South Meath Driving School

Drivers on Irish roads deserve the fullest of praise for bringing our country into the safer category in Europe and even surpassing the German record. As of the 12.12.’12, there were 153 fatalities on our roads which is 22 less than last year. This figure is to be noted particularly because at the half year mark we were one over on the same period, Jan to end Jun, ’11. There’s no cause for celebration, though, as each death brings misery to a family on top of the multitude of injuries inflicted.

The current Christmas enforcement campaign is well underway focusing on drink driving, speeding, non-use of seatbelts and the use of mobile phones; with a little more consideration each one of us can send out the message that Christmas and the New Year will be a happy time and free of the horrendous reality that every fatal crash brings. Meath has had a very bad year so far with around a dozen fatalities, therefore an extra effort must be made to turn that around.

In the year Oct ’11 to Oct ’12, an analysis of drink driving limits was carried out by the Gardai and 9,771 incidents of drink driving were recorded. Some interesting facts were uncovered.

The only age category that increased is that of females between 58 – 67. A significant number of incidents involved male drivers aged between 23 – 32, driving late at night and early morning, particularly at weekends with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) higher than 100mg.

Offenders aged 38 – 47 had the highest proportion of more than 150 mg of BAC, with nearly half of those detected having a BAC in excess of this level.

A new feature of the lower limits is the increase in the number of people detected driving the ‘morning after,’ especially on Sundays around 11 am. I’m aware of a few instances of people getting a taxi home on the week-end night after partaking of their pleasure. Next morning they got a taxi back into town to collect the car and were arrested on the way home – 11am or 12m.d. area. Keep in mind the medical advice is that it takes an hour for each glass (half pint) of beer to dilute in your system no matter what the physical makeup. Some argue that a good meal or a larger proportioned body compensates. Statistics disagree, it appears and the doctor agrees.

‘Specified Drivers’ is a recently created category and those in that bracket should be very much aware where extra restrictions apply to them. They include the following –

*A holder of a learner permit.

*A holder of a first driving licence, two years after issue. This is now the case in Class ‘B’ (cars, vans and other categories) after passing the test, when the ‘N’ plate will be displayed from next year.

*A holder of a SPSV licence whilst driving in the course of business.

*Person not holding a licence for the category of vehicle being driven.

*If a driver is not carrying his/her licence, such person is breath tested at the lower limit (20mg)

In drink driving analysis ’08 to ‘12, recidivist (repeat offender) drink drivers exceeded 10%. There were 5 offenders with 10 or more offences; one driver had 26 driving offences.

Of those drink driving offences committed, 86% were male and 14% female offenders. After Irish offenders, it was Polish, Lithuanian and Latvian who were next listed.

All holders of a learner permit are reminded that under the new Road Traffic Bill, there will be 2 penalty points for not being accompanied by a qualified driver and 2 more for non display of the ‘L’ plate. Points are doubled on opting for a Court hearing, should a conviction follow.

Drive with greater care over the Festive Season. Parents, know where your teenagers are. Don’t leave your car keys available for the puca puca man. Check the battery of your fire alarms; put on your house alarm once you leave the house or retire for the night.

Eyeing up a used car that is trustworthy is as difficult as selecting the right heifer at a mart or the better filly at Tattersalls. There’s the great fear of purchasing someone else’s problem. While the adage ‘Caveat emptor’ may have been overtaken by legislation that favours the buyer, the buyer still must beware.

Many moons ago a farmer bought a cow at a fair in Mohill and after he had handed over his cash he figured that the cow was blind in one eye. Believing that the problem was all his, he asked the seller if the cow was a quiet one or would she kick the bucket when being milked. The seller assured him she was as quiet as a lamb. To prove it, the purchaser asked him to hand him the money he had paid him underneath the cows elder (or udder.) Not suspecting anything, he handed back the money bragging about how tame this cow was. “That’s fine,” said the buyer, ‘’now you keep your blind cow and I’ll keep my money!” Such encounters were par for the course then and there were big demands on the shrewdness of an individual.

The AA advises not to buy a car at a ‘side of the road’ sale, rather to go to a recognised dealer. Should one buy privately, bring a mechanic along to inspect the car. Mechanics know where to look and what to seek out. Should a seller object to such scrutiny, then it’s time to move on.

Ask the seller if the car has been involved in a crash of any kind. If in doubt, demand a response in writing. Check the car in daylight. As a car purchase may be the biggest or second biggest financial investment many people will make in their lives, it is important to get it right. For every new car purchased in Ireland, there’s 2.5 second-hands sold. For ultimate reassurance, a buyer may have the AA do an autocheck which is a scheme in which dealers undertake to perform a detailed inspection where the second-hand car is examined thoroughly under multiple headings. The AA monitors those dealers with regular spot checks to ensure standards are maintained.

Suggested tips for your inspection –

• Check the body lines for consistency
• Check for evidence of repainting, such as overspray on window rubbers or any inconsistency in the paintwork
• Check for uneven tyre wear
• Watch for different makes of headlights
• Look for inconsistencies in stone chips at the front of the bonnet as against the wings
• Examine the wear of the pedal rubbers, the gear stick and the steering wheel
• Closely check the odometer for any interference with the mileage
• Ensure the keys provided operate in all the locks and that there’s a spare set
• Try all the keys provided in the ignition and start the engine as sometimes a cut key is not a ‘transponder’ key or micro-chipped to work in the ignition.

Check that there is no Hire Purchase owed on the vehicle. This can be done with the Hire Purchase Information Centre at 01-2600905. They will check that no HP or leasing finance is outstanding on the vehicle. Such check will cost you 15 euro. There are also websites that can give you a report on the history of the car, number of owners, mileage, if it was written off, used as a taxi and outstanding finance. Prices vary depending on how much information you want and how old the car is.

Young people need plenty of advice from parents before engaging in this worldly task. It’s an exciting and wonderous purchase that can bring great joy – or tragedy. Ensure the choice is right.

There was a time when fathers left the childrens’ affairs to mother and the child-carrier was fitted on the rear of her bicycle. It was a much safer place for a child than the modern front or rear seat of a motorcar. Daddy had to step into line in the last forty years with the onset of seat belts for his passengers and, under EU legislation, more stringent laws for child safety.

Mary O’Rourke has said that when Charlie Haughey offered her a first ministerial post she was delighted until he told her it was Children and Youth Affairs or whatever it was called then. She declined the offer saying she could do her knitting at home. Plucky Mary then got a more challenging post. She didn’t belittle the importance of children or their safety in her refusal. Frances Fitzgerald, the incumbent minister with that portfolio, is as busy as a queen bee promoting child protection legislation, prison issues to mental health.

Anyone who has reared or is rearing a child knows only too well the importance of the safety of such child from cradle to car seat, from bicycle to car steering wheel. With 2.5 million vehicles on Irish roads, think Safety First for the weaker ones.

• It is compulsory for all children to travel in the correct child seat, booster seat or booster cushion.
• Where safety belts have been fitted, they must be worn.
• Children under 3 years of age must not travel in a car or goods vehicle (other than a taxi) unless restrained in the correct child seat.
• Generally, children aged 3 and over and up to 11 or 12 years old (weight and height are relevant) must use the correct child seat/boosters in cars or goods vehicles.
• Children over 3 years must travel in a rear seat in vehicles not fitted with safety belts.
• Rearward-facing child car seats must NEVER be used in the front passenger seat of cars with an active airbag.
• Child car seats must be in accordance with EU standards.
• Drivers have a legal responsibility to ensure passengers aged under 17 use the correct seat, booster seat/cushion or seat belt.

Ensuring a child is properly restrained in a child car seat can reduce injuries by a factor of 90-95% for rear-facing seats and 60% for forward-facing seats, (source – AA Motoring Trust).

Illustrated baby seats –

• Use a rearward-facing baby seat for babies up to 13Kgs (29lbs), i.e. birth to 12 – 15 months
• Forward-facing child seat, weight 9-18 kgs (20-40lbs), age range 9 months – 4 years.
• Booster seat, weight 15 – 25 kgs (33-55lbs) Age range 4 -6 years.
• Booster cushion, weight 22-36kgs (48-79lbs), Age range 6 to 12 years.

Drivers who carry children in their cars only occasionally should be aware of their obligation to comply with the law for however short their journey. Remember, it should not be your fear of getting ‘caught’ by the Gardai, rather fear the mishap, crash or possible serious injury. Be in control of your own destiny.

The Road Transport Department and the Road Safety Authority are seeing the results of too much freedom allowed to younger drivers before and after passing their test. If in the category of 17 to 25 years old and male, you’re an endangered species on Irish roads. But hold, there’s help on the way in the form of an ‘N’ plate which will render instant assistance to the statistical data, maybe. Those who pass their test will wear this badge for a further two years – from next year.
Two years ago, Cardiff University researchers recommended that newly qualified drivers should be banned from night-time driving and carrying passengers of a similar age; it would save more than 200 young lives per year and prevent 1,700 serious injuries. The figures were compiled after analysing road accident data from 2000 to 2007. Such limiting schemes operated in New Zealand, Australia and parts of the US.
Instantly, motoring organisations fired their arrows into the works: it would be very difficult to enforce and, should young drivers find themselves free to transgress the new laws, then it was figured they’d exploit further. What about this category driver who had a night job or college attendance at night? They also argued that education was the key. Alternative ideas proposed was to take the subject to the classroom rather than setting Big Brother on this group. Tell them also about the importance of controlling the use of iPods and MP3 players, was suggested. The Cardiff recommendations didn’t come into being. What have other countries done?
Western Australia – under 19s must have a zero alcohol level at all times. Night-time ban imposed for first six months.
New South Wales – New drivers display ‘P’ plates for 2 years, observe extra speed limits and have zero alcohol level.
California – Night time driving ban and carry no passenger under 20.
One must remember that there’s no Provisional Licence or Learner Permit in those States.
A distraught father in England whose 16 year old daughter was killed with three of her friends in a crash a few years ago when the driver was 18 and after passing his test, said that the test should be abolished altogether, that those children were being taught to drive simply to pass the test! He added that a learner should have a log book like an aircraft pilot where hundreds of hours would be spent in the learning process with an experienced driver. He rightly said that such driving should take place at night, in frost, snow, rain, on motorways – all under instruction. When the heart is low, it can speak loudest.
The newly proposed ‘N’–plate here will be displayed on vehicles in Class B, cars and vans, for two years after passing the test. Under this Traffic Bill, the Learner Driver who incurs six penalty points, as against the current threshold of twelve points, will lose their Licence. It’s a means of rewarding good road behaviour. Since this announcement last week, there were six people killed on our roads.
There is good reason to restrict those who have just passed their test –
• 1 in 3 male drivers aged between 17 and 20 crash in the first two years after passing their test.
• An 18 year old driver is more than three times as likely to be involved in a crash as a 48 year old driver.
• 1 in 5 drivers crash within their first year of driving.
The wags are at work, too, seeing the ‘N-plate’ becoming a ‘Z-car’ with one twist. Others recommend a D-plate for the Dunce who fails to pass etc. Such comics may one day graduate, too.

The graphic pictures of a mangled car on the middle of the roadway, as shown on T.V. and in the newspapers over the weekend, brings  to mind how lucky we all are not to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. A straight stretch of road near Tullamore on a dry, sunny afternoon played host to the sight of four young men being removed to a hospital morgue. And, lucky that figure wasn’t doubled. The four had been travelling in the same car.

Without prejudice as to what brought about this calamity, it was reported that the driver of this car was overtaking and crashed head-on into an oncoming minibus.

There was a neighbour of mine in Cloone a good few moons ago whose name was Michael, with the colourful nickname of Ampletime. He was a bachelor who, as well as being a farmer, often found himself away on other business. There were four of us young Moran fellows close by who were always willing to lend a neighbourly hand. Michael was overly cautious and possessive and, while he appreciated help, he warned against too many being around at the same time. Therefore his monastic rule was one assistant around his house while he was away. Peadar, his trusted one was usually in charge.

On one such occasion three more of us young teens arrived. After a few hours we heard the drone of Ampletime’s Morris Minor approach. We all ran out of the house as if it were an air raid siren we heard, almost jamming each other in the doorway. Too late though, for he spotted us. Such was the confusion that when we were two and a half fields away, Peadar realised that he had been left in charge of the house. We didn’t envy him his lonely trek back!

Mr Ampletime found rope swings erected in the hayshed, his bicycle lying in the lane with a buckled wheel and worse was to come: his prized red rooster, a wicked and feisty bird, lay dead on the street.

It was a great  day for us having had the freedom to choose, unsupervised, when work and bedevilment had equal standing. Nothing much happened, one might say, but for Mr Ampletime a lot had gone wrong.

When a group of youngsters get together, more so the male species, they want to impress each other, the older ones taking the lead. They want a ‘buzz’ and there’s no lengths to which they won’t go to achieve their wayward goal.

Since the weekend past, there are up to twenty young people lying in hospital injured to varying degrees from road crashes.  And, of course, there are the four youths dead from a single collision. The RSA put it bluntly, ‘The faster the speed, the bigger the mess.’ Each road death is estimated to cost over 1 million euro. In 2010 the cost of all road collisions was estimated at 853 million euro, down 38% on ’07. We all pay for the waywardness of others either directly or indirectly. We pay through insurance and levys.

When Noel Dempsey’s office and the RSA were drawing up plans for the launch of the new driving test programme and EDT, consideration was being given to the restricting of the number of young people who could be together in the same car without supervision. A night curfew was also considered. The idea was dropped. There have since been many multiple fatal crashes involving car loads of young people. Remember Donegal, Kerry and now Tullamore. What a pity, ‘cause when a good idea is mooted and cognisance taken of the effect in other countries, that’s the time to act. Rarely is the topic revisited at National level. It’s time, though, to call Leo Varadkar now and remind him of his responsibility. Do it today.

Overtaking another vehicle, even a cyclist, requires confidence and a fair measure of driving experience. The road ahead must be clear for a distance enough to enable you to get back in safely and not interfere with any other driver. If you are first vehicle behind the one to be overtaken, do not go too close behind it. Use wing mirror and leave space so you can edge out to view the road ahead. Have indicator on so that you go at the first opportunity, otherwise you will have to give way to faster moving traffic from behind.

Never follow through blindly behind another overtaking vehicle.

Once overtaking, stay in the same gear until manoeuvre is completed, thereby your two hands are on the wheel and you have power to progress.

Use mirrors to good effect before returning to your driving lane so as not to interfere with the driver being overtaken.

Take extra care when overtaking large/longer vehicles as you will need more road length to pass it.

Be aware, too, of the lack of visibility in rain or snow.

Do not break the speed limit to overtake.

Do not overtake near traffic lights or pedestrian crossings, approaching a junction, hilltop, bridge or dip in the road.

Note that you may overtake on a continuous white line as follows –

In the event of an obstruction, a slow-moving vehicle, or to gain access, provided there is adequate view ahead and that it’s safe to do so.

For the first year in the last five or six, the road fatalities are up on the previous year. Let each play his/her part to reverse that.