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The
Irish Driving Scene.An Instructors Perspective. |
by:
Robin
Piggott |
The
Irish Driving Scene.An Instructors Perspective
The Driving Environment
Today's motoring environment is very different
to that of thirty or even fifteen years
ago for a number of key reasons and we will
examine these to get an idea of the kind
of skills needed to survive in today's world
and stay accident free.
For the first time in over one hundred and
fifty years our population has exceeded
4 million and continues to increase steadily.
Demographics
The age of our population is quite unique
and according to the 2002 census there are
approximately 640,200 people in the 15 -
24 age bracket who are in, or approaching,
the age at which they will want to drive.
Lets be clear on this point .every person
in today's Ireland will aspire to drive
and own a car in this prosperity environment,
for career, family and social reasons .In
the past until you had the potential to
be able to own a car it was quite common
not to bother to learn to drive. Those that
needed to get to work from a distance tended
to rely on neighbours and friends or relatives
to be the ever present chauffeur. It's very
common today for an exodus from the city
limits out to the open country to live,
with huge numbers of houses, sorry mansions;
being constructed at seemingly breakneck
speed. The draw of the country air and the
sweet sounds of birds in the morning seems
to be an irresistible magnet for the city
dweller. A car or three is taken for granted.
Of course , we are a nation of keen gardeners
now and the regular trip to the garden centre
could not be undertaken by public transport
because it doesn't exist in most rural areas.
All of this means that we have a far greater
number of cars and drivers on the road than
thirty years ago and at different times
of day due to many variations in working
hours. So there is hardly a time when you
are unlikely to meet another vehicle. Six
am during the working week can be just as
dangerous as five thirty rush hour.
Learner Drivers
Current numbers of learner Drivers are estimated
at 350,000 and this continues to be swelled
by the increase in our immigrant population,
both expatriates and non-nationals setting
up home here for the first time. The waiting
list for a Driving Test has reached an all
time high due mainly to these demographics,
but also to the relatively small number
of Driving Examiners
. This situation is being addressed at the
moment with the probability of an outside
agency being drafted in to undertake a further
40,000 Driving Tests over the course of
a year .While it is unfortunate that all
drivers have to wait such a long time in
order to sit their Test it is an opportunity
for them to learn some very essential skills
and to prepare well for the Test.
It is very common for candidates to leave
their lessons to the last moment which very
often produces a negative result. Worse
still, is the mistaken belief that the longer
one is driving the greater chance of passing
the Driving Test. Without professional lessons
the chances of passing the Test are pretty
remote; but more crucial will be the lack
of basic skills leading to accidents which
can and should be preventable .Passing the
Driving Test, while certainly a milestone
in a person's driving career, is only the
beginning of a life -long process not the
end.
Professional Tuition
Safe Driving for Life can be achieved, with
the correct mind set and the knowledge that
good basic driving skills are the foundation
for the learning process and need to be
provided by Professional Instructors and
not relatives or friends. Practise with
Mum or Dad is very useful but only in conjunction
with proper Tuition. Being able to move
a car down the road and perhaps change a
gear or two and even steer out of trouble
is not the level of skill needed to stay
alive and is about as far from the required
Driving Test standard as we are from the
Moon.(about 250,000 miles, sorry 400,000Km
at the last count).I am not suggesting that
we need to drive a quarter of a million
miles
New Technology
The development of technology over the last
number of years has had a big impact on
the driving environment both positive and
negative. Better roads and road markings
make the driving experience much more pleasurable
especially on major thoroughfares; however
despite the millions of Euro spent on the
main road infrastructure, Irish country
roads will probably remain as they have
always been, difficult and full of danger
for the novice or Tourist Driver.
Legislation, most of which has emanated
from Europe, has contributed to better maintained
cars, that are more Eco-friendly and more
easy to drive. Having said that, a car will
quite easily go off and do its own thing
if the driver has not got the ability to
control it under all kinds of weather and
road conditions.
Cars are much better insulated than years
ago so the impression of speed is nothing
like what it was thirty or forty years ago
when you really knew you were travelling
at 70mph.Wind noise and vibration kept you
alert and aware! Even small family cars
today have the ability to travel at 100mph
(or 156kph) without too much coaxing .Back
then a much larger capacity engine of say
1500 cc had a top speed of around 75mph
(120kph).This ease of speed gives new and
novice drivers the opportunity to far exceed
their capabilities without realising it
.
Employment
In today's Ireland we have virtually full
employment and many sectors are suffering
from a lack of skilled employees, the commercial
driving sector being one of many. More jobs
and the need to get to those jobs on time
has created a society that is flush with
prosperity and awash with an ever increasing
number of new cars on the road. The opportunities
now being created for younger people with
full Driving Licenses are many. Indeed most
occupations now require you to have a full
driving license and it certainly looks good
on a C.V. especially if you are in the younger
age bracket. So get to it all you young
ones and don't leave it till later on in
your career.. Do it now!
Accidents
Most of these new cars on the road are being
piloted by Learner Drivers, a good proportion
of whom, do not take driving lessons professionally.
Unlike most of the rest of our European
Neighbours, we do not yet have mandatory
tuition for learner drivers, although it
is being proposed. Therefore we have a situation
whereby learner drivers can buy a car and
just head off into the wide blue yonder
without the necessary skills to control
what is essentially a lethal weapon. Our
Accident statistics bear out this point
and it would be of great benefit to the
whole community to see a reduction in these
horrific figures
Recent E.U. Directives have extended the
scope of the Driving Test and not before
time. There has to be at least a basic knowledge
of instruments and equipment before you
can pass the Driving Test today but there
are still many areas of driving expertise
that do not come within the remit of the
Irish Driving Test. An emergency stop; country
road driving; high speed carriageway experience
and a greater emphasis on hazard perception
would go a long way to improving standards
on today's roads by being incorporated into
the Driving Test.
About the Author
Robin Piggott is the owner of Astral School
of Motoring which is based in Limerick,
Ireland.He has thirty five years of Driving
Experience,and including teaching in-house.
http://www.astralmotoring.ie>
http://astralmotoring.blogspot.com
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