposed to get to work then? public transport? hello, this is ireland!

Victor · 15-07-2007 3:54pm

Niall1234 wrote:

I've heard rumours of a 6 month driving permit to replace the provisional licence. Going to be limited licence to.

It is to be a Learner Permit, I think primarily to disabuse people of the notion that they have a driving licence.

15-07-2007 3:59pm

Niall1234 wrote:

Anyone want to guess at how the new learner driver licence system is going to work.

I've heard rumours of a 6 month driving permit to replace the provisional licence. Going to be limited licence to.

- Can't drive at night.
- Limited to 80 kph.
- Accompanied driver rule to be strictly enforced.

I've also heard of a the R reg similar to NI being enforced. IMO, this would be a bit over the top. If you pass your driving test then you should be a good enough driver to drive at 100 kph. Might only cause crashes due to frustrated drivers being held up on N roads.

Whats the point of not being able to drive at night. Night driving should be an integral part of learning to drive. Somebody didn't think this through at all. Typically irish.

Victor · 15-07-2007 4:08pm

Deleted User wrote:

Somebody didn't think this through at all.

Hang on, you are basing this on rumours. I think the problem is you are jumping the gun.

Stark · 15-07-2007 4:21pm

talkingclock wrote:

QFT! in winter night starts at 4:30pm and ends at 8am. how am i supposed to get to work then? public transport? hello, this is ireland!

Get a full license

So far I've heard nothing to suggest that they'll bring in the learner permit system while the waiting lists are the way they are.

Though I agree that not allowing driving at night is unworkable. It would mean people who had jobs during the day wouldn't be able to learn to drive during the winter months, which wouldn't be very fair. I think the nail in the coffin of that idea will be protests from driving instructors who would stand to lose most of their business during the winter months

Capt'n Midnight · 15-07-2007 6:32pm

Niall1234 wrote:

45 mph really is a bit excessive. More of a hazard on the roads than anything.

Well they aren't allowed to drive on motorways.
also unlike down here people don't hog the overtaking lane so it's not as difficult to pass.

In Canada they have strict limits on younger learners, so my guess is the curfew could apply to under 25's or weekends.

In Italy you have a maximum of 6 months to get both the theory test and license, otherwise you have to do the theory test again.

Now that our roads are as good as or better than the ones up North, the higher death rate of young males has to do with either better enforcement or better driver licensing because almost everything else is almost the same.

[edit]At present there is NO real incentive to pass the driving test , many people can afford the slightly higher insurance and the risk of prosecution is negligable. This is shown by over 300,000 people with provisional licenses who aren't on the waiting list, even though it's mandatory to get your 3rd or subsequent license.

Maybe stuff like this and enforcement might get those "self certified" drivers to actually get tested.

Lord Nikon · 15-07-2007 6:34pm

Well, you could guess that the new permit is for new learners on the roads, not the learners that are on our roads now.

The "new" learner drivers would never of had a car on the road, so it's fair to say that they wouldn't miss much at winter.

Anyway, the sooner they actually learn how to drive and aquire a full licence, the sooner they they drive whenever they like.

Anything has to be better than the current system ffs. Throwing money at the government for a simple Theory test, there's your licence, drive wherever and whenever you like, infact you don't even had to pass a drivers test, just renew you "Provisional" whenever you need.

Our man in Havana · 15-07-2007 6:35pm

I believe they have night driving prohibitions in New Zealand on learners.

http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/licensing/nz-driver-licences.html

Restricted licence holders (eg, 1R) must not drive between 10 pm and 5 am, unless they have a supervisor (someone who has held a current full driver licence for at least two years) sitting in the front beside them. They must not carry passengers, other than their spouse or their spouse’s dependants, unless they have a supervisor with them.

Niall1234 · 15-07-2007 7:29pm

I would have thought that driving at night would be the safest time to drive. I started driving at 10 and 11 at night due to the sheer lack of traffic.

Victor · 15-07-2007 7:40pm

Niall1234 wrote:

I would have thought that driving at night would be the safest time to drive. I started driving at 10 and 11 at night due to the sheer lack of traffic.

The busiest time of day for traffic is 5pm. There are as many fatalities at 3am as 5am - a combination of fatigue, substance abuse and disinhibited behaviour.

I think there is a general opinion that night driving is harder than the equivalent daytime driving.

Niall1234 · 15-07-2007 8:01pm

I would imagine that there is a big alcohol factor with fatalities at 3 in the morning.

Chris_533976 · 15-07-2007 11:09pm

A ban on night driving wont mean 'no driving at night', it'll mean no driving between say 9pm and 6am or something like that. "No driving at night" taken at face value is unworkable because nighttime moves daily and how do you define when dusk ends and nighttime begins.

Wishbone Ash · 15-07-2007 11:18pm

Chris_533976 wrote:

how do you define when dusk ends and nighttime begins.

Many of the Road Traffic Regulations refer to "Lighting up hours" which are defined as "the period commencing one half hour after sunset on any day and expires one half hour before sunrise on the next day" but I agree, it's very difficult to define precisely.

Capt'n Midnight · 16-07-2007 12:20am

Lighting up time ? - have a look at the weather page in the Irish Times

Our man in Havana · 16-07-2007 12:33am

I have often seen Gardaí bring in a newspaper into court to show the judge the lighting up time on a particular day, where a person was accused of driving with faulty lights.

New Licence System

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