Speed limits for young drivers not practical

© Pat Flynn

A Tipperary mart owner fears some proposals around a new driver age would make rural roads more dangerous.

Alison De Vere Hunt of Cashel Mart says while she understands the reasoning around the move which would allow 16-year-olds to drive, the suggestion they should be adapted with speed limiting devices set to a max speed of 45 km is impractical.

She says that on top of that she meets young drivers daily who are awaiting tests which have been held up due to the current backlog.

Speaking to Tipp Today she said they need to get the entire system under control before introducing changes.

“In theory I believe there is advantages to it but statistically younger drivers are more dangerous. Maybe we should go by the Danish model of having a school – a driving school – where they go for a whole weekend and they come out with their licence at the end of it.

“The current model isn’t working – if we bring this in we’re going to have a backlog of 100,000 not 50,000 like we currently have. So I think its ridiculous.”

Alison de Vere Hunt also says young drivers using phones while on the road is a bigger problem than speed.

She says that the Government should be looking at how they police current young drivers who are driving at high speeds in tractors on rural roads before introducing more changes.

Alison also says that many contractors are finding young employees on phones while driving a bigger issue.

“The whole thing needs to be revised. Stop adding in new things – get what’s there right. Maybe those tractors should be fitted with some sort of mechanisms that they can’t use phones. Maybe they could put some kind of speedometers on these because some of them are flying it. Some of those tractors have serious speed and serious power. And for the contractors themselves I know that they are driven mad by young fellows and young ones with phones. It’s an issue with a huge amount of employers, not just people in cars.”