Ireland to ban unaccompanied learners

[Earthdweller]

Not sure if this is GG or NPE mods feel free to move

As of midnight tonight the Republic of Ireland will no longer allow unaccompanied learners just to jump in a car and drive off

For years in Ireland you could apply for a provisional licence then once it arrived go out and buy a car .. and that is all .. you could drive for years never needing to take a test

Quite unbelievable really

What are the rules or lack of them elsewhere in Europe ?

[bmwmike]

Years back didn't they do an amnesty and just hand out licenses without tests? Something to do with the test centres being overwhelmed with the number of people who didn't have licenses.

[No ideas for a name]

bmwmike said:

Years back didn't they do an amnesty and just hand out licenses without tests? Something to do with the test centres being overwhelmed with the number of people who didn't have licenses.

I believe that even if you haven't passed a test in Ireland, you can still exchange you Irish licence for a UK one in order to gain extra categories.

ETA

Edited by Big Al. on Saturday 22 December 09:30

[ElectricPics]

No ideas for a name said:

I believe that even if you haven't passed a test in Ireland, you can still exchange you Irish licence for a UK one in order to gain extra categories.

All the best
Guy Martin

[768]

Not a very apt username.

[SeeFive]

Won’t that be a bit distracting for a learner to have all that noise from the band in the car?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

bmwmike said:

Years back didn't they do an amnesty and just hand out licenses without tests? Something to do with the test centres being overwhelmed with the number of people who didn't have licenses.

Yes, back in the late 70s I think.

[eldar]

bmwmike said:

Years back didn't they do an amnesty and just hand out licenses without tests? Something to do with the test centres being overwhelmed with the number of people who didn't have licenses.

Same in the uk, ww2 probably.

[Bigends]

You cold sort of do the same over here years back. A provisional licence holder could go straight out and buy a three wheeler car - Reliant etc (or huge motorbike with sidecar) and drive unaccompanied on L plates without ever taking a test

Edited by Bigends on Friday 21st December 19:04

[gazza285]

Bigends said:

You cold sort of do the same over here years back. A provisional licence holder could go straight out and buy a three wheeler car - Reliant etc (or huge motorbike with sidecar) and drive unaccompanied on L plates without ever taking a test

Not quite, there was a 250cc limit, so a modest outfit, but no Reliants.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

gazza285 said:

Bigends said:

You cold sort of do the same over here years back. A provisional licence holder could go straight out and buy a three wheeler car - Reliant etc (or huge motorbike with sidecar) and drive unaccompanied on L plates without ever taking a test

Not quite, there was a 250cc limit, so a modest outfit, but no Reliants.

No, he's right, the 250cc limit didn't apply if you had a 3 wheeler or bike/sidecar.

These days (since 2013) a full car licence allows you to drive a Bugatti Veyron, but not a Reliant Robin!

[Bigends]

gazza285 said:

Bigends said:

You cold sort of do the same over here years back. A provisional licence holder could go straight out and buy a three wheeler car - Reliant etc (or huge motorbike with sidecar) and drive unaccompanied on L plates without ever taking a test

Not quite, there was a 250cc limit, so a modest outfit, but no Reliants.

250cc For solo bikes. Unlimited with sidecar. I seem to recall Reliants tax class was a motorcycle. Had to have no more than three wheels and weight in under 20cwt if I remember my training school lessons correctly

Edited by Bigends on Friday 21st December 22:09

[caziques]

From another forum:

"As far as I'm aware no MoT certificate is needed for vehicles being used on public roads in Unst, Yell, Fetlar, Skerries, Whalsay, Bressay, Fair Isle, Foula, Papa Stour, Forvik.
The vehicle must, it ought to go without saying, be in a roadworthy condition to be upon these roads in order to comply with current UK and Scottish traffic legislation...not sure if that applies to the last-named island

In addition, these named islands can also have learner drivers driving unaccompanied...why I know not...sounds completely bonkers to me."

[gazza285]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

gazza285 said:

Bigends said:

You cold sort of do the same over here years back. A provisional licence holder could go straight out and buy a three wheeler car - Reliant etc (or huge motorbike with sidecar) and drive unaccompanied on L plates without ever taking a test

Not quite, there was a 250cc limit, so a modest outfit, but no Reliants.

No, he's right, the 250cc limit didn't apply if you had a 3 wheeler or bike/sidecar.

These days (since 2013) a full car licence allows you to drive a Bugatti Veyron, but not a Reliant Robin!

My mind must be going...

I do remember the Sidewinder sidecars of the early eighties...

[Earthdweller]

gazza285 said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

gazza285 said:

Bigends said:

You cold sort of do the same over here years back. A provisional licence holder could go straight out and buy a three wheeler car - Reliant etc (or huge motorbike with sidecar) and drive unaccompanied on L plates without ever taking a test

Not quite, there was a 250cc limit, so a modest outfit, but no Reliants.

No, he's right, the 250cc limit didn't apply if you had a 3 wheeler or bike/sidecar.

These days (since 2013) a full car licence allows you to drive a Bugatti Veyron, but not a Reliant Robin!

My mind must be going...

I do remember the Sidewinder sidecars of the early eighties...

My dad never sat a driving test. He got his licence in the RAF during WW2. His test was driving a Jeep down a runway !

But, that wasn’t on 21st century roads

[IanA2]

Earthdweller said:

gazza285 said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

gazza285 said:

Bigends said:

You cold sort of do the same over here years back. A provisional licence holder could go straight out and buy a three wheeler car - Reliant etc (or huge motorbike with sidecar) and drive unaccompanied on L plates without ever taking a test

Not quite, there was a 250cc limit, so a modest outfit, but no Reliants.

No, he's right, the 250cc limit didn't apply if you had a 3 wheeler or bike/sidecar.

These days (since 2013) a full car licence allows you to drive a Bugatti Veyron, but not a Reliant Robin!

My mind must be going...

I do remember the Sidewinder sidecars of the early eighties...

My dad never sat a driving test. He got his licence in the RAF during WW2. His test was driving a Jeep down a runway !

But, that wasn’t on 21st century roads

Yup mine too, but his test was in a desert and he managed to hit the only tree.

Still, he passed and after the war exchanged his bit of paper for a "proper" licence.

Fifty years of incident free driving followed...

[CanAm]

And during his army days, Murray Walker issued his licence to himself.

[E36Ross]

It was always illegal to drive unaccompanied on a provisional in Ireland, they just updated the rules to include,

"Motorists who let learner drivers use their cars unaccompanied will face jail time or fines under new laws which have come into force today.

Unaccompanied learner drivers may n7ow have their vehicle seized by gardaí.

In addition, anyone who loans a car to an unaccompanied learner driver faces prosecution and having their car impounded"

From here,
https://amp.independent.ie/irish-news/news/explain...

[Hugo a Gogo]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

bmwmike said:

Years back didn't they do an amnesty and just hand out licenses without tests? Something to do with the test centres being overwhelmed with the number of people who didn't have licenses.

Yes, back in the late 70s I think.

90s

[Monkeylegend]

Bigends said:

250cc For solo bikes. Unlimited with sidecar. I seem to recall Reliants tax class was a motorcycle. Had to have no more than three wheels and weight in under 20cwt if I remember my training school lessons correctly

Edited by Bigends on Friday 21st December 22:09

There was a time when you could drive a Reliant Robin on a motor cycle licence but you had to have reverse gear blanked off. If you drove with reverse gear you needed a car licence apparently.