DRIVE CHAOS

Increasing backlog is set to leave thousands without transport

MORE than 9,500 drivers a month are being added to the backlog of 20,000 who have had their driving test suspended because of the coronavirus.

And it is feared the delay will create a widening gulf between cities and rural Ireland, where tens of thousands of people will be left without cars

Fianna Fáil’s transport spokesman Marc MacSharry has raised concern over the issue and suggested driving instructors could sit in the back seat wearing a face mask as a way of overcoming the mounting driving driving licence crisis.

His view was echoed by Conor Faughnan of AA Roadwatch, who said that supermarket-style perspex glass could be placed between the tester and the driver, or video technology could be used by the tester to assess the driver remotely.

However, Anthony O’Connor, who runs Blanchardstown School of Motoring, believes many driving instructors won’t go back to work until a Covid-19 vaccine has been created.

‘It’s not possible to keep a safe distance from a learner while you’re teaching them to drive,” he said.

‘Even if their permits are extended, it won’t be safe having so many learners behind the wheel and not getting their tests.

‘I don’t think this industry will ever be the same again. A lot of people’s livelihoods will be lost as a result of this pandemic which is a huge worry to us all.

‘I can’t see many feeling confident about going back to work until a vaccine is introduced.”

There are over 233,000 learner permits in Ireland – with their expiry date extended by just four months because of the pandemic.

Mr MacSharry was relying on Central Statistics Office data showing that about 114,000 drivers a year were taking the drivers test before the pandemic – with an average of 9,533 per month being added to the waiting list.

He, and a chorus of independent

TDs, have called for a much longer extension of driving permit expiry dates.

‘It is also crucial that the Minister extend any expiring learner permits until such a time that driving tests can be taken. Under current arrangements all driving licences or learner permits that are expiring between March 1 to June 30 have been extended by four months. This four-month extension has to be broadened if testing does not resume,’ he said.

Mr MacSharry said that testers could be faced with more than a year of a wait for a test once it gets back up and running and described the current 20,000 backlog as a ‘conservative estimate’ based on the Department’s figures.

‘Clearly public transport is a luxury that rural Ireland doesn’t enjoy compared to urban dwellers...

Obviously there will be a greater impact on rural and regional Ireland where public transport options are sometimes non-existent,’ he said.

Independent TD, Danny Healy Rae, said that he has been inundated with drivers worried about losing their permit and complaining that they could soon be off the road unless they can take their test.

‘The driving instructor sits beside the person taking their test, so it could be 12 months before tests restart,’ he said.

Mr Healy Rae sent further than Mr MacSharry, calling for a temporary amnesty for people on driving permits so that gardaí will not stop them, even if their permits round out.

‘I’m not talking about the amnesties from years ago, when the person never had to do their test. I’m talking about suspending the permit system until people are able to take their test,’ he said.

Mr Healy Rae has vowed to take it up with transport minister, Shane Ross.

‘I asked questions about driving licences last week and I didn’t get a response. Now I want to go back up to the Dail and ask the minister for an amnesty,’ he said.

Conor Faughnan, Director of Consumer Affairs at AA Roadwatch,

‘Industry won’t be the same again’ ‘Suspend the system until tests are taken’

said the only viable solution is the extension in the validity of the provisional license until the driving test – which, he said, could be allowed with social distancing restrictions in place.

‘We have seen some creative solutions mentioned that will need to be looked at if social distancing is here with us for the long term... but we need to wait and see before we go spending millions on a whole new testing system,’ he said.

‘We saw in some cases in recent years that there were delays of more than a year for testing in some locations, in recent times they were able to get more of a handle on it and bring those times significantly.

‘Things like working on Saturdays and Sundays with incentivised overtime,’ he said.

A spokesperosn for the Department of Transport said: ‘The period of validity of learner permits will continue to considered in the light of: the anticipated timeline to resume the National Driving License Service; the anticipated timeline for resumption of driver testing; and, of course, road safety.

‘Remember, road safety is also a public health issue – with 50 fatal collisions on Irish roads this year already, and many more life changing injuries, keeping drivers and other road users safe on the roads must be foremost on our minds.’