South Meath Driving School

You may have seen my piece on the proposed graduated driving licence (GDL) where, for the younger drivers, supervision will be a must, zero alcohol levels, one passenger only, night curfew, two driving tests, accelerated penalty points etc etc. Does all that go far enough?
The greatest criticism I find with the current system here and even that of the GDL is that a 17 year old can acquire a Learner Permit and drive on the public road. ‘L’ Plate or no ‘L’ plate, being accompanied or not, such driver makes all the big decisions when the emergency arises ( or is created) The accompanying person has no physical control of speed, position on road, slowing or stopping. The horrific crash in the USA recently in which the Irish father and mother were killed in a single vehicle collision is a case in point: press reports state their teenage daughter was driving. Only in a dual controlled vehicle has the supervisor control: yes, verbal guidance can be given by the parent and he sees to it that his teenage son is sober, drug free and he’s not plugged in to an MP3 Player; but when his three friends become his ‘supervision’ the scene changes dramatically – spoiler fitted, turbocharged engine, alloy wheels and the Ford 150 SVT Lighting, is ready to create new records. In some European countries, a driver must pass a driving test before going on the public road (except with a driving instructor.)
While compulsory driving lessons are mooted here, at present it’s irrelevant. A Road Safety Authority official stated to me recently that the standard of driving in the actual test has deteriorated because drivers are, apparently, taking fewer driving lessons and hoping to pass, instead of undergoing a proper course. Some money saved, definitely maybe or might it be throwing good money after bad? The standard of the test in Ireland is very high, its foolhardy to take the shortcut. Expensive it is, but what price a life?
A candidate who fails the test can drive home and drive on until the next test. There’s no input or report from the test centre as to the dangers of such person continuing to drive ; Gaybo is very silent on the aspect particularly.

Where an instructor spends 5, 10 or maybe more hours with a learner, s/he is in an excellent position to give an assessment of that student. In a driving test situation, the better performance isn’t always forthcoming, therefore, in many instances it wont be a true reflection of the quality of that driver. A tester observes them for a half hour. Why not then adopt a new report form detailing the strengths and weaknesses of a learner as seen by the instructor and presented to the test supervisor or the RSA.
Also, the instructor should accompany the candidate during the test.

At present a driving test involves a daytime drive through a town, maybe the outskirts of the town and partly through a housing estate. If traffic is heavy, it’s like winning a slow bicycle race.

Where does the test address the following situations?

I am not looking to make a driving test more difficult for anyone, rather to improve efficiency, alertness to danger, greater ability to deal with emergencies, ultimately preventing crashes and saving lives. So, I don’t see the test (Class B) matching the challenge that our roads present. Every change costs a little more but no change can be more costly.

Driver, how observant are you? How many of the plethora of road signs that peer out at us as we make our way, hurriedly, do we note and react to, responsibly? Case in point: a lady was driving to work in her car when she struck the drivers door of another car as it passed through a rural crossroads in front of her, killing that driver. The said lady was hardly injured. She had failed to stop at the STOP sign: she hadn’t even seen the sign, though it was there in red and white. Worse still, she realised that for the previous twenty years she had been driving through that same crossroads twice each day without stopping; and she was a professional lady, alert, smart and responsible otherwise.
There’s a vast number of signs staring at us as we drive along, so many that we saunter on without taking much notice or, worse, no notice of them at all. What signs, then, have we to contend with?
Official signs are divided into three categories, namely, Regulatory, Warning, and Informative. Regulatory are those upright signs which mostly have a white background with red border, like the Yield sign. Others have a blue background with white symbols like those showing the tram and bus lane. There’s signs for parking, speedlimits, pedestrians, taxis, buses, even lowflying aircraft, animals etc There’s another similar lot of orange coloured ones for roadworks. Road markings, being on the flat, are more difficult to observe, like the stop lines, arrows indicating traffic flow, box junctions continuous white lines etc., all having legal status and must be obeyed. ‘Hatched’ areas, ( nothing to do with hens laying out,) are diagonal lines at merging roads, approach to crossroads etc and one must not enter there. Information signs guide us to a particular destination or show what services are available. The colour of these signs vary with the type of road.
Motorway signs have a blue background with white lettering, speed limit being 120km.
Primary (aka as National) roads have green background with white letters, speed limit 100km.
Regional roads have white background with black lettering and speed limit is 80km.
And what of the unofficial signs that emblazon the byeways? Over the last few weeks we’ve seen them on every P and T pole, gate post, Alder tree and Church gate – ELECTION POSTERS. Organisers attempt to outsize the other candidate with larger than large photographs of their candidate, sometimes three of the same on one pole: impressionist artists, they are. And they’re like the Madonna in the way they might look at you, after that they’re not like the Madonna. Sometimes, though, they add colour to a rainy day. How legal is it to hang up those posters?
Under the Litter Pollution Act, election posters can be put up on or after the Polling Day Order or for a period not exceeding 30 days, whichever is the less and they must be removed within 7 days of election day. They can’t be placed where they might be a hazard to traffic. A driver may feel entertained or distracted by those signs plus the many others like ‘Eggs for Sale, Car for Sale, Hot Dung for Sale etc.’
The Father of the Dail, himself, Oliver J Flanagan, former TD and Minister, didn’t pollute the countryside with election posters, rather he used his bicycle to canvass using just two posters, one on the front of the bike that said ‘Here comes Oliver J’ and on the back ‘There goes Flanagan.’ He served in the Dail for nearly 50 years. He was a conservative sort of fellow who would be a great assistant to McQuaid and DeValera in compiling The Public Dancehalls Act or Liquor Licensing Acts relating to Holy Hours and Good Fridays, especially; wasn’t it he who said there was no sex in Ireland till Gay got up his Late Late Show?
If you haven’t been heeding those road signs, do take a closer look, their presence and significance may surprise you: they may keep a plaster of Paris at bay or prolong a good life.
If road signs and election posters were grouped, wouldn’t they be together in the ‘Warning Sign’ category rather than the ‘Informative’ or ‘Regulatory?!’
‘Reflect on your present blessings of which every man has many, not on past misfortunes, of which all men have some.’ Charles Dickens.