A Clare councillor is calling for heavy fines to be imposed on motorists that purposely do not present for their driving tests.
It comes as new figures released by the Road Safety Authority show there were almost 100 driver test no-shows in Clare last year.
Nationwide, over 6,400 motorists failed to show up for driving tests last year, with 94 such incidents recorded in Clare.
Although this ranks below average when compared to no-show rates in other counties, it still means that people who have been waiting for driving tests miss out on a date they potentially could have used.
At present in Clare, the average wait for a test across this county’s centres is 10 weeks in both Shannon and Kilrush and nine weeks in Ennis.
An East Clare representative believes some motorists responsible for no-shows are taking advantage of a loophole that allows them to retain their provisional licence.
Kilmurry Fianna Fáil Councillor Alan O’Callaghan says heavy fines should be imposed to deter the practice.
A North Clare Councillor meanwhile is in favour of a carrot and stick approach but insists a radical revision to driver safety education is needed in schools.
So far this year, there have been 42 fatalities on Irish roads, which is already a 39% increase from this point of 2023.
Fine Gael’s Joe Garrihy believes the system for reallocating test appointments needs to be improved so that no young person hoping to advance their career is impacted by an unforeseen cancellation.
But the Lisdoonvarna man also says students should be leaving school with a theory test at least in order to improve their overall knowledge of road safety before entering a car.
You can listen to the full interview here:
