Garda Blitz on "L" Drivers

Lord Derpington

Just wondering what ye all thought about this.

Personally i think in one way it makes sense that they are enforcing the law but at the same time, the new rules and regulations don’t come into effect till the end of the month so this is all starting a bit early.
I am aware that the "no driving unaccompanied while on first provisional" was in the old rules as well. But I myself took a driving test the other day and for some reason unknown to me got 4 grade 2's against me for turning left at a junction... and ended failing on that alone. So now i am stuck at home and have to wait for the retest until I am supposed to get into my car on my own?
Besides what can a fully qualified driver do in the car if the learner decides to speed up or play chicken they can’t do a dam thing so it’s all a load of bollox really when ya think about it. /rant

keen

If the second driver gets into the driver seat of a Learner drivers car mid journey is he/she insured?

Keano

Hmm... Garda crackdown :rolleyes:
Every bank holiday weekend they have a Garda crackdown. Yet to meet one checkpoint this year on a bank holiday weekend.
Great press office they have.

keen

Keano A Legend wrote: »

Hmm... Garda crackdown every bank holiday weekend. Yet to meet one checkpoint this year on a bank holiday weekend.

Same here, I have a feeling it's all talk.

They say the reason that things like this aren't enforced all the time is due to lack of resources, so how do they magic extra resources for six days?

Cathmandooo

It's a load of codswallop. If the gardai see you driving stupidly and you happen to be a learner with no fully licensed person beside you then yes they'll use the new rules to do you, you were driving badly so you deserve it. They're not gonna be pulling over learners who are driving well and waiting to do their tests.

biko

greenfly wrote: »

Besides what can a fully qualified driver do in the car if the learner decides to speed up or play chicken they can’t do a dam thing so it’s all a load of bollox really when ya think about it. /rant

And you use this logic to justify that you do not need supervision?
It's evident you need a real driver in the car with you at all times.

The real driver is there as an instructor.

keen

biko wrote: »

And you use this logic to justify that you do not need supervision?
It's evident you need a real driver in the car with you at all times.

The real driver is there as an instructor.

I don't think he was saying he plays chicken or speeds, hypothetical.

justsomebloke

GF got a ticket this morning for pulling into a bus lane 3 feet from the end of it as part of the police clampdown :rolleyes:

Whispered

I'm on my second provisional and drive in and out of work, I live somewhere that does not have a regular bus service. I applied for my test 3 months ago, I can only take it at the end of July. So despite assurances that the wait will be only 10 weeks, it's almost double that. I will have no transport for a month. As far as I'm concerned this is unacceptable. They should do something about the people waiting for their tests who applied with (what I thought was) plenty of time. If I fail, then fair enough, I will have to figure something else out.

I never drove alone on my 1st provisional, I never drive on the motorway so I have very little sympathy for people on their first license who say this will effect them. That law has effected people who abide by the law for years.

Lord Derpington

biko wrote: »

And you use this logic to justify that you do not need supervision?
It's evident you need a real driver in the car with you at all times.

The real driver is there as an instructor.

No im sayin that there is no real advantage in having a fully qualified driver beside you if the learner is goning to drive stupidly they will do so with supervision or without it will make no difference

Disco Stu

Don't understand why this is such a problem here...!? Any other "western" country its required that you have a full license before being on the road by yourself... If you are accompanied by a fully licensed driver (normally with a minimum number years experience and over a certain age) they are there to act as an instructor and help you to learn how to drive properly...

Simple and straight forward...

And you wonder why the accident rate here is so bad when people are all trying to teach themselves?!

Lord Derpington

i accept that a learner driver should not be allowed to drive on their own, but I think the entire system should be done differently.
Driving should be a course in school and as a result of taking that course in school you take the test and you do not pass that course in school unless you get your full licence. This is the way Germany, Bulgaria and many eastern countries do it and it is working very very well for them.

I know here if this was even to come into effect you still have the current problem with the fully qualified drivers but i suppose it makes sense

token56

This Garda Blitz is supposed to also focus on things like having tax, insurance, NCT etc. I thought this was something which was suppost to already be done?

With regards the learner drivers thing. The thing that really pi**es me off is that the accompaning driver must have their full license for over 2 years. Now they are telling us that not all ful license holders are equal, this part of the law is ridiculous. In saying this I can't see them been very strict on this part. At least I hope not.

Clink

greenfly wrote: »

No im sayin that there is no real advantage in having a fully qualified driver beside you if the learner is goning to drive stupidly they will do so with supervision or without it will make no difference

No they won't if the licensed driver in the car beside them tells them what they should be doing!

Lord Derpington

token56 wrote: »

With regards the learner drivers thing. The thing that really pi**es me off is that the accompaning driver must have their full license for over 2 years. Now they are telling us that not all ful license holders are equal, this part of the law is ridiculous. In saying this I can't see them been very strict on this part. At least I hope not.

Yea the reason for that is because they were originally going to have "R" plates for drivers who passed there tests for the first 2 years "R" standing for restricted. However this seems to have faded to the background lately and hopefully that’s where it will stay

leninbenjamin

biko wrote: »

The real driver is there as an instructor.

:pac: with the standard of driving on the roads these days the full licensed 'instructor' will probably increase failure rates.

menoscemo

The culture is all wrong down here. When I was learning to drive up the north, the only time I would drive a car other than that of a driving instructor was when my dad let me drive his with him besdide me. This would basically be when he specifically took me out for a driving lesson.

People in the Republic seem to want to find a fully qualified driver to accompany them on a long journey they are going to make anyway, or to go to work etc i.e. a practical journey. The fact is you should only be driving if you are having a lesson. This is why the accompanying drivers needs to have a certain amount of experience and maturity.

Clink

menoscemo wrote: »

The culture is all wrong down here. When I was learning to drive up the north, the only time I would drive a car other than that of a driving instructor was when my dad let me drive his with him besdide me. This would basically be when he specifically took me out for a driving lesson.

People in the Republic seem to want to find a fully qualified driver to accompany them on a long journey they are going to make anyway, or to go to work etc i.e. a practical journey. The fact is you should only be driving if you are having a lesson. This is why the accompanying drivers needs to have a certain amount of experience and maturity.

You're absolutely right there. A lot of people seem to think that it's their god given right to drive no matter what. It's a skill that you have to learn, the only way to do that is to have someone sit in the car and tell you what you're doing wrong until you get to the point where you can prove that you're accomplished i.e pass a test.

Claire121

So now i am stuck at home and have to wait for the retest until I am supposed to get into my car on my own?

Er, yes, that's what the rest of the world has to do. I don't get this attitude of entitlement from Irish people. You failed your driving test, so you obviously are not qualified to drive around on your own. Where does the idea come from that anyone should be allowed to drive around without a license? Like someone else said, you wouldn't even think about it in the North. You might go out for a few lessons with your mum or dad in the car, after having professional lessons but you wouldn't drive around on your own on a daily basis. It's absolutely shocking that this is tolerated.

biko

greenfly wrote: »

No im sayin that there is no real advantage in having a fully qualified driver beside you if the learner is goning to drive stupidly they will do so with supervision or without it will make no difference

Well, if the driver is a complete moron it does not matter whether s/he has a full licence or not.

Actually I think the driver is less likely to act stupidly if there is a second person in the car.

Sherifu

greenfly wrote: »

Just wondering what ye all thought about this.

Personally i think in one way it makes sense that they are enforcing the law but at the same time, the new rules and regulations don’t come into effect till the end of the month so this is all starting a bit early.
I am aware that the "no driving unaccompanied while on first provisional" was in the old rules as well. But I myself took a driving test the other day and for some reason unknown to me got 4 grade 2's against me for turning left at a junction... and ended failing on that alone. So now i am stuck at home and have to wait for the retest until I am supposed to get into my car on my own?
Besides what can a fully qualified driver do in the car if the learner decides to speed up or play chicken they can’t do a dam thing so it’s all a load of bollox really when ya think about it. /rant

I think the thinking behind it is learner drivers are more likely to behave if they are accompanied.

dade

greenfly wrote: »

This is the way Germany,

not when i lived there (13 years ago), driver training was not part of the school curriculum. you applied to a driving school for lessons, there was no driving unaccompanied on any learners permit. you also had to have a certain number of hours in different environments, driving through towns/cities country driving night time driving etc. it was a very expensive process.

on the flip side the test was not conducted by some grumpy f*cker in a tweed jacket but by your instructor. the instructors record was monitored by the government and they could carry out spot checks on the driving school so that the school wasn't just passing people left right and center.

JP Liz

What about the qualified drivers who drive foolishly and wreckless???????????

Clink

JP Liz wrote: »

What about the qualified drivers who drive foolishly and wreckless???????????

They get penalty points and or fines if they're caught.

stovelid

greenfly wrote: »

So now i am stuck at home and have to wait for the retest until I am supposed to get into my car on my own?

You do what people in other countries do: wait and take the test again.

Why should the roads be full of sh*t drivers because Irish people have built their lives around cars that are not qualified to drive?

Relevant

helena.ryan wrote: »

I'm on my second provisional and drive in and out of work, I live somewhere that does not have a regular bus service. I applied for my test 3 months ago, I can only take it at the end of July. So despite assurances that the wait will be only 10 weeks, it's almost double that. I will have no transport for a month. As far as I'm concerned this is unacceptable. They should do something about the people waiting for their tests who applied with (what I thought was) plenty of time. If I fail, then fair enough, I will have to figure something else out.

I never drove alone on my 1st provisional, I never drive on the motorway so I have very little sympathy for people on their first license who say this will effect them. That law has effected people who abide by the law for years.

So why didn't you apply for your test before now? If you are on your second provisional you've been driving for over 2 years. Why only apply for your test in the past 3 months?

Rb

I'm on my 2nd provisional and am a better driver than the majority of idiots I encounter on the roads, yet I'm quite happy to see the laws on this be tightened up. There's far too many 17-21 year olds going around on their first provisional in the cars by themselves, or with their mates distracting them, trying to show off etc. I'll be glad to see them being pulled up on it.

Mena

helena.ryan wrote: »

I'm on my second provisional and drive in and out of work, I live somewhere that does not have a regular bus service. I applied for my test 3 months ago, I can only take it at the end of July. So despite assurances that the wait will be only 10 weeks, it's almost double that. I will have no transport for a month. As far as I'm concerned this is unacceptable. They should do something about the people waiting for their tests who applied with (what I thought was) plenty of time. If I fail, then fair enough, I will have to figure something else out.

I never drove alone on my 1st provisional, I never drive on the motorway so I have very little sympathy for people on their first license who say this will effect them. That law has effected people who abide by the law for years.

Why did you only apply for your test three months ago? Should have applied for it when you got your first provisional. Or at the very least, as soon as you got your second. But you waited and delayed and procrastinated and now it's "the governments" fault?

Degsy

Rb wrote: »

I'm on my 2nd provisional and am a better driver than the majority of idiots I encounter on the roads, yet I'm quite happy to see the laws on this be tightened up. There's far too many 17-21 year olds going around on their first provisional in the cars by themselves, or with their mates distracting them, trying to show off etc. I'll be glad to see them being pulled up on it.

You'll be pulled up too if you dont have a driver in the car with you,that was the whole point of the clampdown.

nhughes100

They were out in force this morning, I saw two speed checks and one guy pulled over for not having a license plate on this trailier. I often wonder about the wisdom in announcing a crackdown - ie people have now been warned and will drive cautiously. Not only that but aren't the Gardai supposed to cracking down on these crimes in any case, it's not like a lot of the laws are brand new. But lo and behold I still saw loads of dopes yesterday rabbiting away on their phones whilst 3 feet from the car in front of them and trying to negotiate roundabouts with one arm tied behind their back. So I guess if they announce these things and you get caught you've only yourself to blame.

Degsy

Are they pulling people on 2nd provisional licences yet?I think its disgracefull the way some people have been on the road for years without ever having sat,much less passed a test.

Clink

I agree Degsy. At least in the old days of doing the test you might have an excuse as the waiting lists were so long. But these days the waiting lists seem to be only about 8weeks, you should just keep re-sitting it until you pass.

pvt.joker

Degsy wrote: »

Are they pulling people on 2nd provisional licences yet?I think its disgracefull the way some people have been on the road for years without ever having sat,much less passed a test.

Too right. They're pulling people on ANY povisional, and rightly so.

Some people were quite happy to spend 10/20 years going from provisional to provisional, making a mockery of the law.

No excuses now. Pass your test or get off the road.

pvt.joker

jsb wrote: »

GF got a ticket this morning for pulling into a bus lane 3 feet from the end of it as part of the police clampdown :rolleyes:

Yes, I'm sure it was 3 feet:rolleyes:. Probably 100 feet if she's to be honest.

chuci

When i started driving 3 years ago i wasnt allowed in the car on my own unless my mam or dad was with me. i hated them for it because all my friends were allowed to go out by themselves but i can see their logic now. After a year of driving around with my parents i was allowed drive the car to work on the weekends because the roads were quite. I agree some people who are just learning should not be allowed out by themselves and should have someone with them all the time if it stops them making stupid mistakes. There major checks going on around where i live checking NCT's tax etc etc.

Canis Lupus

pvt.joker wrote: »

Pass your test or get off the road.

Totally.

I wasn't allowed drive a car till I passed the test and the only time I drove was with an instructor and after passing still had my folks accompany me till they were satisfied.

If you don't have a full licence then you shouldn't be driving on your own. It's quite simple and I can't see the point of anyone arguing against it.

gixerfixer

Garda crackdown:D Do people actually fall for this crap? Every other weekend there is a blitz,crackdown etc... on this that and the other whilst they put up the same amount of checkpoints as always.Comedians:rolleyes:

Theta

I wasn't allowed drive on my own for maybe the first ten months to a year, then I was allowed drive to work which was 10 minutes away on the weekends. I dunno I think even those ten minute drives did me good to be on my own. It stopped me from relying on someone else to be doing all of the double checks for me. I do agree though the whole system needs to be changed. They try to bring in new laws everyday but the simple fact of the matter is that if they just enforced the laws they currently have in place it would be fine, but they cant even do that!

And in all fairness the guards try to do there jobs but there working with management who are out of touch and are kind of under funded. I mean look at the UK where some of the cars in urban centers have equipment that will scann passing cars licence plates and warn of no tax and insurance and can check these details. There are no such systems here all someone has to say is its in the post and its all gravy!

Spud83

Degsy wrote: »

Are they pulling people on 2nd provisional licences yet?I think its disgracefull the way some people have been on the road for years without ever having sat,much less passed a test.

pvt.joker wrote: »

Too right. They're pulling people on ANY povisional, and rightly so.

Some people were quite happy to spend 10/20 years going from provisional to provisional, making a mockery of the law.

No excuses now. Pass your test or get off the road.

I dont think they are pulling people on second provisonals as technically its not against the law until July 1st.

_feedback_

I did drive on my own on my first provisional. I hadn't needed a car for years and then I got the opportunity of a new job, needed a car to get there and drove for six months before i passed my test.

That was before the panic last year when the Gov were giving a couple of weeks notice about the new L driver rules.

But there is no excuse this time round.. If you've been driving for a while and still on a provisional without even having a shot at the test, you shouldn't be driving unaccompanied.

lily2008

Rb wrote: »

I'm on my 2nd provisional and am a better driver than the majority of idiots I encounter on the roads]


Its this kind of thinking that generally scares me, how can you possibly decide that you are a better driver than anybody if you havent passed the test yourself???? Have you failed it or just not bothered applying, if so why not, you are now in danger of being pulled over and fined !

Duckjob

Many moons ago, whilst on 1st prov and waiting to do my test, I bought my first car. I got the 'oul fella to come out and drive it home for me, where it sat outside the house until I did my upcoming test and thankfully passed. I had previously failed, and picked up another application on my way out of the test centre to apply again immediately.

The Irish attitude towards licencing seems very back-to-front to me. IMO, until you have a pink licence in your hand, you should not consider yourself entitled to be behind a wheel for any other reason than receiving driving tuition, and this should be considered BEFORE you take a job somewhere, go to college somewhere, buy a house somewhere, and so on.

nhughes100

alanmurphy83 wrote: »

I dont think they are pulling people on second provisonals as technically its not against the law until July 1st.

It's always been against the law it's just the Gardai or insurance complanies never bothered to enforce it.

SheroN

nhughes100 wrote: »

It's always been against the law it's just the Gardai or insurance complanies never bothered to enforce it.

People on a second provisional licence are allowed to drive alone untill the 1st of July.

Theta

nhughes100 wrote: »

It's always been against the law it's just the Gardai or insurance complanies never bothered to enforce it.

For what them to drive on there own?? Its perfectly legal on your 2nd provisional to drive on your own until july 1st. Not on your third or any consecutive one though.

Spud83

nhughes100 wrote: »

It's always been against the law it's just the Gardai or insurance complanies never bothered to enforce it.

FAIL.

Keano

nhughes100 wrote: »

It's always been against the law it's just the Gardai or insurance complanies never bothered to enforce it.

I believe it was a condition of the licence not a law. Didn't some guy take this to court?

Steve

@ L-drivers who are saying:
"this is unacceptable"
"this is unfair"
"I should be allowed do what I like"
"there's no harm in it"
"shure its always been like this"

/facepalm.

Even as recent as 5 years ago it was socially acceptable to have a few pints after work and drive home, 10 years ago it was the norm.
Nowadays if you even mention the concept, you are scorned and ridiculed and branded a baby killing maniac.

When it was announced that drink driving measures were to be rigidly enforced, everyone said:

"this is unacceptable"
"this is unfair"
"I should be allowed do what I like"
"there's no harm in it"
"shure its always been like this"

Go back even farther to the seat belt laws, everyone said:

"this is unacceptable"
"this is unfair"
"I should be allowed do what I like"
"there's no harm in it"
"shure its always been like this"

To all you guys saying that now: "get over it - it's no longer acceptable".

The excuse that "I need to drive to work, I've no other way" is cowpoo - you should have thought of that before you took a job that you could only get to by illegaly driving.

FFS, it's not as if they announced this law yesterday - anyone who hasn't bothered their hole to go pass a test deserves to be put off the road.

Hats off to those of you who actually view their learners permit as a means to learn and who actually abide by the law.



/pulls collar to let steam out.

mikemac

+1 ^^^^^^^^^^

I posted something similar to the post above in Motors forum but stevec has put it much better then I did

The moaning and ranting we are hearing now is no different to what we heard when they cracked down on seatbelts and on drink driving in recent years.

In 5 years time, we’ll look back and laugh at the fact that you drive for many years and never pass a test and wonder how it was ever carried on

Rb wrote: »

I'm on my 2nd provisional and am a better driver than the majority of idiots I encounter on the roads, .

A better driver in your opinion, you haven't proved it. Most people think they are good drivers and most boyracers think they are skillful drivers.
Proving it is another matter

Boggles

SheroN wrote: »

People on a second provisional licence are allowed to drive alone untill the 1st of July.

Is this true? Any link to anything legal?

micmclo wrote: »

Most people think they are good drivers and most boyracers think they are skillful drivers.
Proving it is another matter

The few young fellas I know that would be considered boy racers, passed their tests with flying colours - These lads could do it blind folded, behaving yourself for half an hour while your being tested proves nothing to a certain group of individuals IMO.

Steve_o

token56 wrote: »

With regards the learner drivers thing. The thing that really pi**es me off is that the accompaning driver must have their full license for over 2 years. Now they are telling us that not all ful license holders are equal, this part of the law is ridiculous. In saying this I can't see them been very strict on this part. At least I hope not.

Really? I just got my full licence last month, and I was gonna be the "licenced driver" for my sister in her car while she waits for the test....oh dear, thats a ridiculous law. How are they gonna enforce this though, I heard that 1/6 of irish drivers are 'L' drivers.