This article is from page 18 of the 2009-01-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
THE proposed new Graduated Driv- ers License could bring an end to a host of youth related events in rural Clare – with a night-time curfew for drivers and age restriction for pas- sengers now being considered.
The Road Safety Authority (RSA) last week announced a period of pub- lic consultation on the details of the proposed license.
While stating that safety was pri- mary, young farmers group Macra Na Feirme, called for a balanced approach to be taken to ensure that young people in rural Clare can have a safe social life.
Other proposed elements of the new license include a zero alcohol limit, increase in the penalty points and a restriction of the power of the car.
“The first thing to say about this new license is that safety is the most important thing,’ said Ivan Hayes, head of Macra in Clare.
“That said it is very hard to see how a curfew on young drivers would be possible. It would be impossible to enforce and unworkable for young
people in rural areas.
“We had a Macra social event in Ennis on Saturday night. There were a lot of young people there from dif- ferent parts of the county. There were two brothers who drove to the event and brought a full car with them. One brother drove in and the other was designated driver – he didn’t drink and drove all of them home.
“If there was a curfew then situa- tions like this, when people are act- ing responsibly would not be able to take place.
“Having said all of that however, the most important thing is road safety. We need to improve this but at the same time not make things un- duly difficulty for rural young peo- ple,” he said.
Macra na Feirme national president Catherine Buckley called for any measures suggested by the RSA to be debated to see if they are practical to implement.
Ms Buckley said that as well as using enforcement, the RSA should also use “the carrot approach” to en- courage young drivers to be respon- sible road users.