Chaos looms as L-drivers face delay of a year and half to do the test
MOTORISTS face delays of up to a year and a half to do their driving test after new road laws come in, the Irish Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The Government is clamping down on illegal provisional drivers but there is a shortage of staff to deal with the backlog. According to internal documents held by the Road Safety Authority, an astonishing 247,000 motorists are driving with provisional licences only, and as it stands they face delays of between 20 and 26 weeks at some test centres.
However, the new rules, known as the Clancy Amendment to road legislation, will mean car owners can be fined or even jailed for giving their car to unaccompanied learner drivers, and the car can be
‘Any delay will lead to increased waiting’
seized. This will lead to a surge in demand for driving tests, and the RSA report says this could trigger a huge spike in applications that could last for between a year and 18 months.
It also expects a rise in the failure rates as many motorists who have been driving on provisional licences for years will attempt the test without taking lessons. According to RSA calculations a high demand after the legislation comes in could see 118,947 people looking for a test while 29,737 would fail and need another one.
That would add up to 148,684 additional tests, which could lead to average waiting times of 68 weeks unless more staff and resources are provided. It said between 41 to 92 new testers would be needed.
‘Any delay in addressing the surge in activity will lead to increasing waiting times for driving test customers, who will be aggrieved that the RSA is unable to deliver them a test appointment promptly to become compliant with the legislation,’ the report warns.
The Transport Department said it is working with the RSA to deal with ‘any surge in and its plans include the appointment of additional driver testers on a phased basis.’ But according to a presentation to RSA chief Moyagh Murdock, 11,000 more people were awaiting tests than expected at the end of March. This was partly due to delayed recruitment.
.The RSA also said it would have to directly hire testers because it would take too long to get an outside contractor to do it. The records also show uncertainty in the RSA as late at last month over when the changes would be made.
One email said: ‘We are still none the wiser as to when the legislation will come into law.’
The RSA said its analysis had forecast the need for ‘significant additional resources’ to deal with any fallout.
‘We have received sanction to recruit additional driver testers when the legislation is enacted, these will be on a contract basis and will be for the period required to manage the increased demand for driving tests,’ it said. The RSA said if demand for driving tests was not as brisk as expected, hiring staff on a phased basis would ensure they were not left with too many testers.