Ten Tips on Choosing Your Irish Driving Instructor.

First of all let’s examine why you would need a Driving Instructor in order to learn how to drive. Sure everyone needs a teacher, advisor or instructor, don’t they, when facing up to a new challenge? Or do they? Which comes first, the Chicken or the Egg?


Would you go out and Order an expensive Steinway Piano, never having played a note?

Would you go to your local swimming pool and jump in the deep end if you had never been in the water before?


Would you ring up your local light Aircraft Company and order a Cessna for next day delivery and ask them to have it tanked up and ready to go?


How about booking a two week scuba Diving holiday in the Aegean when all your experience to date is a deck chair on the beach at Torremolinos?


All of the above scenarios are about as inconceivable as you can possibly imagine; yet thousands of Irish learner Drivers are doing the equivalent every day of the week. Why so? Well it is a combination of the previously lax laws and now that we do actually have some legislation heading us in roughly the right direction, the inability of the Garda to enforce them .Yes we have had a good deal of changes to our system of Driving Tests and Licensing recently but Mandatory tuition has yet to be enacted. When it is introduced, hopefully we will be on the slow uphill climb to some degree of motoring competence instead of the current Motoring mayhem which we currently enjoy.


Let’s now have a look at the type of Instructor you should be looking for.


1. Look through the Golden Pages and try to make a short list of those Driving Schools with a Web Site. You could of course, do a quick search on Google using various search terms. A School with a web site is one who takes their profession seriously and who will provide quite a lot of free, but invaluable information .Do not regard a web site as purely a smart way of attracting more pupils. Look at it as a way of getting some valuable info, together with an inside peek at who the Instructor might be, and how he or she does business.


2. Look for a school with qualified Instructors. Now in Ireland at present, but not for long, anyone can call themselves a qualified Instructor, never having so much as looked at an advanced Driving Course or taken any Examinations. We have The Driving Instructor Register here which has been examining Driving Tutors on a voluntary basis since 1996 .A good number of Driving Instructors have passed these exams and will be able to impart an advanced level of tuition.


3. Don’t just ring up a Driving School and with your first sentence ask what prices are your lessons. You are perfectly entitled to query prices, which will be very much the same from all established Schools. Schools that have not been established for long or who are desperate for business will be sometimes somewhat cheaper. Any one that is substantially less than the bunch should be avoided since this is not a profession that is cheap to run and today you get what you pay for .Cheap lessons are exactly that!


4. Ask the age of the Instructor and how long they have been driving. European Driving School standards require that an Instructor must have been driving on a full licence for at least three if not four years. Frankly, anyone with less than ten years driving experience will not have the necessary skills to be a worthwhile choice in my view .We are talking here about teaching pupils skills for life and not a half-hearted few lessons prior to the Driving Test, which sadly seems to be a favourite choice of a good many Irish learner Drivers.


5. Ask what make and model the Driving School car is. There are many models in use by Driving Schools and of course all Instructors tend to have their own particular favourites. Diesel models are extremely economical for the Instructor who lives in the country and who does a lot of mileage. Diesel models are on the increase due to their improved performance over past years and their economy. They also hold their value well and while a little more expensive to maintain they go on for ever if looked after.


6. Ask the Instructor whether or not country road and high speed carriageway Driving are include in the Teaching Syllabus. These form a large part of your every day driving in Ireland and are very important skills to have right from the start. Ask yourself the question...are you going to be spending the bulk of your driving career, driving around your local area or into town and back; or are you going to be visiting the Coast, going on Holiday to the far reaches of the country or even Dublin. Of course you are; after all isn’t this why you are buying a car in the first place? If you are only concerned with transporting yourself within your local area it’s much cheaper, believe me, to hire a Taxi!


7. Ask your proposed Instructor does she or he give Motorway Tuition. While we don’t have the same level of Motorways here in Ireland, as in the U.K or Europe, we do have stretches between major cities and particularly in the Dublin area and of course over the coming years there will be many more miles of Motorway I am sure. These marvels of Engineering require a higher degree of skill and lots of practise in your car before one can safely negotiate Dublin or abroad. This is why Learner Drivers are not permitted on Motorways. We are lucky here in Limerick, in that we have a new ring road carriageway, spanning about 20 miles which is identical in layout and signage to a Motorway apart from the speed limit and the colour of said signs. Perfect for legal high speed Motorway style practise within five minutes or so drive from most parts of the City.


8. Most Driving Schools will usually book lessons at least a week ahead, so don’t expect to ring up and get a lesson that day or even the next. Occasionally if you are lucky, and the School has a vacant slot they will take you but it’s the exception rather than the rule. If the School can’t take you for a week be patient it will be well worth the wait.


9. A good Driving Instructor will ask you for a fair bit of information on the phone in order to gauge your level of skill. He or she will ask questions that may not seem relevant, when all you, as a pupil want to do is to get behind the wheel. Believe me they will be; they will all be designed to build up your driver profile and should not be construed as being nosy!


10. A Professional Instructor will take with a pinch of salt your efforts at explaining just how well you can drive and how you only need a bit of practise here and there at reversing or hill starts. Don’t be defensive, you are about to learn one of the most important life building and life saving skills. A good Instructor will not venture out in your own car, if you already have one, until he or she has seen your capabilities or you have described in great detail your experience. eg. one years driving and getting ready to sit the Driving Test.



This is the first in a series of “Ten Tips” to better and safer Driving.
About the Author: - Robin Piggott has spent a lifetime behind the wheel and is passionate about his Profession (and many other pursuits as well).The next generation of Drivers needs to develop a passion for excellence if they are to stay safe and arrive alive! Visit the Astral School of Motoring Web site at: -

http://www.astralmotoring.ie

The Irish Driving Scene.An Instructors Perspective.

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.

10 Good Reasons for taking Driving Lessons. A guide for the Irish Learner Driver.

In a driving context, most of the decisions that you take and the techniques that you employ, will have both an economic and a safety impact. The decision to take driving lessons is really a simple one but one that will have far reaching consequences well into the future. Most, if not all, poor or dangerous habits in today’s drivers stem from the lack of professional tuition at the outset. In this second in a series of articles designed to assist today’s learner drivers we will have a look at the benefits in taking Professional Tuition.
1. Taking lessons will greatly improve your chances of staying safe and accident free since providing you retain what you have been taught, you will be probably better than many motorists who have been driving for considerably longer. Lack of sufficient training, or even no training at all which is common in Ireland, will inevitably lead to accidents at a very early stage in the driving career. Accidents are to be avoided at all costs. After all isn’t the safety of the driver, the passengers and other road users the paramount priority?
2. A course of lessons at the start of your driving career and not one month from your Driving Test, will give you the confidence you need to continue the learning process, and will form the foundation for safe motoring.
3. Taking a course of lessons will give you the chance to be accepted by an insurance company for your first Insurance policy. In fact most companies will insist on a minimum number of lessons completed by a recognised school, before a son or daughter will be admitted onto a Parent’s policy.
4. On a very topical note, the Irish Insurer Hibernian, in conjunction with the Institute of Advanced Motorists, has extended its successful Ignition scheme to provisional license holders since January 2005.Learner drivers that pass the one hour driving assessment, will be offered a 21% reduction on their insurance. This is a substantial reduction for any new driver, particularly young males under 25 years of age, and well worth achieving. Just being in the possession of a provisional license will not suffice to pass this test. A course of lessons will be needed in order to achieve the required standard and the test should not be booked until quite a high level of both competence and confidence has been reached.
5. Passing the Department of Transport Driving Test, sooner rather than later, will result in further reductions in already high Insurance costs. Lessons taken just before the Driving Test will not cut it in today’s Test environment; there is just too much to learn if one wants to be successful first time out.
6. The long waiting list for the Irish Driving Test is a great inconvenience for many learner Drivers and also their Driving Instructors. The long wait is accentuated by the huge numbers of learners who do not prepare adequately with a professional school and then are forced to re sit their Test sometimes several times over. Career aspirations can easily be affected if the journey to a full License is overly prolonged.
7. Obtaining a full driving license promptly will speed up the reduction in your insurance premiums via your annual no claims bonus, providing of course you are not involved in any accidents.
8. As a fully licensed Driver you will have much greater opportunity to shop around for a competitive insurance quote, since there are only a very few companies who will insure provisional license holders and then only at a huge premium.
9. As an addition to item number 4 as a fully licensed Driver, you may apply for the more advanced Hibernian Ignition course, providing you are in your first five years of driving .This is a full day course, the cost of which can be recouped, if you pass the practical driving assessment at the end of the day. The reduction in insurance premium for the successful candidate can be upwards of 30%, so again very worthwhile .Drivers in this category should take a refresher course with a driving school to ensure that any bad habits or techniques are eradicated. Once again it is worth pointing out that the length of your driving experience is not a guarantee of success unless you started on the right foot to begin with!
10. If, in the early days of your working life you are unlucky enough to find yourself jobless through either, takeovers, cutbacks or closures, a full Driving License will enable you to pick up an interim job very quickly while you regroup and examine your future options. There is a shortage of drivers to fill current vacancies in Europe, particularly in the commercial sector so there are great opportunities for young qualified drivers who have been well trained.

Both career and promotional opportunities abound for the fully licensed driver in any organisation. Faced with two candidates of similar qualifications, an employer will naturally favour the person with the full license pretty much every time.

The Lead up to the Irish Driving Test.

First of all let us say categorically, that passing the Driving Test is only the beginning of your driving career irrespective of how well you do on the day of the exam. It is going to take the average novice driver maybe three years of constant, regular driving, before he or she can then say “I am now becoming an experienced driver. Please notice the emphasis on the word “becoming”. Arrival on the Experienced Driver Podium will take much longer. I guess it really depends on the amount of driving one undertakes on a daily, weekly basis, the level of night-time driving, and also the traffic conditions during daily sorties will dictate how long this learning experience will take. To paraphrase Robert Oppenheimer, the inventor of the Atomic bomb….. “I am become a destroyer of worlds” This could be applied to many learner drivers who pass their Driving Test and then proceed to total their cars and those of other drivers in the weeks and months following the Test.
Passing the Driving Test is a combination of basic driving skills, positive attitude, detailed preparation, attention to detail, practise in the general area where Tests are undertaken and plenty of in-depth Instruction by a Driving School. The need for professional instruction cannot be underestimated and the insider information imparted to the pupil by the Instructor will give a Test candidate the best possible chance of a positive result. Many of these aspects are ignored by Test candidates and we will explore in greater detail what will be required throughout the remainder of the text. There are numerous details to be attended to during this preparation and if the candidate takes these on board with a positive focus, a good result with ensue.

We will have a look at the aspects of the car that need to be checked:-

Tyres……… Tyres need to be in good condition with well above legal limit tread depth and with no cuts, splits or bulges to the sidewall. The tyres with the best treads should always be on the front axle and this is something that should be regarded as an essential part of your weekly technical check. Tyre pressures should be according to the tyre specification since incorrectly inflated tyres are not only unsafe but will wear out very quickly and give an uncomfortable ride.

Lights and Indicators……All brake lights and indicators should be functioning correctly and lenses must be damage –free and clean. Its really important to carry a couple of spare bulbs in your emergency kit for last minute replacement since they can blow at any time and a failed brake light or indicator will mean that the Test will not be carried out.

Loose Items ……..All loose items in the car (and who doesn’t have them?) should be removed but rear head rests, if fitted, must be retained despite their obstruction of the rear windscreen. The fad for having dangly spiders, furry dice and nodding dogs on the rear parcel shelf is not the way to create an impression with the Driving Examiner and block vision .In fact I always cringe when I see these in cars, particularly those that are obviously driven by learner drivers. It is also a particularly dangerous sport to be driving as a learner Driver and not displaying L Plates .I am always amazed at pupils who turn up for pre test lessons in their own cars with no L plates .The number of excuses would fill the chapter of a book. It’s a sad reflection that basic driving laws are flouted continually by learner Drivers but even worse is the all too common sight of Learner Drivers under tuition with so called Instructors who actually drive out of Test Centres with no L Plates showing. It shows a disregard for the Law and the need for superb driving skills and the need for concentration. Of course mobile phones should be switched off and out of sight.

Windscreens and mirrors…..These should be crack-free and clean.

Service …….Its a good idea to have the Car serviced prior to your test and any technical problems that you have been putting off getting fixed should be dealt with .If an Instrument warning light comes on during a Test due to mechanical problems then the Test will be aborted by the Examiner.

Paperwork……..Insurance disc, Road Tax disc and N.C.T. certificate, if appropriate need to be in place and readable. If any of these are faded and unreadable the Test will be cancelled .Change of ownership of vehicles close to the Driving Test appointment, leading to lack of documentation for whatever reason, will lead to the Test being cancelled by the Tester. Nothing other than the original .official documents will be accepted so it’s important not to leave anything to chance.

Provisional License………..A current Irish provisional license is required in order to sit the Irish Driving Test, Foreign licenses from countries outside the EU will not be accepted .It is also worth pointing out that in order to be issued with a Provisional Licence one must first pass the Driver Theory Test. All these aspects take time to complete and so it’s not something that you can accomplish in a couple of days and require thought and planning .Details of the provisional licence and theory test requirements can be found on the Astral Driving School web site; details at the end of this article .
Perhaps all of this might seem just another load of bureaucracy but it indicates the importance and the level of concern that is placed on the acquisition of an Irish Driving Licence by the Authorities. European legislation continues to fuel the changes to driving laws and there are a considerable amount of new laws in the can which are about to be rolled out. We are talking about Speed cameras Nationwide, the full implementation of the penalty points system, a dedicated Garda Traffic Corps, and mandatory tuition in line with most other European Countries. The regulation, examination and monitoring of Driving Instructors is another aspect currently about to be introduced and all of the above is destined to make a coordinated improvement to our horrific road Traffic accident statistics.

The Driver…. There are occasions when, when on the days leading up to the Driving Test disaster strikes… a change of car, a mechanical problem which cannot be resolved in time, or even an accident on the way to the Test. This latter happened to a pupil of mine recently, who, while trying to circumvent the long Driving Test waiting list by driving half way across the country to a strange Town, had a contretemps with a rather large truck. The moral here for Irish drivers is that it is not a good idea to attempt a Driving Test, miles away from your home location. It requires a good deal of practise and familiarisation of the area and test routes close to your chosen centre to give you a good chance of passing first time.
What we are not saying is that practise on Test Routes will guarantee success nor are we saying that by practising on Test Routes till the cows come home will take the place of good basic skills and professional Driving lessons .It is just one of the ways that a keen learner driver can tip the balance in his or her favour. Another important tip is to reconnoitre the general area in the few days before the Test and again on the day of the Test if that’s possible to check for major road or building works which could create a difficult situation that may not be handled to the Examiner’s satisfaction.
In Limerick as in many parts of the Country there are significant building, drainage and other projects going on continually, resulting in much road network disruption. In fact I have often felt that Limerick was the most dug-up City in the Universe. I am sure it’s all necessary and we will all benefit in the long run. It is not uncommon for a really excellent pupil who has all the hallmarks of becoming a courteous and skilful driver and who is deserving of Driving Test success to fall foul of such situations during the Test and pick up a grade three disqualification. Stray dogs, stray Pedestrians (of whom there are many) and particularly very young children playing in quiet side streets all present very real and demanding hazards during the Test.
All of the above hazards can be planned for and an in-depth preparation for the Driving Test covering all the points mentioned will go a long way to achieving success.
We are going to end this article as we began by stating that passing the Driving Test is only the beginning of a career on the road and that it would be a good idea to contemplate taking some additional Night-time and Motorway lessons before embarking on any long journeys or adventures. There is an ever increasing army of novice Drivers coming onto the roads here in Ireland and this will continue to grow in line with the population increase we are currently experiencing .All new immigrants should regard it as a top priority to take professional Driving lessons and certainly not leave this until a couple of weeks before the Test appointment.



© Astral School of Motoring.2005

The Lead up to the Irish Driving Test.

First of all let us say categorically, that passing the Driving Test is only the beginning of your driving career irrespective of how well you do on the day of the exam. It is going to take the average novice driver maybe three years of constant, regular driving, before he or she can then say “I am now becoming an experienced driver. Please notice the emphasis on the word “becoming”. Arrival on the Experienced Driver Podium will take much longer. I guess it really depends on the amount of driving one undertakes on a daily, weekly basis, the level of night-time driving, and also the traffic conditions during daily sorties will dictate how long this learning experience will take. To paraphrase Robert Oppenheimer, the inventor of the Atomic bomb….. “I am become a destroyer of worlds” This could be applied to many learner drivers who pass their Driving Test and then proceed to total their cars and those of other drivers in the weeks and months following the Test.
Passing the Driving Test is a combination of basic driving skills, positive attitude, detailed preparation, attention to detail, practise in the general area where Tests are undertaken and plenty of in-depth Instruction by a Driving School. The need for professional instruction cannot be underestimated and the insider information imparted to the pupil by the Instructor will give a Test candidate the best possible chance of a positive result. Many of these aspects are ignored by Test candidates and we will explore in greater detail what will be required throughout the remainder of the text. There are numerous details to be attended to during this preparation and if the candidate takes these on board with a positive focus, a good result with ensue.

We will have a look at the aspects of the car that need to be checked:-

Tyres……… Tyres need to be in good condition with well above legal limit tread depth and with no cuts, splits or bulges to the sidewall. The tyres with the best treads should always be on the front axle and this is something that should be regarded as an essential part of your weekly technical check. Tyre pressures should be according to the tyre specification since incorrectly inflated tyres are not only unsafe but will wear out very quickly and give an uncomfortable ride.

Lights and Indicators……All brake lights and indicators should be functioning correctly and lenses must be damage –free and clean. Its really important to carry a couple of spare bulbs in your emergency kit for last minute replacement since they can blow at any time and a failed brake light or indicator will mean that the Test will not be carried out.

Loose Items ……..All loose items in the car (and who doesn’t have them?) should be removed but rear head rests, if fitted, must be retained despite their obstruction of the rear windscreen. The fad for having dangly spiders, furry dice and nodding dogs on the rear parcel shelf is not the way to create an impression with the Driving Examiner and block vision .In fact I always cringe when I see these in cars, particularly those that are obviously driven by learner drivers. It is also a particularly dangerous sport to be driving as a learner Driver and not displaying L Plates .I am always amazed at pupils who turn up for pre test lessons in their own cars with no L plates .The number of excuses would fill the chapter of a book. It’s a sad reflection that basic driving laws are flouted continually by learner Drivers but even worse is the all too common sight of Learner Drivers under tuition with so called Instructors who actually drive out of Test Centres with no L Plates showing. It shows a disregard for the Law and the need for superb driving skills and the need for concentration. Of course mobile phones should be switched off and out of sight.

Windscreens and mirrors…..These should be crack-free and clean.

Service …….Its a good idea to have the Car serviced prior to your test and any technical problems that you have been putting off getting fixed should be dealt with .If an Instrument warning light comes on during a Test due to mechanical problems then the Test will be aborted by the Examiner.

Paperwork……..Insurance disc, Road Tax disc and N.C.T. certificate, if appropriate need to be in place and readable. If any of these are faded and unreadable the Test will be cancelled .Change of ownership of vehicles close to the Driving Test appointment, leading to lack of documentation for whatever reason, will lead to the Test being cancelled by the Tester. Nothing other than the original .official documents will be accepted so it’s important not to leave anything to chance.

Provisional License………..A current Irish provisional license is required in order to sit the Irish Driving Test, Foreign licenses from countries outside the EU will not be accepted .It is also worth pointing out that in order to be issued with a Provisional Licence one must first pass the Driver Theory Test. All these aspects take time to complete and so it’s not something that you can accomplish in a couple of days and require thought and planning .Details of the provisional licence and theory test requirements can be found on the Astral Driving School web site; details at the end of this article .
Perhaps all of this might seem just another load of bureaucracy but it indicates the importance and the level of concern that is placed on the acquisition of an Irish Driving Licence by the Authorities. European legislation continues to fuel the changes to driving laws and there are a considerable amount of new laws in the can which are about to be rolled out. We are talking about Speed cameras Nationwide, the full implementation of the penalty points system, a dedicated Garda Traffic Corps, and mandatory tuition in line with most other European Countries. The regulation, examination and monitoring of Driving Instructors is another aspect currently about to be introduced and all of the above is destined to make a coordinated improvement to our horrific road Traffic accident statistics.

The Driver…. There are occasions when, when on the days leading up to the Driving Test disaster strikes… a change of car, a mechanical problem which cannot be resolved in time, or even an accident on the way to the Test. This latter happened to a pupil of mine recently, who, while trying to circumvent the long Driving Test waiting list by driving half way across the country to a strange Town, had a contretemps with a rather large truck. The moral here for Irish drivers is that it is not a good idea to attempt a Driving Test, miles away from your home location. It requires a good deal of practise and familiarisation of the area and test routes close to your chosen centre to give you a good chance of passing first time.
What we are not saying is that practise on Test Routes will guarantee success nor are we saying that by practising on Test Routes till the cows come home will take the place of good basic skills and professional Driving lessons .It is just one of the ways that a keen learner driver can tip the balance in his or her favour. Another important tip is to reconnoitre the general area in the few days before the Test and again on the day of the Test if that’s possible to check for major road or building works which could create a difficult situation that may not be handled to the Examiner’s satisfaction.
In Limerick as in many parts of the Country there are significant building, drainage and other projects going on continually, resulting in much road network disruption. In fact I have often felt that Limerick was the most dug-up City in the Universe. I am sure it’s all necessary and we will all benefit in the long run. It is not uncommon for a really excellent pupil who has all the hallmarks of becoming a courteous and skilful driver and who is deserving of Driving Test success to fall foul of such situations during the Test and pick up a grade three disqualification. Stray dogs, stray Pedestrians (of whom there are many) and particularly very young children playing in quiet side streets all present very real and demanding hazards during the Test.
All of the above hazards can be planned for and an in-depth preparation for the Driving Test covering all the points mentioned will go a long way to achieving success.
We are going to end this article as we began by stating that passing the Driving Test is only the beginning of a career on the road and that it would be a good idea to contemplate taking some additional Night-time and Motorway lessons before embarking on any long journeys or adventures. There is an ever increasing army of novice Drivers coming onto the roads here in Ireland and this will continue to grow in line with the population increase we are currently experiencing .All new immigrants should regard it as a top priority to take professional Driving lessons and certainly not leave this until a couple of weeks before the Test appointment.



© Astral School of Motoring.2005

First Steps for the Irish Learner Driver.

The main priority for today’s Learner Driver should not be passing the Driving Test but embracing the philosophy of skills for life initially.

Surely passing the Driving Test is the main objective? Not So!

Your main objective should be to acquire the necessary skills that will keep you, your passengers and all other road users safe. This makes sense, but is not taken on board by a very large proportion of Irish learner Drivers, with the result that we have an appalling accident record here which impacts on the whole community.


The first and arguably most important step for the new driver is to enrol with a professional Driving School who will set the foundation for both basic and advanced skills and ensure that safety is a priority. The lack of basic skills throughout the motoring population is very widespread and stems from several inherent flaws which are only now beginning to be addressed by the Government.


Thankfully our membership of the European Club is forcing the various agencies that are involved in the whole motoring scene to take action and implement the various Directives on a structured time scale.


The Irish Driving Test only began in 1966 more than thirty years after the UK introduced that most feared of life events!
Most of the recent EU changes have usually taken effect here three or four years after the UK. These would comprise the Driver Theory Test, revised Test Marking Sheet, Provisional License revisions, and Mechanical Checks on the Practical Driving Test.


Aspects still to be rolled out will be Mandatory Tuition for Motorcycles and Cars and the long awaited Examination and Registration of Driving Instructors. One of the reasons for our poor standards on the roads, particularly within the young driver community is that Driving Instructor standards are not subject to scrutiny. It is quite commonplace to see Instructors giving tuition in a pupils car with no L plates displayed. This shows a complete disregard for the basic rule of Law and by extension the calibre of instruction has to be mediocre at best.


What can you expect on your first lesson with a Professional Instructor? Will you be taken into a city centre? Will you be taken on a high speed carriageway? Will you be driving off down the road in just five minutes? Absolutely not!


What will happen is a concentrated session covering many diverse subjects relating to both the workings of the car and all its equipment and a look at the current Driving Scene into which the new Driver is entering for the first time. An investigation of all the basic mechanics that are the responsibility of the Driver, and which now form part of the Driving Test, will take place, and a brief discussion on the current requirements of the Driving Test.


Once this is accomplished, the basic Cockpit Drill will be looked at along with all instrumentation and secondary controls. Following on from this section, a brief discussion on the use of the Gearbox will take place and then on to the most mystical of Car equipment …the Clutch. (That is of course assuming that we are driving a car with a manual Gearbox, with its accompanying Stick Shift.)


It surprises most beginners that it is the Clutch that moves the car and not the Gas pedal. In fact, since you are going to be on a level stretch of road for the first tentative steps, it is interesting to demonstrate that the Car does indeed move with the foot no where near the Gas Pedal.
This is the point at which we are learning the first real Driving Skill; that of understanding the Term “Biting Point” and how to recognise it.
In the very early stages, a complete mastery of being able to bring the Clutch to” Biting Point” and hold it steady is the key to Driving away smoothly in every different situation. No amount of gas pedal usage will move the car unless the clutch is at Biting Point first. Once the car begins to move, and is building up a little momentum, then the clutch can be fully released gently and the Gas pedal then comes into play.


Next follows a brief demonstration of the clutch control technique by the Instructor followed by the Pupil.
The sequence of moving off safely comes next, followed by the Real Thing, but of course it’s no use getting going if you then don’t know how to stop safely which will also be demonstrated. You are now on the move practising starting and stopping and the adrenalin is finally pumping after all the Theory!


Guess What? You will be doing the whole procedure in Reverse within a few minutes. Yes that’s right…Reversing! Reversing is such an integral part of every day driving that it’s something that can’t be left till later. If it is put off, then chances are that fear of failure will begin to creep in and that is not the object of Driving Lessons.


So there you have, in graphic (almost) detail, the first steps on your Driving Career. If you are going to progress steadily then you should be prepared to do plenty of homework in between your Lessons, with a pad and pen as well as reading the Notes which your Instructor will have given you!


There is plenty more where this came from, so take time to look at all the resources available and you should be well on the way to the basic apprentice stage after three or four weeks. The Driving Test is not a consideration at this stage and will only be addressed when you have a suitable level of skill built up over several months.