Graduated Driving Licences will be introduced in Northern Ireland as a pilot scheme to gather evidence on the potential for a similar scheme in the UK.
The legislation to allow the scheme will come into force 2019/20 and will include passenger carrying restrictions and a six month mandatory minimum learning period.
Restricting passengers will help to prevent young and experienced drivers being distracted. It will also help to reduce the exposure to negative peer pressure and risk taking. A minimum learning period is also a welcome step forward. At present many people want to pass their driving test in the quickest possible time. Having a minimum learning period may be the catalyst to making sure learners have more exposure to the driving environment before going out on their own post test.
It will be interesting to actually see what restrictions are put in place when the pilot scheme is launched and the effect upon road causalities.
www.celticdrivertraining.co
