Confusion reigns over clampdown on learner drivers

AS CONFUSION reigned over the government’s plans to clamp down on “drive-alone” learners, one effect of the new road safety strategy was the phenomenon of test applicants queuing to get an early date.

Throughout the country, local authority HQs experienced an influx of provisional licence holders who wanted to fast-track their driving tests and become fully-licensed as quickly as possible.

While the road safety authority predicts waiting times for tests to be slashed to eight weeks by next April, a glut in new applications could well scupper that prognosis.