Provisional Licence D-Day

[higgins]

Yeah but it was very common for people to get to the 3rd license and not have done a driving test. There was never any real need to rush was there ? Insurance being the only factor. I had a 1st provisional and never really used it to drive! Couple of years later I got the 2nd provisional but was out of the country when it came for my test date. Eventually I had to re order the test then apply for a 3rd provisional. I was a further 8 months waiting on a test.

I assume I was passed over to the SGS crowd when they started to clear the backlog as I was down as a 3rd provisional licence holder.

I'd never failed a test yet was 8 months into my 3rd provisional.

Of course those on the 4th 5th etc would have had to do a test but not the ones on a 3rd.

Having said that the pass rate does seem very high in certain places and I wouldn't be surprised if they were told to clear the backlog 'wink' 'wink'

[joe_barry80]

I have to say the Driving license setup in Ireland is a disaster. I keep hearing about people failing 2 or 3 times. Can people not see that they are just doing you for more money? My auntie got her driving license given to her in the 80's because the list was so long. To be honest I do have worries when I get in the car with her.

I done my driving license here in Austria the system here is great but maybe expensive.

1. You register with a driving school.
2. You have to do a 2 week course 3 1/2 Hours Mon - Fri
3. Within these 2 weeks you have your driving lessons Min 15 Hours Driving
4. After the 2 week course you can sit the computer test.
5. A week after that you do the driving test; 99.9% pass
6. You get a paper saying you passed and you can drive that minute away.
7. A week later your License comes
8. Within a year you have to do 2 times an hour with the instructor and a day at a track where you practice breaking on wet surfaces and fake ice surfaces. You also have to talk to a psychologist for an hour.
9. Then you are on a 2 year probation. e.g. Your alcohol intake must be low, no accidents, speeding etc. Or you have to go back and do the re schooling.
10. You don't have to renew the licence either

That cost me in total €1400 all in Lesson's, License, Taxes, The Extra Courses

It sounds a lot but you are out driving within 3 weeks.

[anto1208]

I have to say the Driving license setup in Ireland is a disaster. I keep hearing about people failing 2 or 3 times. Can people not see that they are just doing you for more money? My auntie got her driving license given to her in the 80's because the list was so long. To be honest I do have worries when I get in the car with her.

I done my driving license here in Austria the system here is great but maybe expensive.

1. You register with a driving school.
2. You have to do a 2 week course 3 1/2 Hours Mon - Fri
3. Within these 2 weeks you have your driving lessons Min 15 Hours Driving
4. After the 2 week course you can sit the computer test.
5. A week after that you do the driving test; 99.9% pass
6. You get a paper saying you passed and you can drive that minute away.
7. A week later your License comes
8. Within a year you have to do 2 times an hour with the instructor and a day at a track where you practice breaking on wet surfaces and fake ice surfaces. You also have to talk to a psychologist for an hour.
9. Then you are on a 2 year probation. e.g. Your alcohol intake must be low, no accidents, speeding etc. Or you have to go back and do the re schooling.
10. You don't have to renew the licence either

That cost me in total €1400 all in Lesson's, License, Taxes, The Extra Courses

It sounds a lot but you are out driving within 3 weeks.

You can pay up to 50euro for a lesson here and some people need to get 20 or 30 lessons and still fail, so 1400 to get it right in 3 weeks sounds much better.


The problem on Irish roads is they teach people how to drive at 30 mph around a city then when they can just about do that your alloud to drive at 60 on country roads or 70 on motorways and they wonder why the road deaths are so high.

[pete]

How long have the government been talking about regulation of driving instructors? Aside from the obvious flaws of a system that allowed you to fail a test & drive home it is ludicrous that anyone can set themselves up as a driving instructor with a roof sign. Seriously, how hard is for the Minister & department to come up with a regulatory system - they have one for almost everything else you can think of.

[ramsfan]

only country in world that you can fail your driving test for major errors and still drive home from test centre

[GavinZac]

You can pay up to 50euro for a lesson here and some people need to get 20 or 30 lessons and still fail, so 1400 to get it right in 3 weeks sounds much better.


The problem on Irish roads is they teach people how to drive at 30 mph around a city then when they can just about do that your alloud to drive at 60 on country roads or 70 on motorways and they wonder why the road deaths are so high.

20 or 30? who are these people and where should i avoid?

[Newryrep]

How long have the government been talking about regulation of driving instructors? Aside from the obvious flaws of a system that allowed you to fail a test & drive home it is ludicrous that anyone can set themselves up as a driving instructor with a roof sign. Seriously, how hard is for the Minister & department to come up with a regulatory system - they have one for almost everything else you can think of.

Why do driving instructors need to be particulaly regulated ?. Who pays for this regulation ?, do we need to hire more public servents to check driving instructor standards - you have got to be joking

This is driving a bloody car. 95% of it is common sense/experience after you have mastered the basics of changing gear/signal/brake etc.

If people need 30-40 lessons from a driving instructor to pass a test
a. They are too stupid to realise that driving instructor is ****
b. They are too stupid to realise they are a **** driver and maybe they shouldnt be driving at all.

Note: I speak as somebody who passed UK test first time ,who never took a lesson but drove occasionally but always accompanyied for almost 2 years so I had the necessary confidence.

Nobody has a right to drive iresspective of whether they live in the city centre or out in the middle of nowhere.

Anybody who has been driving on their own for years and still failed their test perhaps shouldnt be on the road.

[pete]

Why do driving instructors need to be particulaly regulated?. Who pays for this regulation?.

Usually the regulated pay for the regulation. Instructors should have to pass a test to ensure they are training people correctly. Correctly trained drivers is the benefit of everyone.

[Newryrep]

Usually the regulated pay for the regulation. Instructors should have to pass a test to ensure they are training people correctly. Correctly trained drivers is the benefit of everyone.

So the private sector will pay for the public sector to regulate them

If instructors are not training people correctly then they will be failing tests - if people are failing tests because of an instructor, word will quickly spread and he will be out of business.

Correctly trained drivers are a benefit to everyone but you dont need an instructor, nor a registered instructor teaching you to be a good driver.

I have no objection to the testers being regulated/checked but regulating driver instructors sound like 'lets make up a job' - it doesnt need it and there are more needy regulating bodies of public money eg Nursing homes

[John83]

So the private sector will pay for the public sector to regulate them

If instructors are not training people correctly then they will be failing tests - if people are failing tests because of an instructor, word will quickly spread and he will be out of business.

I have a similar line of thought on doctors. Screw this medical qualification BS - it's costing the state stupid money.

[Newryrep]

I have a similar line of thought on doctors. Screw this medical qualification BS - it's costing the state stupid money.

Fail to see the link between doctors training and driving instructor regulation ?

Whats the worst that can happen wrt having a **** driving instructor - you fail your test - the world is hardly going to stop spinning

Do what everybody else does in this county - Phone Joe Duffy and blame the **** instructor and not the fact that you are a **** driver and were too stupid to know that it was a **** instructor teaching you.

[John83]

Fail to see the link between doctors training and driving instructor regulation ?

Whats the worst that can happen wrt having a **** driving instructor - you fail your test - the world is hardly going to stop spinning

Do what everybody else does in this county - Phone Joe Duffy and blame the **** instructor and not the fact that you are a **** driver and were too stupid to know that it was a **** instructor teaching you.

**** drivers kill people too.

[osarusan]

Whats the worst that can happen wrt having a **** driving instructor - you fail your test - the world is hardly going to stop spinning

Thats if you assume that the driving tests will fail everybody who is a crap driver - which we all know isn't true. There are plenty of people who can't drive well at all who have licences.

So, with that in mind, the worst thing that can happen with having a ***** driving instructor is that you kill somebody on the road, and the world certainly stops spinning for them.

[Billsthoughts]

Are people seriously comparing regulating Doctors with regulating driving instructors?

No need to regulate instructors.

[Newryrep]

**** drivers kill people too.

Agreed, so pass your test/exam overseen by a regulated tester.

[Newryrep]

Thats if you assume that the driving tests will fail everybody who is a crap driver - which we all know isn't true. There are plenty of people who can't drive well at all who have licences..

Then that is the fault of the tester who is supposed to be regulated - they should of been failed. So do we enforce the present regulations on the tester or do we bring in new ones on instructors. It it my understanding that alot of old people got issued licences without any tests is this what you mean by people who cant drive ?

So, with that in mind, the worst thing that can happen with having a ***** driving instructor is that you kill somebody on the road, and the world certainly stops spinning for them.

A **** driving instructor means you fail the test - you shouldnt be in a car on your own to kill anyone.

I will repeat myself - this is driving a car ,- we are not talking about piloting the space shuttle.

The governement has better things to do with its time and money than regulate who gives driving lessons.

If the present laws were enforced rather then new headline grabbing laws brought in it might make for more sanity on the roads.

[osarusan]

Then that is the fault of the tester who is supposed to be regulated

Agreed, but is it not also the fault of the instructor for teaching the faulty driving technique (or not eliminating it over the space of a few lessons)?

Why say that one should be held accountable, but not the other?

I will repeat myself - this is driving a car ,- we are not talking about piloting the space shuttle.

Absolutely, drivers of cars kill countless times the people that pilots of space shuttles do. It's far more important to make every effort to reduce the chances of accidents happening.

[pete]

If instructors were properly trained then maybe we would not have so many people failing the tests?

To quote a former work colleague "guy at former office gave me some lessons around the car park, when I went on the road I did not understand why the car was slow going up the hill (i.e. did not know about gears)..."

Lessons should be mandatory & if doing that needed to have trained instructors. Cars kill people!

Doctors are very unlikely to kill people as they are already sick when they see them. Sure look at that guy who the Catch Me is You Can movie was based on - he impersonated a doctor for years.

[Billsthoughts]

If they didnt know about gears they wouldnt pass the test.

[John83]

Doctors are very unlikely to kill people as they are already sick when they see them. Sure look at that guy who the Catch Me is You Can movie was based on - he impersonated a doctor for years.

Truth be told, I think he mainly impersonated an administrator in a hospital. If he'd been actually practicing medicine, he'd have killed people left, right and centre.