Brendan’s L Plate Challenge shines a light on aggressive behaviour of some motorists towards learners

A LOCAL driving instructor has called on motorists to take on the ‘L Plate Challenge’ to see how differently they are treated on the road. Brendan Tierney has created the challenge in response to aggressive behaviour he has seen not only towards learner drivers, but also to cars belonging to driving instructors.

Speaking to the Sligo Weekender, Brendan said:“This all goes back to when I became an instructor 12 years ago.

“It really opened my eyes to the aggression and impatience of some people.

“Anyone can conk a car at a junction and a learner might be more likely to do it, but you would like to think an L plate would give pause for thought rather than beeping the horn and flashing the light because that won't make them go any faster.”

After initially gauging some feedback from motorists online, Brendan said some of the responses were “disturbing” as a minority of people admitted that they lack patience with learner drivers.

“I put the question out on TikTok about it initially and some of the responses were disturbing. “You had people saying they turn on their full lights, tailgating to the point of nearly forcing you off the road and so on.

“It isn't the end of the world either to give a quick beep to someone sitting at a green light, but we are dealing with long, aggressive beeping towards learners. I conk the car sometimes at a junction and I am an instructor.

“It can happen to anyone. When you see the L plate, it should warrant a little bit of consideration.”

Brendan was also keen to highlight that this is not being portrayed as a Sligo issue, but a national one as learner drivers face the same behaviour from a minority of road users in every part of the country.

“This problem is out there. It's obvious. I know some driving schools have taken signs off the roof of their cars because it is like a red rag to a bull.

Brendan said he would welcome encourage road users to try driving with an L plate for a few days in what would perhaps serve as a mu ch needed reminder to what it can be like to be a learner driver being put under needless pressure by inpatient motorists.

“I would challenge anyone to stick an L plate on the car and see how they are treated out on the road because of that one plate. You can find L plates in loads of shops.

“Give it a go, put yourself in the shoes of a learner driver for a couple of days and you might be surprised how differently you'll be treated.”

RIGHT: Driving instructor Brendan Tierney who has launched the L Plate Challenge.