compulsory basic training on the way...

a_ominous

According to Irish Times today, compulsory basic training will be in place before year end. minimum 10 hours training will be required from a recognized instructor. Not your da or uncle. For the first time there will be a Driver Testing Standards Authority. This will hopefully improve driving standards and reduce the year long waiting times for driving tests.

daggeredge

will this apply to current provisional drivers also?

a_ominous

Doesn't say anything about it in the article and any of the trainers / assessors I've spoken to haven't said anything about it either. But that was 6 months ago.
I don't think getting current provisional licence holders to either prove they've taken lessons or book some lessons is actually a bad thing. 10 hours of lessons about 250 yoyos.
Hibernian load provisional licence holders by 35%, so by my calculations if you pay more than 714 for insurance, the lessons will be paid for by reduction in insurance and you should be a better rider. Not a bad thing, methinks.

silverside

if they shortened the waiting list, they could require you to take a test within a short period of getting a provisional, like is done in the UK. Instead they add yet more rules and regulations without enforcing the current rules on accompaniment of learners.

seamus

Originally posted by daggeredge
will this apply to current provisional drivers also?

Unlikely. It's probably a complete change of the licensing structure, so that you need this training before getting a licence.

To apply it to all current provisional holders, they'd have to make it a mandatory prerequisite before taking your test. Which would completely eliminate the point of compulsory basic training.

Victor

Originally posted by seamus
To apply it to all current provisional holders, they'd have to make it a mandatory prerequisite before taking your test. Which would completely eliminate the point of compulsory basic training.

Not necessarily. There is no harm is someone with a provisional licence getting the training, if nothing else it might undo so of the bad habits learned.

seamus

Originally posted by Victor
Not necessarily. There is no harm is someone with a provisional licence getting the training, if nothing else it might undo so of the bad habits learned.

Of course, my point being that if they just gave you a licence and didn't check until the day of the test whether you'd done the lessons, then there'd still be hundreds of thousands of newbies out there driving around with no training.

They could of course, introduce the check at both points (getting licence & getting test) for a few years

jackofalltrades

Hibernian load provisional licence holders by 35%

Considering that the average waiting time for your test now is about a year, I think Hibernian should offer their equivalent of the Driving Test for Motorbilkes and offer people who pass it the same reduction as those who pass the offical test.

Otherwise its just another excuse for them to add extra loadings to already high premiums.

I think compulsary basic training is a good thing.
I've already had 4 hours of training on my motorbike and am considering taking more. The training I recieved has definetly made me a safer rider.