Limerick councillor calls for reboot of driving test programme to aid road safety
DURING a special meeting of the Limerick City and County Council, Councillor Kevin Sheahan addressed the issues surrounding road safety and suggested an overhaul of the driving test programme.
The Fine Fáil councillor stressed the severity of the situation, stating: “The announcement that there's a reduction in the number of gardaí actually out enforcing the law on the roads is a very serious issue.”
At the meeting on November 2, he raised concerns about the driving test programme, questioning the logic of individuals obtaining a driving license in their late teens or early twenties without undergoing further testing throughout their lives.
He explained: “As people gain mileage in their lives and become older, they cannot be expected to be as efficient as they were at 20 years of age.
“Their brain wouldn't be as sharp anyway,” he added.
In an effort to address this perceived gap in road safety measures, the councillor proposed a system where individuals involved in accidents must undergo a driving test within a specified timeframe.
“I think certainly after accidents, there should be a driving test,” he stated.
“Instead of fining them €50 or €100 after an accident, it would be far better to say to them, you have two months to get a driving licence passed,” he added.
He drew attention to the lack of roads policing units on Limerick roads and proposed the recruitment of retired gardaí, allowing them to retrain for duties outside of active investigation, to alleviate pressures on the traffic corps.
“Why don't they do what some of the states in America do?” he asked. “Retired policemen are brought in under a different set of regulations and rules, and they certainly don't have the same powers,” Cllr Sheahan said.