Latest news with #SusanGray
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- Automotive
- RTÉ News
Over 2,000 driving test no shows so far in 2025
Road Safety Authority figures, up to the end of April 2025, show that 2,397 people who had applied for and paid €85 to sit their driving test did not show up. With approximately 81,000 people currently waiting for a driving test, the number of no shows puts more pressure on the waiting list. Susan Gray, who is the founder and chairperson of road safety group PARC, has highlighted the number of learner licence holders who are on the waiting list but often do not turn up for their appointed test. "These no shows are depriving other learners of sitting the test when they are anxious to get a date and pass their test and not have to be driving accompanied," she said. This year, the RSA has received just over €203,000 in payments for driving tests for which the applicants did not show up. The figures were presented by the RSA to Fine Gael TD Emer Currie under parliamentary questions. In 2024, 8,863 people did not show up for their driving test. The RSA received €753,355 from driving test applicants who did not turn up last year. Brendan Walsh, Chief Operations Officer with the Road Safety Authority, acknowledged that some of those who do not show up for their tests are holders of multiple learner driving permit licences. "We do have people who are running very high levels of multiple learner permits," he told RTÉ's This Week. Mr Walsh said: "We have a programme that once we get through this backlog [driving test waiting list] we're going to kick it off. "We have the legislation almost finalised with the Department of Transport, so we will be making some changes as to how learner drivers stay on the road with a learner permit. "If you hold a learner permit you should be learning to drive. "Last year, we had 8,863 people who failed to show up. "While that sounds like a big number in the context of 253,000 tests, it's around 3.5%." Ms Gray is particularly critical of people who hold a learner permit and who do not complete their test for a full licence. She said: "A learner driver never has to turn up for the test. "They can renew every year by simply sending the RSA €85, getting a booking date, not turning up and using that letter from the RSA to prove that they actually applied to book a test." Chris Curran, an Ennis-based driving instructor, said that from his experience some learner permit holders make a decision not to turn up for their test. "I believe there are a number of people still in the system that are continually not showing up," he said. Mr Curran said the RSA is "actively trying to work on getting those people to sit their test". "They don't want people driving for years on learner permits," he said. "They need to get through the system, sit their test and either pass it or start working on how they might pass it at some stage," he added. However, he noted that there are sometimes genuine reasons why a person does not show up for a driving test. Mr Curran said: "The key one is nerves on the day. Some people are just too nervous. "Other reasons may be that they have suddenly realised that the 10-day window that the RSA gives each candidate to reschedule their test has been exceeded. "That means they have two choices on the day, turn up or don't turn up. "Some people take the second option and don't turn up." Kirsten Falloon has recently applied for a driving test date and was surprised to find how long her wait will be. "When I applied for my test and realised the length of time that I've got to wait I thought that was abominable," she said. "They said it could be up to 26 weeks or longer," she added. Ms Falloon said she cannot understand why people book a driving test and then fail to turn up. "I think it says more about the system than it does about those that are waiting," she said. "I think it's very broken," she added.
Irish Independent
13-05-2025
- Irish Independent
Six counties have no road fatalities as traffic deaths decline by 12pc this year
The decline came despite Garda Roads Policing Unit (RPU) personnel numbers remaining at near record lows. Sixty people have died on Irish roads so far this year. That contrasts to 68 who lost their lives in traffic tragedies by the same point last year. The deaths this year have included 24 drivers, 15 pedestrians, six passengers, 10 motorcyclists, four pedal cyclists and one pillion passenger. Almost one in three deaths this year have involved motorcyclists or pedal cyclists. Road safety campaigner group Parc conducted an analysis of crashes, which revealed road deaths were spread across 20 counties – three counties more than on March 1. Six counties – Clare, Kildare, Longford, Louth, Monaghan and Wicklow – have not recorded a road death so far this year. A total of 184 people died on Irish roads in 2023, the highest death toll for over a decade. Last year, a total of 174 people died in traffic tragedies. That represented a 4pc decline. Road safety chiefs have ordered studies into the varying nature of fatal crash statistics to better understand the reasons for surges and declines in fatalities. There have also been inexplicable regional variations in fatal collisions. Ireland's most populous county, Dublin, has recorded six road deaths so far this year. However, Galway and Donegal have also both recorded six traffic fatalities each this year despite having only a fraction of Dublin's population and traffic volumes. There have been seven fatalities this year in Mayo. Parc founder Susan Gray said their study revealed that 18 of the 60 people who died on Irish roads so far this year were aged 30 years or younger. She said the cornerstone of road safety was the strict enforcement of safety regulations and proper resourcing of the gardaí. 'There is an undeniable link between Road Policing Unit numbers, enforcement of road safety regulations and the safety of our roads,' she said. She said the priority for the Government should be the provision of maximum resources for the gardaí. Ms Gray said RPUs deserved enormous credit for the work they had achieved with depleted resources. RPU personnel numbers are 40pc down on 2009 levels. 'We desperately need to get the road safety message across and ensure that road safety regulations are rigorously enforced,' she said. 'But this includes all the stakeholders from the Government to state agencies and from prioritising recruitment to the gardaí to closing loopholes in the law and devoting the resources to road safety to reduce the number of fatalities.' August was the deadliest month on Irish roads in 2023, but was one of the safest last year. Ireland had 138 road deaths in 2018 – 29pc below last year's number. Since 2018, road deaths have steadily climbed: 2019 (140), 2020 (146), 2021 (130/Covid lockdowns), 2022 (155) and 2023 (184). Almost half the road deaths over the past 18 months have involved vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, bikers and e-scooter riders. An RSA submission to the Government last year noted that, in the space of five years, deaths among young people aged between 16 and 25 almost doubled. Overall, road users aged 16 to 25 represented the largest proportions of fatalities (26pc) and serious injuries (22pc) over the past year. The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) warned that frontline resources were a major issue for the force as it responded to multiple operational challenges. Gardaí insisted that 150 extra personnel would be deployed to RPU work nationwide by the end of this year. 'Gardaí do not comment on current or future deployment of resources for operational reasons,' a spokesperson said. 'An Garda Síochána (AGS) is committed to its aim to transfer 150 personnel into Roads Policing by the end of 2025. (We) commenced this allocation with the transfer of 23 garda members to RPUs during the second half of 2024. 'Competitions took place in three garda regions and panels are now in place across all four garda regions. Transfers from those panels will take place throughout 2025. Internal garda competitions are conducted by garda HR in accordance with agreements with the Garda Staff Associations,' the spokesperson added. 'Managing deployment of resources in a large national organisation such as AGS with over 560 garda stations throughout the country, and competing priorities such as roads policing, economic crime, drugs and organised crime, cyber crime and maintaining frontline policing is a complex process.' In 2014 there were 192 road deaths when there were 742 assigned RPU members. In 2017 there were 154 deaths when there were 623 assigned RPU members.
