What's the news?
Vehicle owners allowing a learner driver to use their car unaccompanied could soon face a fine of up to €2,000 and a possible prison sentence, in a crack-down on road safety.
Legislation is being prepared to significantly stiffen the penalties for letting learner drivers unsupervised, and the onus will be put on the vehicle owner (in effect the learner driver's parents in most cases) to ensure that the law is being adhered to. Minister for Transport Shane Ross is expected to bring the new penalties forward in a revised Road Traffic Bill due to be presented to the Dáil later this month.
The Cabinet has apparently agreed that the new penalties will extend to all forms of motor vehicles, including farm equipment and commercial vehicles. The move follows some high-profile cases in which fatal accidents involved unsupervised learner drivers.
Speaking to the Irish Examiner, head of the Road Safety Authority, Brian Farrell said: "We absolutely welcome the plans to fine and prosecute the person who supplies the vehicles, but for us the real power in the proposed law here is the extension of section 41 laws, which will allow the Gardaí to seize the vehicle, because it is absolutely vital to have a deterrent. Our own figures show that 25% of crashes where someone died involved a learner driver, despite learner drivers representing 12% of the population, so that underlines the risks involved. This is not about trying to put people off the road, but the reality is learner drivers need to be accompanied while they are being put in charge of a potentially lethal weapon."
Mr Farrell went on to say that he didn't accept that the new laws would unfairly penalise rural drivers and those who might only be taking a car for a 'short hop' saying: "Most crashes happen 5km-10km from a person's home. It's the roads nearest your home, the roads you maybe relax too much on, that are the most dangerous."