Driving without an assistant; One lakh euros was charged from learner drivers

Learner drivers who drove without a helper were fined more than 100,000 euros.

The Clancy Amendment, introduced two years ago, imposes heavy fines on learner drivers for driving without a qualified driver.

A total of 11,600 people have been issued fixed charge notices in Ireland in the past two years for driving without a license. Of these, more than 2,300 were summoned by the court for non-payment of fines.

Last year, offenders were fined around 90,000 euros. In addition, about 30,000 euros were collected this year.

Driving without a license and learner driving without a helper is an offense under Irish road laws. The law was amended in December 2018 following a persistent campaign by Corkman Noel Clancy. Accordingly, the garda is allowed to detain the driver and seize the vehicle.

Noel Clancy’s wife, Geraldine Clancy, 58, and daughter Louise, 22, were killed in December 2015 when they were hit by a car driven by a lane driver without an assistant.

Clancy then launched a regular campaign demanding that the lane driver not be allowed to drive without an assistant.

Reports says that gardas have been impounded more than 5,000 times under the Clancy Amendment since the law went into effect. In 2019, 6,145 fixed charge notices were issued for learners without a qualified driver.

In the first 10 months of this year, 5,468 fixed charge notices were issued to learners.

In 2019, 1,496 people appeared in court. Of these, 89,449 were charged. In the first ten months of this year, 887 people appeared in court. They were also fined 29,865 euros. The court fined the lane drivers a total of 119,314 euros.