There are currently 27,829 learner drivers based in county Tipperary.
Figures released to the Irish Road Haulage Association(IRHA) under Freedom of Information procedures by the Road Safety Authority reveals that there were 842,260 learner drivers on Irish roads at the end of March. By comparison, at the end of 2019, there were 233,025 learner drivers in Ireland.
The Irish Road Haulage Association has called the explosion in the number of learner drivers “a road safety crisis” and says it is a direct result of the “mismanagement of the driving test regime by the Road Safety Authority of Ireland.”
The Association President, Ger Hyland, is calling for “a root and branch review of the Road Safety Authority and their operation of the Irish driving test system and adds that the inadequate and backlogged testing regime is forcing young learner drivers out on 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.
Data released by An Garda Siochana reveals that the Tipperary/Clare Garda Division is the only one of the 11 divisions across the country where a lower number of unaccompanied drivers were detected last year compared to 2023. 80 such offences were reported in the last quarter of 2024 compared to 91 in 2023 – representing a 12% decrease. The other Garda Divisions all report increases in the levels of the offence ranging from 2% to 83 %.
