Gardai are Seizing Eight Cars A Day Driven by Unaccompanied Learner Drivers
Reports reveal that the Gardaí are seizing on average about eight cars a day which are being driven by unaccompanied learner drivers.
The legislation which came into force just recently gives the guards the powers to impound cars being driven by unaccompanied learner drivers
Any unaccompanied learner drivers whose vehicles have been seized can also face court fines of up to €1,000 and release fees of €125 for the first day, and €35 for every additional day after that.
According to the latest statistics, from December 22nd until February 10th, in just 50 days, Gardaí have seized 377 vehicles driven by unaccompanied learner drivers.
It would seem then that Gardaí are clamping down on unaccompanied drivers and anyone who disregards the law are running the risk of big consequences by having their car impounded and huge fines.
The legislation requires that learner drivers be accompanied by a qualified driver who has held a driving licence for at least two years.
It was already an offence (up to four penalty points and a fine of €120) for learner drivers to go unaccompanied by a qualified driver but now added to the fines, they will impound the car.
The new laws came into force in December and now under the Clancy Amendment, Gardaí will impound the vehicles of learner drivers caught breaking the law. The amendment is named after mother and daughter Geraldine and Louise Clancy who were killed on December 22nd, 2015, when an unaccompanied learner driver lost control of her car.
Noel Clancy, the father of Louise and husband of Geraldine, campaigned to have the law changed and has even appeared on a new road-safety campaign aimed at drawing attention to the potential dangers posed by unaccompanied learner drivers because of their lack of experience.
If you think there is a way around these new laws, think again. If the owner of the car, a parent say; makes the defence that the car was taken without permission by the unaccompanied driver, the gardaí can bring the additional prosecution for vehicle theft against the learner.
One of the first cars seized under the Clancy amendment was a car stopped on the M8 southbound, near Fermoy. The driver had been detected speeding, and it was discovered he was an unaccompanied learner driver. A spokesman for the Road Safety Authority said that the level of vehicle seizures was “disappointing”
The Kerry TD Michael Healy Rae has come to the defence of young learner drivers and has described the numbers of seizures as “a disgrace”. Michael Healy Rae said young people were being criminalised because of the new rules and were not driving just to flout the law. He said:
“politicians inside in the Dáil who voted to ban this told me privately that this is how they learned to drive themselves, it is the ultimate disgrace”.
There may be some overlap in the figures presented as there have been seizures due to offences apart from the Clancy amendment. For example, in one such case, a young unaccompanied learner was stopped in south Dublin but the individual had no licence, tax or insurance and he told gardaí that he had bought the car for just €90.
In another incident, a motorist was stopped because of a faulty rear light and in the process it was found that they were an unaccompanied learner driver who had taken off the car’s L-plates.
In another case, an unaccompanied learner driver failed a roadside breath test and was over the limit.
Another unaccompanied learner driver was caught in Co Kildare travelling at 115km/hr in a 50km/hr zone.
So, although the figures seem dramatic, there are instances where being an unaccompanied driver was not the reason for the apprehension by the Gardaí. There is though, a growing concern that young drivers are being victimised in some way?
So what do you think? Should the laws on learner drivers be amended again and laxed? There can be no doubt about it, despite the usual criminal behaviour by just a few individuals, the vast majority of young drivers do their best to abide by the law.
Author
Justin Kavanagh
Justin Kavanagh is a recognised leader
in automotive intelligence and vehicle
data supply to the entire motor industry.
He has almost 20 years experience in
building systems from the ground up.
As the Managing Director of Vehicle
Management System, he understands the
need and importance of trustworthy and
reliable vehicle history and advice to
both the trade and the public.
Follow me on LinkedIn