Submission to RSA on graduated driver licensing system
NYCI has made a submission to the Road Safety Authority's Consultation Process on a graduated driver licensing system for Ireland.
Introduction:
The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) is the representative body for voluntary youth organisations in Ireland. NYCI functions to represent the interests of young people and youth organisations. NYCI's role is recognised in legislation (Youth Work Act) and as a Social Partner. The NYCI aims through its member organisations and its representative role to empower young people to participate in society as fulfilled confident individuals. The work of the Youth Council is based on principles of equality, social justice and equal participation for all. In achieving these aims the NYCI seeks the emergence of a society in which young people are valued citizens who can make a meaningful contribution to their community.
Context:
NYCI welcomes the opportunity to make a submission in this consultative process. This is an area of intense interest for young people, we note from the documentation that up to 129,000 young people under 25 or 43% of the total have a provisional licence. The right to drive marks a significant point in the transition of young people from adolescence to adulthood. We also acknowledge that safer drivers and safer roads are in all our interests and in particular young people, too many of whom are killed or injured on our roads.
NYCI welcomes much of the work undertaken by the Road Safety Authority to date. As far back as 2003 we publicly called for the establishment of an executive agency for road safety to implement a coherent and well thought through road safety policy. We acknowledge the work done by the Road Safety Authority in the last 12 months to reduce the driving testing times from what where unacceptable levels of up to 60 weeks to a more reasonable average of 10 weeks. Our research had demonstrated that successive Governments from 1979 on had repeatedly promised to deal with this problem only to consistently fail until recently.
Graduated Licensing Systems:
NYCI has been aware of graduated driver licensing systems (GLDS) as they were operated in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in the last ten to fifteen years. We understand that there are many different models in place. We do have concerns about the impact of GDLS on young people. In advance of directly addressing the questions outlined in the consultation document we would like to set out some key issues from our side.
Road Safety is not just an issue for young people:
We accept that young drivers proportionately are more likely to cause and/or be involved in road collisions compared to older drivers. That has been the situation since the introduction of the motorised vehicle and is the case across the world. However within that it is important not to paint or negatively stereotype all young drivers as dangerous or as “boy racers”. That approach tends only to alienate young drivers and make the majority of safe and conscientious young drivers less likely to respond to safety messages and measures. Indeed it would be our view that if politicians, commentators and policymakers keep repeating and reinforcing the view that all young drivers are feckless and reckless then it is likely that some young drivers will behave in that manner. The negative stereotyping of all young drivers has also been a good excuse for insurance companies to charge all young drivers what we believe are exorbitant motor insurance premia for years.
Equality:
Article 40.1 of the Constitution states that “All citizens shall, as human persons, be held equal before the law”. Therefore any action or measure proposed has to apply to all learner drivers equally irrespective of age. We note some statements in the document which suggest that certain measures might only apply to younger drivers (6.5). Any measure which would seek to treat learner drivers differently on the basis of age would in our view be unconstitutional and would not be consistent with existing equal status legislation. NYCI could not support any measure which seeks to treat learner drivers differently on the basis of age. In any event such measures if challenged would be struck down by the courts. We also note that in Nova Scotia, Canada the GDLS is applied to all learner drivers regardless of age. Where a driver has previous experience or qualifications in another jurisdiction, we accept that certain exceptions from the GDLS could be applied.
Carrot as well as stick:
The options outlined in the consultation document focus exclusively on imposing restrictions or penalties on all learner drivers. There is no incentive for good driving behaviour. We think the RSA should consider incentives for learner drivers who have a good driving record. There are 2 options in this regard. On one hand restrictions could only apply if and when a learner driver has accumulated penalty points at any stage of the provisional licensing system. Alternatively learner drivers with no penalty points in the first phase of the GDLS would be subject to fewer restrictions in the second phase than those who have accumulated penalty points in the first phase. They key aspect in this approach is that it would encourage responsible and safe driving, provide rewards for good learner drivers and provide disincentives for bad driving behaviour. It also puts the onus and responsibility back on the driver, he or she will have to accept that it was their actions or behaviour which led to them having to cope with restrictions on their driving and personal mobility.
Communicate with young drivers and not speak at them:
The debacle surrounding the announcement of the new restrictions on learner drivers initially announced in October 2007 damaged the credibility of Government among learner drivers. It would be inconceivable for Government to make significant decisions in other policy areas without engagement and consultation with the relevant constituency well in advance. If new measures are being considered following this consultation they need to be made on a sound basis and well communicated in advance if they are to achieve acceptance among a majority of those affected.
Fair and Proportional:
We welcome the statement in the document that “any changes to the driver licensing laws should be seen as contributing to safety on our roads and not as an unfair imposition on drivers.” It is vital that the Government and the RSA strike a balance between improving road safety while at the same time not imposing severe restrictions on the vast majority of learner drivers. It would be wrong to introduce measures which have serious implications for 100% of learner drivers to address a problem created by 1% of learner drivers. Measures which are not seen as fair or proportional will not gain public support and are likely to be rejected.
Evidence Based:
It is vital that in considering any new measures that they are evidenced based. Given the seriousness of measures being contemplated in this discussion document, we need to be sure that they are based on evidence and experience and that they will contribute to road safety and are not just initiatives designed to give the impression of action. While we welcome international comparisons, any proposed measures also need to factor in the circumstances in Ireland. For example, there is a lack of adequate public transport in many parts of Ireland. This is a significant issue for young people. The only alternative for many of them is to buy a car to get to college, training and or work. The impact of restricting car use for these young people to get to education, training or work would have to considered in the context that there is no alternative mode of mobility.
Well planned and implemented:
It is vital that any measures which are being introduced are well planned and implemented. It is only in the last 12 months that we have seen the waiting list for driving tests reduced to a reasonable period after decades of false promises. If new measures are introduced they will have an impact on the system and more importantly on end users, i.e. learner drivers. We do not want to return to a situation where there are long delays and where the needs of the learner drivers appear ignored or forgotten.