Licence proposal

Councillor calls for elderly drivers to be given restrictive licence

Anton McNulty

ELDERLY drivers in rural areas who currently hold provisional driving licences should be given a restrictive licence to allow them to continue to drive in their own area without having to pass the driving test, according to Erris-based Cllr Gerry Coyle.
Last week, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) announced that they had written to more than 2,500 people over 65 who are still on provisional licences to offer them support in taking the test. At the end of last year, people over 60 accounted for 2.1 per cent of people holding provisional licences and Mr Noel Brett, CEO of the RSA, said that they wanted to reassure them about the driving test.
Last October, it was announced that drivers holding their second provisional licence will not be allowed to drive unaccompanied after June 30. Mr Brett explained that, in order to help older people, the tests could be scheduled at a quieter time of day and they could be given a longer period in which to complete the test.
While welcoming the help, Cllr Gerry Coyle explained that many elderly drivers he has spoken to would not pass the test in its current format because drivers were being put into an alien environment. He said that many elderly people in the Erris community only use their car for going to Mass or to the shops and he feels that these people will be disenfranchised from the rest of the community after the June 30 deadline.
“I would like to see elderly people do a course in their own area which could be set up under the Rural Social Scheme. They would be able to do a 40-hour course where they could receive training and would be restricted to driving in their own area and have a R plate on their car. The driving test is causing people a lot of concern; they will never pass the test in its present format because they are brought into an alien environment to answer questions on dual-carriageways, which they will never drive on. These are not the people causing the accidents and most of them who want to go to Castlebar or Ballina will take the bus,” explained the Geesala councillor.
He explained that he knows people who live alone and the car is the only way they can go into Belmullet to do their business.