For a government to implement its policies effectively, certain key services must operate to a high standard. At the moment, the system that ensures that drivers have a minimum level of competence is not working and this has wider implications.
There are currently 100,000 people waiting for a driving test and the estimated waiting time is six months. The target time is 10 weeks. The failure of this part of the system has caused widespread public annoyance but also has some obvious knock-on effects for road safety policy.
The delays create an incentive for people to drive without a licence or unaccompanied on a learner permit, particularly in areas where public transport options are limited. The risks to public safety are obvious. The inability of so many people to sit and pass the driving test also has an impact on insurance costs and the level of cover.
The Government has this week moved to address the problem. The Road Safety Authority is to open new testing centres and revise its approach to training in an effort to get average waiting times back to 10 weeks by early September. Other measures include longer opening hours and a more efficient allocation of existing slots.
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Delivering on these commitments will be challenging, not least because of the limited number of driving testers. Ensuring there are enough in place to meet the new commitments will not be easy.
The other main driver of the backlog, increasing demand, also shows little sign of abating. Our growing and relatively young population plus a poor public transport network means that there will be a steady stream of people needing to get a driver’s licence.
The driving licence backlog is another example of the apparent inability of the State to anticipate future demand for services. The housing shortage is the most obvious of these , but demand related shortages are also apparent in health, education and transport . Stop-gap measures are all to often the order of the day in these areas as well, but better long-term planning is the only solution.
