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Irish drivers afraid of teens behind the wheel

Thursday, 28 August 2008

Teens behind the wheel are bringing fear and menace to Ireland’s roads, new research reveals.
According to a poll by Autoglass almost nine out of ten (86 per cent) of motorists said that they are frightened of sharing the road with young drivers, rating them as a serious threat to road safety.
Motorists are now calling for a raft of tough new measures for young drivers who break the law including after dark driving bans, driving test re-takes and restrictions on car engine sizes.
According to Road Safety Authority figures, 55 drivers under the age of 25 were killed in 2006 while a further 1,002 were injured on Irish roads. A total of 85 per cent of the fatalities were young men.
Currently, there is no formally agreed syllabus to teach people how to drive – something that more than 91 per cent of Irish drivers surveyed want to change.
In addition to a tougher new approach to driving tuition, Irish motorists are also in favour of a number of measures to reduce the risk of young, inexperienced drivers.
Almost two thirds (60per cent) believe that teens should only be allowed to drive cars with small, less powerful engines, half (47 per cent) say motorists should display a compulsory P plate for 12 months after passing their test, and a further 26 per cent are calling for a ban on night time driving in a bid to cut the death toll.
Nearly three quarters (73 per cent) of Ireland’s motorists also want tougher penalties on young drivers caught speeding. More than half (52 per cent) of those surveyed called for a mandatory re-training programme, 47 per cent said young drivers breaking the law should be forced to re-sit their driving test, and a further four out of 10 (39 per cent) called for an instant ban.
Rolfe Deppe, general manager of Autoglass said: “Our survey provides an interesting snapshot into how motorists perceive teenage drivers. From our poll it is clear that many drivers are afraid of young motorists and want to see restrictions put in place to help them gain valuable driving experience but with lower risk to themselves and others. The fact remains that far too many young people are involved in accidents on our roads.”

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