This article is from page 11 of the 2008-02-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 11 JPG
LEARNER drivers who want to take their test in Ennis will have to wait three times longer than drivers in other parts of the country.
The wait for a test in Ennis is cur- rently an average of thirty weeks, in comparison to centres in neighbour- ing Limerick where the wait is just
11 weeks.
Other centres in Donegal, Ath- lone, Cavan, Carrick-on-Shannon, Letterkenny, Monaghan, Mulingar, Sligo and Nenagh have waiting lists of just nine and eleven weeks to sit a test.
But Shannon, once one of the worst centres in the country for waiting lists, has now reduced its list to 22
weeks.
Ennis is in fifth place in the coun- try for L-Plate drivers getting into the test car.
The worst 1s Clifden where would- be full license holders have to wait 40 weeks for a test. In Birr, there is a 36 week queue, in Dublin’s Raheny the wait 1s 35 weeks while Roscommon and Wicklow learners have 31 weeks
to practice their driving skills. Heavy goods vehicle license ap- plicants fare better. They can get a test in Ennis in just 14 weeks and in 19 weeks in Shannon. The amount of time that learner drivers have to practice their hill-stars and three point turns may well be reflected in the pass rate in the Ennis centre. Some 63.7 per cent of drivers who
sit the test there can lay claim to a full driving licence. The only place in the country where test drivers do better is Buncrana, where 64.7 per- cent of drivers pass. Shannon boasts a similarly high pass rate, with more than six in ten drivers who sit the test there walking away with a full h- cence, according to figures from the Road Safety Authority.