Brennan to get tough on learner drivers

Transport Minister Seamus Brennan is considering replacing provisional licences with a new 'permit driving' scheme in a bid to halt spiralling road deaths.

The new scheme will mean that learner drivers will be forced to sit their driving test shortly after receiving their 'permit' and will not be allowed to drive unaccompanied.

A spokesman said the minister was committed to removing the current anomalies in the system, which allowed provisional licence holders on their second licence to drive unaccompanied.
In future possessing a driving licence should be considered a "privilege' rather than a "right", the spokesman added.

It is estimated that almost 300,000 drivers on Irish roads, are driving unaccompanied, while holding only a second provisional licence.

The Automobile Association has welcomed the move. Spokesman Conor Faughnan said it would end the "ludicrous situation where a quarter of all drivers on the roads have provisional licences."