Just days away to the Introduction of the next round of Penalty Points it's worth looking at the rationale behind this system. When you are starting your Driving career it is unlikely that you will instinctively know when you are doing wrong or indeed breaking the Law. If you have not taken Driving Lessons with a Professional School then you are going to be considerably at risk of flaunting some of the very basic rules of the road and in considerable danger most of the time.

It's a fact that young drivers both male and female are much more likely to be involved in serious accidents due to the lack of training. Training highlights the need to be very committed to a high standard of driving skills right from the off; and we are not talking about passing a Driving Test here we are talking about staying alive in the very hectic driving environment that we have today in Ireland.

Unfortunately, and it's a natural human failing, that so much emphasis is placed on the Driving Test and very little on Driving Skills for Life, most untutored Learner Drivers are going to find out the hard way .The hard road is also likely to be extremely expensive as well and in many scenarios it will be forever life changing!

We live in a fast moving world especially when behind the wheel of a lethal projectile and if we don't have enough sense to learn some valuable lessons early on, and then the Law of the Land takes over and levies some rather harsh penalties. Forcing someone to obey the Driving Laws is a last resort but absolutely necessary.

There is so much backed up and talked about Legislative change that you could script a full length Spielberg epic with it. It is of epic proportions and will continue to be a talking point in all the media channels until we stop killing each other off in truckloads every year.

If we would take some ideas on board that are already in Law in many of our neighbouring European Countries things would improve over time. Right now the accident rates are increasing steadily due to a lack of will on behalf of the Legislators to bring laws into force and to police them adequately!

Here is an example from the U.K. If a newly qualified Driver in his or her first two years after passing the Driving Test, picks up six penalty points then the Driving License is immediately revoked and the person has to go through the whole process of learning to drive all over again!. Yes that is a provisional license, followed by a Driving Test and the fee to transfer the provisional license to a full license after passing the Test a second time!

Makes sense...and hopefully encourages new drivers to behave themselves and drive sensibly and within the law at all times. Driving Test first time Pass rates have been continuing to fall in the U.K. as more stringent parameters are applied. Here in Ireland we are not concerned with Driving Standards seemingly; the only thing that worries Learner Drivers and others, who like publicity on a current bandwagon, is the waiting list to get a Test appointment! If beginner drivers took lessons with a Professional School then the waiting lists would be much reduced as the tsunami of ill-equipped and unready for the Test, Candidates wouldn't be clogging up the waiting rooms!

Let's see what happens after April 1st 2006 and the following months and we will then get a better idea of what will be additionally needed to improve out Road Accident statistics here in Ireland.

Robin Piggott

Robin Piggott has spent a lifetime behind the wheel and is now attempting to educate a new generation of Drivers into a skills level that is, of neccessity, higher than was acceptable thirty or forty years ago. He has a serious streak to his personality especially when in the Instructors seat but is also very much at home listening to and playing the Blues.