A school in Co. Mayo has banned students without a full driving licence from bringing cars onto the school grounds. It makes sense when you consider that few, or more likely none, would be on their 2nd provisional licence - for a learner permit to drive a car in Ireland you have to be 17 - the age of the majority of senior cycle pupils. As stupid as the law may be, only learner drivers on their 2nd provisional, are permitted to drive unaccompanied. For 1st, 3rd and subsequent licenses you must be accompanied by a fully-licensed driver at all times.
Therefore, leaving aside the health and safety aspect, the school has a good nimby case in that students driving to school unaccompanied are breaking the law. The regulation was proposed by the Parents’ Association and was welcomed by Co. Mayo’s Road Safety Officer.
Yet the decision, as reported by the Irish Independent, “has been blasted by parents who claim the rule is ‘old fashioned’ in an age when both parents are usually working and the waiting time for full licences is in the region of 28 to 30 weeks”.
Oh, so I get it now: Mick and Mary Murphy can’t take Mick Junior to school because they are too busy. He can’t ride his bike or walk in case he gets wet - this is Mayo after all and it rains a lot. Or maybe it’s just too far - this is Mayo after all and it’s rural. Or is it? Claremorris is quite a big town and most students would hail from there. Perhaps there is no bus service. You see, I just don’t know, but in their eyes, the Murphy’s have some valid excuse to let Mick Junior break the law.
I’m puzzled as to how young Pat Murphy gets to school. Does he get driven by his big brother? Maybe Mick Junior won’t take him and he walks or cycles - he’s young and the rain and distance don’t bother him. They didn’t bother Mick Junior at that age either. And there’s always the bus if it rains or he’s running late. No, there can’t be a bus or they’d both be using it instead of breaking the law.
And anyway, cry the Murphys, he wouldn’t have to break the law if the waiting time for driving tests were shorter. 28 to 30 weeks is scandalous. If our Mick got his test in the morning he’d pass with flying colours.
Now I’m getting a better handle on this: It’s the government’s fault for your son being forced to break the law. Well fret no longer - the Road Safety Authority have announced a number of privately run test centres for the country to reduce the backlog. Mick Junior won’t have to wait longer than 10 weeks, he’ll pass his test, get a full license and be a law abiding, proficient and safe driver.
Minister Noel Dempsey assures us of this: Road safety is a top priority for this Government. Today’s announcement by the RSA of this significant cut in waiting times for driving tests is very welcome news … I want to see safer drivers on safer roads and fewer tragic road collisions.
Now can Mr. Dempsey, the Murphys or anyone, please, please, please explain to me, in the name of the lord lanterning jayzez, the horse he rode in on, the mother of the six sniffling infants and any other minor deities you wish to call upon, how the fuck does reducing the waiting times make Mick Junior a safer driver and reduce tragic road collisions? Passing an outmoded test doesn’t mean Mick Junior won’t abide by the rules of the road and the law. Enforcement ensures that. That’s why we have the Gardaí. But as they seemingly can’t do that job, I say kudos to St Colman’s College, Claremorris, Co Mayo for enforcing at least one law.
ps. Posting has been sporadic of late - I’ve been moonlighting over at ShiteDrivers.com. Except for the wankers, in the absence of a totally clear commenting policy as yet, posting comments as if it was a kiddies’ message board, it’s an interesting site. Check it out.
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Crikey! - it was luxury in my day if you had a bicycle.
When my bro got his first provisional at 18, he needed to get the car to go to his summer job (we lived about 3 miles outside the town). My dad went into the local Garda station to clarify whether someone could drive unaccompanied on a first provisional. The gardai laughed at him, saying they had better things to be doing and to “let the lad off shur he’ll be grand”. My father, who is normally law-abiding to a fault, let him take the car. It’s absolutely endemic in country areas, and people see nothing wrong with it. Even the forces of law don’t care. Last year they decided to pass the buck to the insurance companies, warning people that if they had an accident they would not be covered by insurance if they broke the terms of the insurance (ie 1st, 3rd and subsequent provisional drivers being accompanied), but that they had no intention of prosecuting anyone caught driving unsupervised. Small comfort to the innocent second-party in any accident but there you go…
We were always told, a good drop of rain would do us no harm and might make us grow!
If youngsters never face any hardship in their young days, how are they to learn about handling it when they are adults?
And I agree that the driving test is absolutely outmoded. I was a terrible driver when I did the test and I passed with flying colours. I also did the motorbike test which is a total joke - the instructor follows in his car as you do a few left-hand circuits and a few right-hand ones. A u-turn is the only manoeuvre required to test your handling of the bike. Total formality…
Conorín - You lucky git! You had a bike. We had to walk to school through the snow in our bare feet after milking 40 cows by hand … or something like that.
Caro - That’s just it - the Gardaí are too busy or don’t care and the powers that be condone the buck-passing. Remember the introduction of penalty points? The database would be made available to insurance companies so they could load the premia of offenders. A financial incentive to drive safely. The buck was passed. Then what happened to that buck? The insurance companies began to offer zero loading for up to 2, or in some cases, 4 points. Back to square one.
Grannmar - They don’t expect to face hardship when they are adults. Neither do their parents expect them to.
The fewer teens on the road the better.
Make them walk or cycle.
Medbh - The fewer bad drivers on the roads the better. That fewer will result from a better training programme for learners, a more practical test and better enforcement by our Gardaí, not by reducing waiting lists.
It’s all down to Testosterone! No amount of training or shock tactics will make a significant difference in the accident statistics among young male drivers. I finished my schooling in Mayo (Crossmolina to be specific) and was lucky enough to have access to my Mum’s Fiat Mirafiori to bring to school on occassion. If I recall correctly I was one of 3 leaving certs who brought the car to school and in the summer following the Leaving Cert we all wrote off our cars - in my case a head on collision which shortened the Mirafiori by 2 feet! (Thankfully without serious injury). The only thing that might make some impact would be better enforcement of the rules of the road and summary confiscation of cars of consistent offenders. Another factor today which was not so prevalent in my long departed youth is the prevelance of drugs in addition to alcohol which have made for reckless bravado / suicidal behaviour including overtaking on corners and playing chicken etc.
In some schools in America don’t they teach kids how to drive, that wouldn’t be such a bad idea, instead of one of the many useless subjects they do they could go off for driving lessons. It may cost the state moncho ching at the beginning but look at the millions they’d save by reducing the carnage on our roads.
Jesus, I was twenty-two before I saved up enough for my first car AND insurance, and what a piece of shite that was. I also drive like a lunatic, too fast, too hard, too everything badly and proceeded to drive like a twat until I got old enough to realise I could A) kill someone, and B) kill myself. This knowledge took about four to five years to sink in. Now I’m a super safe driver with a powerful car. Thank fuck I couldn’t afford that car back then.
Young people think they are invincible, that’s the real problem.
Stephen - You were lucky. And learned the hard way. (I’d say the rollocking from your mother was worse than the crash, once you both got over the shock). On enforcement: It is virtually non-existent.
Nonny - I know some schools here teach road safety during transition year. But not all schools have such a gap-year, not all that do teach the course and the kids are too young to legally sit behind a wheel anyway.
FMC - That will always be a problem. We can’t change human nature. At least you were 22 and had some maturity. Today, so many 17 and 18 year olds have cars.
Primal - You obviously know my mother!
After the crash when I got home I handed her the car stereo which I had removed from the car and told her that this was all that was left of her car! The rest of that night is a bit of a blur 
And yes I was lucky and did thankfully live to learn the lesson.