The Road Safety Authority says figures showing how many people are driving with just a learner permit, are very worrying.
(Source: Public Domain Pictures)We don't know who needs to hear this, but just book your test!
Freedom of Information figures show more than 4,600 people have been driving with only a learner permit for at least 21 years.
According to the Department of Transport, nearly 232,000 drivers only have learner permits, including more than 12,000 in Galway, and just under that mark in Kildare.
Under current rules, you cannot apply for a third or subsequent learner permit unless you have recently done a driving test or have an upcoming test.
However these new figures show more than 21,000 drivers have had a learner permit for at least 11 years, and 1,365 have had one for more than 26 years.
Brian Farrell, from the Road Safety Authority, says the new figures are very worrying.
"It's an extreme case we're talking about here, in terms of people on a learner permit for such a length of time, but it is a practice that does need to be stamped out in the system because it is making a mockery of the system.
"We have made submissions to the Department of Transport in relation to measures that could be introduced to further disincentivise people rolling over their learner permits continuously and not taking a test."
Penalty points
Nearly 2,500 learner drivers got penalty points last year, because they were not accompanied by a fully qualified driver.
That figure is up 27 per cent on 2019, while a further 1,581 drivers were penalised in the first five months of this year for the same offence.
