Learners on Carlow roads branded a 'road safety crisis' as RSA hit back at claims

The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) has branded the perceived 'explosion' in the number of learners drivers on our roads as 'a road safety crisis'.

The IRHA have claimed that there were 842,260 learner drivers on our roads at the end of March, but this is contested by the RSA. The RSA put the overall figure much lower - at 378,652 - at the end of February (Feb 28).

The IRHA also contend that 'it is a direct result of the mismanagement of our driving test regime by the Road Safety Authority of Ireland'.

Read Next: ALERT: Advanced notice given for power outages to take place in Carlow coming up

The IRHA says that "an inadequate and backlogged testing regime is forcing young learner drivers out on our roads without a full license or a supervising driver."

"The IRHA is concerned for the safety of their drivers who are coming across inexperienced drivers on a daily basis on Irish roads," they added.

As mentioned, figures provided by the IRHA have been contested the Road Safety Authority, who released a statement to Kilkenny Live following a press query.

"The figure is 378,652, not 842,260," they contend. "We will be writing to the original FOI requestor informing her of the error and providing the correct information.

"Re: driving tests, the Driver Testing Service has experienced unprecedented demand in recent years with the number of applications for a driving test increasing significantly since 2021.

"In 2024, a total of 253,850 driving tests were conducted, up from 196,853 in 2023, making it a record year for the delivery of tests.

"The delivery of 253,850 tests was only possible due to the support of our testing staff through significant levels of overtime and improvements in operational efficiencies.

"A recruitment campaign for new driver testers was launched following Government approval for increased permanent sanction in September 2024. This will increase the number of permanent sanctioned testers from 130 to 200.

"It should be noted that the number of permanent testers was 100 in 2022, and this rose to 130 following sanction from the Department.

"At the end February, there were 144 permanent testers employed by the RSA, inclusive of 28 temporary testers who were successful in the open competition and moved to permanent contracts at the beginning of this year.

"Another group of 13 testers are in the final stages of training and will be deployed to Dublin and Cork, where demand is particularly high at the end of April. Further training of our new recruits will take place in May, July, September and October.

"The RSA will have 200 testers available in November. As these new recruits join the service, the waiting times will reduce significantly towards the end of the year."