| Turning an Interview into an Article can be useful since | | | | make up by far the greatest types of driving |
| it will be more conversational in style and perhap less | | | | conditions!"2- What do you think is the primary reason |
| formal.It is straight from the hip."I suppose I want to | | | | people fail?"Lack of foundation Lessons and lack of in |
| know a couple of things 1- How do you rate the | | | | depth pre-test tuition and practice. Without a good |
| testing system in Ireland- both for theory and the full | | | | grounding with a professional Instructor (not Mum or |
| test?"The Theory Testing Service is fine up to a point. | | | | Dad or the Boyfriend or next door neighbour) no |
| It's only been in existence for five years and is better | | | | amount of heading off to the beach every weekend |
| than nothing. I guess it does prevent total loonies from | | | | or up and down the Country in the Nissan MICRA will |
| signing up for a Provisional License. It is not quite the | | | | bring a Learner Driver up to Test Standard by wishing |
| same standard as the UK. Version since there are | | | | and hoping!"3-What do you think people should do |
| many more signs in the UK that we don't have here in | | | | after they fail?"Reapply immediately and take the |
| Ireland. Perhaps in future years it will be extended. I | | | | Lessons that they should have done to begin with! |
| don't have any figures for failure rates. A hazard | | | | Then practice the new found skills (which they would |
| awareness test was introduced into the UK recently | | | | already have if they had gone to a professional Driving |
| to form part of the overall Driving Test. This would be | | | | School in the first place)."4- What would you say to |
| a good model for Ireland since hazard awareness is | | | | people who might suggest that Learner Schools want |
| one of the more difficult aspects of driving particularly | | | | people to fail so that they might go to you for more |
| for Learner Drivers. Dealing with, and anticipating | | | | lessons?"No Professional Instructor wants his or her |
| hazards I believe is one of the most fundamental | | | | Pupil to fail. Some pupils of course might think that an |
| aspects of safe Driving. A learner just doesn't have | | | | Instructor could extract more lessons out of them and |
| the on road experience to be more than mediocre in | | | | not be truthful about their real capabilities or chances |
| this skill unless they are taught by a really experienced | | | | of passing. As for me I teach (or try to!) skills for life |
| Instructor!The full Driving Test is no where near the | | | | which are way beyond the level of the Driving test. |
| standard that pertains throughout Europe currently but | | | | Passing The Driving Test is only the beginning of the |
| it has improved a lot in the last four years (mostly due | | | | learning process and enables a Driver to start to |
| to E.U.Directives)For example we don't have an | | | | practice and perfect many diverse skills and |
| emergency stop nor a reverse park into a space | | | | techniques."5- What do you think are the primary |
| between two cars. The introduction of these two | | | | reasons for the fatalities on Irish roads?"No mandatory |
| manoeuvres alone would, at current skills level | | | | Training in force (but it's coming...it has to!)Not enough |
| throughout the Learner Driver community, dramatically | | | | input from Parents at a very early age. Many basic |
| increase the failure rate. The one common | | | | skills and levels of awareness can be taught to young |
| denominator in the failure rate and the level of | | | | children as they are carried as Passengers in a car. |
| accidents is the fact that so many young learner | | | | Children of fifteen and sixteen can be coached in the |
| Drivers seem to be under the impression that owning | | | | Theory Principles and actually sit their theory test |
| and driving a car (often unaccompanied) for a year or | | | | before their 17th Birthday since the Test Certificate is |
| so makes them (a) a skilled Driver and (b) ready to | | | | valid for two years.Not anything like enough emphasis |
| pass the Test! They don't take lessons when starting | | | | on skills for life from many Instructors. Hell we have so |
| off because its Uncool...it's expensive...it's not | | | | called Instructors in Limerick who leave Test Centres |
| mandatory... and "sure all I have to do is to press the | | | | with Pupils in Pupils own cars without L Plates |
| accelerator and the brake pedal occasionally and I'll be | | | | displayed! A Professional Driving School carries sets of |
| fine"! We both know that this laissez-faire attitude is | | | | L plates with them all the time so if they are meeting a |
| what is causing a very high proportion of accidents | | | | pupil in his or her own car for the first time it's the first |
| both fatal and otherwise.There should also be a high | | | | thing they check...then they check the certificates on |
| speed carriageway section on the Driving Test since | | | | the Windscreen and then give a close scrutiny to all of |
| experience here would benefit a Learner Driver | | | | the tyres.Summing up ...not enough tuition of a |
| enormously. As a matter of course I have always | | | | sufficiently high caliber ...not enough experience in poor |
| given high speed tuition as soon as a pupil was ready | | | | weather conditions, which allied with the poor state of |
| (usually about the fifth session...these are two hour | | | | many secondary roads contributes greatly...and |
| sessions now) that's our standard lesson. Also rural | | | | basically a complete lack of understanding of the |
| roads should be included in the Driving Test as these | | | | dangers involved in Driving a Motor Vehicle."That's all |
| are probably the most lethal of the Irish roads network. | | | | that I can think of for now..."Hope this helps... |
| You know... the coming too fast round a bend to | | | | Instructor"Thanks a million"Robin Piggott is a Driving |
| suddenly find ten tons of field spread all over the road | | | | Instructor in Ireland who brings four decades of |
| as a Farmer does his muckspreading or silage or | | | | experience to his Astral Driving School based in |
| whatever. All of this would add up to a much longer | | | | Limerick. His newly refurbed web site launching any |
| Driving Test which would require much more serious | | | | day now will be found at Here you will find a treasure |
| Tuition and greater preparation if the candidate was to | | | | trove of everything for the Learner Driver and also |
| pass. Driving round and round Caherdavin housing | | | | pages for the visitor who is contemplating Touring |
| estates in Limerick or Raheny in Dublin does not | | | | Ireland by Car. Need to pass your Driving Test with |
| prepare a Driver for the real Irish Conditions on | | | | cards stacked in your favour? |
| Motorways, Rural roads and Carriageways which | | | | |