Published: Friday, 3rd September, 2010 12:00pm

Number of 'L' drivers in Offaly drops

People driving on learner permits still make up 11% of the total motoring on the roads of Offaly, it's emerged in new Department figures this week.

However, it represents a major fall in the level of provisional drivers in the county in recent years. The previous year, there were an extra 805 Offaly drivers on learner permits.

In all, learner permit drivers number 4,809 from the total number of driving licences of in excess of 43,000 in the Faithful County, the second highest number of provisional drivers in the region, the Irish Bulletin of Vehicle and Drivers Statistics also showed.

The news comes in the wake of a shake-up of the licensing system announced in recent days by Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, which will see the introduction of a new Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) system, which will include a requirement that all learners take a set number of lessons from a qualified driving instructor.

The changes will also oblige learners to keep a log book noting hours spent practising and only motorists who pass an approved syllabus will be allowed to sit a test.

In addition, any learner or newly qualified drivers caught speeding, not wearing a seat belt, using a mobile phone, dangerous overtaking or breaking traffic lights will be hit with double penalty points, meaning if they are caught for three offences they will be disqualified from driving for 12 months, all part of the latest raft of measures unveiled to cut road deaths in the 17-24 age bracket.

Nationwide, learner permit drivers hit 286,115 in 2009, a decrease of 33,712 on the previous year, a clear indication that changes to what was the provisional licensing system clearly are having a marked effect on younger drivers year on year.