South Meath Driving School

The Road Safety Authority reports that Ireland’s efforts to improve road safety have been acknowledged once again at European level. The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) has recently published a report comparing EU Member States’ progress in reducing deaths and injury among pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists over the past decade.

Wednesday, May the 11^th marked the launch of UN ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety.’

At least 15,300 pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists were killed in the EU in 2009 and, unbelievably, since 2001 that figure reached a total of 169,000.

Research highlights Ireland’s success in achieving a significant reduction in vulnerable road user deaths. In the period ’01 to ’10, recorded deaths of pedal cyclists and motorcyclists have dropped 75% and 66% respectively. Last year fatalities among motorcyclists fell by 32% compared to the previous year. In the last decade pedestrian deaths fell by 54%.

According to the ETSC, progress in reducing pedestrian deaths in Ireland and the Czech Republic and, to a lesser extent, France and Britain, has been helped by a reduction of mean speed on urban roads.

The report states, ‘In Ireland, drivers have slowed down markedly in cities. But, the mean speed is still 54kph with 53% of vehicles exceeding the limit. In residential areas, the mean speed is now 35kph with only 4% of vehicles exceeding 50kph, suggesting that there is scope to follow many other European cities by reducing the speed limit to 30kph.’

In relation to motorcycle safety, the report says that Ireland and some other European countries achieved better average reductions in both the numbers killed and seriously injured motorcyclists since 2001.

However, a RSA  officer states that caution must continue to be exercised bearing in mind that so far this year seven motorcyclists have been killed, nearly doubling up on the same period last year. A motorcyclist, like the pedal cyclist or pedestrian, is that much more vulnerable than occupants of a car. Therefore, the proper personal protection equipment should be worn – head to toe. While initial basic training for novice bikers was introduced in December, there are many who have not received any training and this is the chance to change that: experience is not a guardian angel in itself. Too many motorcyclists want to put on a display of driving, whether through noisy exhausts or just plain speed. It’s seldom that a biker will stay behind a car that is keeping the speed limit; then, if there are a few of those chaps driving in unison, each appears to be putting on a performance to outdo his friend in a circus act, like lifting the front wheel. That’s fine on the right stage, but it sends out a very poor message to other road users, especially youngsters.

The RSA are also appealing to pedestrians who have had a night out on the town to keep off the public road, organise a lift, whether with a friend or by taxi in advance. A person in an inebriated state who walks out of a public house exacerbates his or her condition on clashing with the fresh air, then with a ‘One and a One’ as the Dubliner calls it, from the takeaway, sleepiness sets in and the width of the road suddenly becomes more important than the length of it. Dark clothes or a lack of visibility often spells the death knell for such pedestrian who may even fall asleep on the roadway, not giving some unfortunate driver a half chance of seeing them. People complain that taxis are, too often, not available at weekends especially around pub closing time. Yet, it’s usually the same people who find themselves in the same situation time and time again, whether through thoughtlessness or just lack of a little planning.

If the ‘Holy Hour’ was one time between 2pm and 4pm, then the unholiest hours must be from 12mn to 3.00am for that is when most incidents and accidents occur – without any great surprise. It should be avoided.

After school hours is another time of creeping danger. When droves of teenagers head for a bus stop the footpath reverts to a very narrow line. The chat chat is intense, mobile phones are busy and the banter is electric; as far as most of them are concerned the motorcar might as well never have been invented as a body is shoved outwards or the group just occupy half a traffic lane. Students, you are mere pedestrians and vulnerable. Spare a thought for the dangers lurking.

Motorists, keep a look out for those more vulnerable travellers, the biker, the cycler and the pedestrian especially at those unearthly times. An ambulance may be in greater need somewhere else – keep it there.

When a vehicle was involved in a collision, it used be termed a traffic accident. Of late that was modified to ‘a crash.’ The Road Traffic Act refers to it as ‘an occurrence.’ Call it what you may, no one wants to be involved in it. Incorrect! That’s not always the case, to which I will allude, post.

There are certain obligations on any driver who becomes involved in a crash. Primarily, stop the vehicle and keep it at the scene. Switch off the engine in case of fire. Give appropriate information to the other party if there is no Garda present. That amounts to name and address, Insurance Company details and car registration, make owner and driver. Otherwise report the occurrence at the nearest Garda Station within a reasonable length of time. Call the emergency services at 999 or 112, if necessary.

Items which every motorist should carry include advance warning sign (the reflective triangle,) high visibility jacket, a torch and first aid kit. Use hazard warning lights and take photographs of scene. Upgraded mobile phones have a camera facility. If you, the driver, do not know how to use it, ring some five year old child and they will instruct you.

Don’t imperil yourself at an accident scene, especially at night; warn oncoming traffic and get other motorists to assist. Any accident can be traumatic for driver or passenger and the less said in the immediate aftermath, the better. In a state of shock, say little and say it well.

What then if another driver deliberately collides with your vehicle? This can happen in many ways, the more common being where you – an innocent motorist – are driving behind a vehicle which suddenly, and without any apparent reason, brakes severely and gets ‘rear-ended’ by you. There will be a few willing passengers accompanying such driver, all of whom get hauled off to hospital by ambulance, collars carefully fixed around their necks. It isn’t medical treatment that’s foremost in their minds, but they must go through the motions until the time is ripe to visit a solicitor.

Then there’s the instance where you, an unsuspecting driver, have stopped your car along the road or kerb. As you sit there, a car overtakes you, pulls in, in front of you and slams back – in reverse – into your car. This driver then claims that you ran into their car and is accompanied by a few passengers who shout in agreement.

Such instances of fraudulent claims were very common in the 1980s. Only after repeated claims by select individuals and thorough investigations into their character and background, plus an adjustment in the legislation, whereby it became a criminal offence to pursue a false claim, did such claims become few in the modern era. A prime example was the claim brought by three youths against Supermacs restaurant in Galway for negligence when one of them slipped on the toilet floor because it was wet. The case was before the Circuit Court when the owner, Pat McDonagh, informed his own lawyer that he had video evidence of the youths spilling water from the wash basin in the toilet onto the floor and then one of them tumbles and gets carted off to hospital. The lawyer advised him to just withdraw the case and not mention the video evidence. The brave McDonagh refused to do this, and instead withdrew his lawyer’s services. The claimant was informed and he withdrew his claim. When the case was called, McDonagh gave evidence of the facts and he wondered, in a subsequent Late Late Show presentation with Pat Kenny who the biggest fraudster was. It highlighted the prime value of CCTV in such premises and left would- be fraudsters in a ‘planning’ dilemma for the future: ‘might Big Brother be watching my preparations?’

What then of the unfortunate motorist who falls victim to such a scammer? Ensure that the Gardai investigate and make it known immediately the fact that it is a set up. I’ve heard of such instance recently and that the Garda who visited the scene suggested that the matter be left to the insurance companies to sort out. I doubt if that is true in the light of the allegation by the victim. There is another recourse, such as the Garda Ombudsman or the local Superintendent should a victim encounter such a stance by the investigating Garda. It might be difficult to know who to believe, but a scratch of the surface should unearth more of the truth quickly.

In the unlikely instance of you becoming a victim to such circumstances, don’t move your vehicle, note details of the other persons vehicle and what they allege; take photographs, call the Gardai, phone a friend or, should you have learned to drive with your’s truly, here, give me a ring and I’d be only too willing to assist.

It just might be true, what they say – accidents don’t happen, they are made, sometimes.

The present Essential Driver Training (EDT) programme goes some way in meeting the demands of a learner preparing for life in the driving lane. However, with a mere twelve compulsory lessons, it falls far short of the Australian or Continental standard, which, in the main, imposes thirty or more such lessons plus ongoing  practice sessions. It was a missed opportunity by our Transport  Department to bring us up to a level that now appears beyond the horizon should the current adopted system remain in place for the long term. We are told it is subject to review in a year or two – why should there be such need so soon after implementation and the years of research used before implementation? The answer lies in its basic groundwork. Its concept lacks substance. The fatal accident statistics remain damning in that the category age of 17 to 25 for young men shows no sign of abating.

It was upon those aforementioned countries and others that the Road Safety Authority based its interpretation of the current adopted standard, the Theory Test, NCT, Graduated driving Licence, practice and the driving test. For now, we play with the hand which we are dealt and await further change.

Opportunity for the student  plays a large part in this EDT programme. That means access to a car, having insurance under the Road Traffic Act and the availability of a sponsor, like a parent or friend, for plenty of practice thus allowing the learner to gain the essential hours of experience in all the aspects of good driving –  better observational skills, consideration for other road users, appreciating a high standard of safety, exercising self control and the dangers associated with risk taking and aggressive driving.

Having acquired those skills and experience, together with a study of the Rules of the Road, the time comes for getting to the driving test as it now stands and won’t change much in the near future. With notice of the test comes a sheet titled ‘Final Checks for your Driving Test.’ There’s two full pages of suggestions for preparation and they should be analysed carefully, especially with regard to Learner Permit, the vehicle and discs displayed on the windscreen. There’s a cursive check done on the vehicle by the tester for roadworthiness, maintenance levels and compliance with the law. This includes brake lights, indicators, ‘L’ plates, amber lenses being amber and not a faded white etc. With all of those in order, the engine is started up by the student with a view to getting on the road – but not just yet. Should a ‘systems warning light’ appear on the panel, the test is cancelled. Just like that. This warning light can be simple or serious, from windscreen washer being too low to alternator failure. As far as the tester is concerned it’s black and white: the test is cancelled without argument. Harsh words. There’s no comeback for the poor student, except through a renewed application and pay for same again.

While the technicality of such a mechanical problem is acceptable, what of a brake light or indicator bulb blowing during the half hour warm up practice before the test. There’s no opportunity allowed for repairs. A whole day has been taken off work for the test and even the experience of it, win lose or draw, is also lost. A brand new car can suffer such technical failure as a blown bulb. So, isn’t it cruel treatment in the light of all the preparation? The applicant is blameless in such instance, yet the same result stands. I will put this proposition to the RSA and see what is their response. Pit such instance against that of a tester falling ill; the applicant is merely told the test is cancelled and will be given a new date in due course – yes, go home, with the good news that you haven’t failed or lost your application fee, but you must get another day off work when notification arrives again. Meanwhile, there’s more preparation in the form of fine tuning with a driving instructor and the small headache that goes with the day itself.

Of course there’s other areas of this test which fall far short of the finished article. Now you must know about motorway driving, getting on and off the motorway, dealing with the woefully different speed aspects, correct lane positioning, tolls etc. But, it’s all a bit like the advertisement for Harp lager some years ago with Sally O’Brien and the way she might look at you and how that thirsty man would love to quench his thirst ‘if he had a pint of Harp.’ A learner is not allowed drive on the motorway even while under instruction with a driving instructor. Then, a few hours later, that 17 year old passes his test and is permitted to negotiate the spider’s web that is the motorway, alone.

On our regional roads and narrow country roads where most fatal crashes occur, there is no test. How many can change a wheel or drive in adverse weather conditions? Those challenges remain excluded from our revamped test. No matter, there will be another review down the road or is it just a further kicking of the can?

Then there’s the Test Report Form – next,  I’ll look at aspects of the marking system and some of its technicalities.

It may seem a simple manoeuvre, turning right at traffic lights, but, only a small minority of drivers do it correctly. The first driver in line, call him ‘A,’ is stopped at a red light which then changes to amber and green, (this is a round green as distinct from a filter, or green arrow.) The line of traffic coming against ‘A’ has right of way as they have the same round green light. ‘A’ should move to the centre of the junction and wait until there is a break in traffic, approximately opposite the centre of the road into which he intends to enter. Sometimes there will be no break in the line of oncoming traffic, so the traffic light changes to amber and red. What then is the correct move for ‘A’ to make?

Simply go; turn right and away. This is one instance when it is legal to drive through a red light because ‘A’ is deemed to be in charge of the junction at that stage. The problem that arises here are twofold. Observing drivers in those situations, ‘A’ more often than not will incorrectly wait back at the Stop Line when the light turns green, thus losing an opportunity to progress if the light changes to red before he gets away. The second error is made by one or more drivers who are stopped behind ‘A.’ When the latter moves to the centre of the junction and yields to oncoming traffic, those behind also move forward so that if the light turns red, they are all deemed to be breaking a red light and most likely obstructing the traffic on their right and left which has commenced to take off having got the green light.

Good driving is not about passing a driving test alone, but this is one area that can so easily go wrong in a test. A little bit of panic sets in, there may be a yellow box or there may not; the manoeuvre is the same, regardless of the yellow box. One of the better drivers I came across in some years was preparing for his test. He was driving so well that I told him quit taking lessons and we’d renew our acquaintance at test time. It’s a little risky declaring such good news to such individual, though I felt obliged. In the pre-test run, he had a clear round, in my estimation. Off he went with the tester in his 5-Series BMW. On his return he delivered the news to me that he had just one ‘X.’ I wasn’t surprised, yet I thought he’d have none. Then he revealed the impossible. It was a grade 3 or, red one  – he had just failed.

He made the cardinal error of following the first driver into the yellow box to turn right. He said that he knew instantly, when he stopped behind the first driver, that he had faltered. Quite a hard lesson learned. In fairness to him, he had a clean sheet at the second attempt.

It’s the little things in life that matter and even though my learner driver could acquit himself with the best, his concentration lapsed. But, no one died, neither was there an injury. Then again, isn’t that all that is required in any little crash or big crash – just a memory lapse.

Only nine people died on our roads during the month of April. That is a record low and the aim of all is to get the annual figure under 200: that’s a long way from the figure closer to 700 in 1978. Then look at the week-end tragedies where two 17 year olds were killed together in their car in the small hours of the morning. Without casting aspersions in the least, haven’t parents such a vital role to play in safeguarding their children, especially when it comes to driving. There’s a lot to be said for the curfew on young fellows especially, whereby they cannot drive between certain hours, like 10pm to 6am, as is the legislation in Canada and Australia. It was mooted here when the RSA were preparing new rules; there were many objectors and reasons not to include. Then, there are so many whereby it should be in force.

Drivers, spare a thought for our hedgehogs, slow down if one is observed crossing the road. I saw three killed on the Newtown Road over this long weekend. This is a 50kph road and it should be simple enough to avoid this beautiful little animal. I had one hibernating in a compost heap in my garden over the last few winters and pray it is not that met such a terrible fate. The humble hedgehog gets rid of garden pests in an ecological manner. Mind him, he’s your friend, whether you’re turning right or left.

Sara phoned me for driving lessons about two years ago. She was aged about 18 and a beginner. She completed five one-hour lessons and she told me that she would be in touch when she got in some practice and that she was in College.

Then, recently, Sara contacted me to tell me her Driving Test was due in a few weeks, so, she required some fine tuning. It was immediately obvious that the practice she had done, meanwhile, had brought her up to a high standard. She was now driving her own car.

The final chapter of preparation commenced –

Rules and checks; position vehicle correctly and in good time; comply with traffic controls; turnabout competently.

The Driving Test Report Form displays the list from A to Z. There’s some 99 competencies outlined in which a candidate must perform to a satisfactory degree. While I emphasise to all who come my way that the learning process is not just for the purpose of passing any particular examination, rather that it’s about achieving a high standard of driving and safety. Parallel to all that is the desire to just PASS! I could assess before her test that Sara should pass with room to spare. So she did, albeit with a few Grade 2 marks.

She was very happy with the outcome and so was I. She set off to drive to Trim and I accompanied her. I talked to her about complacency that can set in when one passes the test and how research shows that about 10% of those who have passed are involved in a crash within one year. We also talked about driving on a motorway, the rules and dangers involved. Sara was driving safely and confidently within the 80kph and all was well.

She passed Bective junction and on towards the new GAA grounds at Dunganny. For about two hundred metres distance at the entrance to this facility, there’s a clearly marked hatched area (in the centre of the road) with a centre lane to turn in to the right. There were two vehicles in front of us. Then a car that was following behind us indicated right and powered through the complete hatched area. Luckily, there was no traffic approaching, because that overtaking driver was quickly running out of space and would have difficulty getting back into the left lane. Sara raised an eyebrow and said nothing. Almost immediately, another car overtook us in a similar manner straight through that prohibited area. But, this driver hadn’t the same luck as the first. A car approached from Trim quickly curtailing this lunatic driver’s space but the latter continued on and squeezed in, in front of a car that was being overtaken, almost making contact with the right wing and forcing this other driver to pull back and make space. The car driver approaching from Trim also slowed, thus avoiding a head-on smash.

Just last week I was driving between Mullingar and Longford and observed a replica of the above scene in a hatched area.

A hatched area has continuous white lines of demarcation into which a driver should not enter. Some reckless drivers see it as a fleeting opportunity to overtake other vehicles that they deem to be going too slow, though they are driving up to the maximum speed limit.

Colum Kenny wrote an article in a Sunday newspaper recently criticising the Driving Test as ‘erratic’ and driving learner drivers ‘crazy.’ Well, the RSA has to represent a specific standard and when a candidate passes the given test, it’s not up to the people who conduct such tests to supervise or enforce what transpires afterwards. That’s the job of our law enforcers. Of course, I agree with Colum that the vast majority of adult drivers who have long passed their test wouldn’t pass such test if they were to undergo it tomorrow. I think that argument doesn’t hold much water: how many people who passed their Leaving Cert ten years ago would succeed next week if they were asked to repeat. The vast majority of adult drivers are very safe drivers despite the fact that they might not get all the technicalities correct as required in a test, like stopping position or peeking in the rear view mirror regularly. The point that I am making about the likes of those two drivers above who recklessly overtook as stated is that they have an attitude that must be changed. It’s an attitude about many things related to road safety, like keeping the speed limit, abiding by traffic signs such as those road markings or not ‘jumping’ amber lights, let alone red lights. Those two potential killers saw Sara’s ‘L’ plate and adopted the attitude that such drivers are a hazard and only slow them down. They didn’t take cognisance of Sara’s high standard of driving, that she was keeping all the regulations, even though she was a fully qualified driver about to burn her L-Plates.

The time has come when we all must self analyse our habits and our attitudes. So far this year, the number of people killed on our roads is ten more than the same time last year. All the white vans in Ireland with speed detectors won’t save us from calamity if we go out with a frame of mind like the two crackpots at Dunganny, who were most likely the holders of full licences.

As far as Sara was concerned, I must say that after all the coaching,  guidance and adherence to the rules and regulations, I felt a bit despondent, badly let down by the actions of two hoodlums.