S.I. No. 173/2011 - Road Traffic (Courses of Instruction) (Learner Permit Holders) Regulations 2011.

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 12th April, 2011.

I, LEO VARADKAR, Minister for Transport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 42(2)(m), (n) and (o) (inserted by section 10 of the Road Traffic Act 2006 (No. 23 of 2006)) of the Road Traffic Act 1961 (No. 24 of 1961) and the National Roads and Road Traffic (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2002 ( S.I. No. 298 of 2002 ) (as adapted by the Public Enterprise (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2002 ( S.I. No. 305 of 2002 )), hereby make the following regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Road Traffic (Courses of Instruction) (Learner Permit Holders) Regulations 2011.

(2) These Regulations come into operation on 4 April 2011.

2. These Regulations do not apply to a person to whom a learner permit has been issued by a licensing authority before the commencement of these Regulations.

3. (1) A person who is issued with a first learner permit in respect of category B (other than a learner permit where code 73 is donated on it and who intends to ride a tricycle)—

(a) shall undergo a course of instruction as set out in Regulation 4 in respect of that licence category, and

(b) shall not undergo a test for a certificate of competency for category B during the validity period of that learner permit or the validity period of a subsequent learner permit for category B unless he or she holds a logbook on which an instructor has recorded and stamped that he or she has completed a course of instruction in respect of category B.

(2) A person whose learner permit has code 73 denoted on it may not undergo a test for a certificate of competency for category B other than in a vehicle covered by code 73, unless he or she holds a logbook on which an instructor has recorded and stamped that he or she has completed each of the lessons of a course of instruction in respect of category B.

(3) In this Regulation—

“category B” means a vehicle in category B as set out in the Table to Regulation 6 of the Regulations of 2006;

“code 73” has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 32 of the Regulations of 2006;

“instructor” means a person entered in the Register of Approved Driving Instructors maintained under Regulation 17 of the Road Traffic (Driving Instructor Licensing) (No. 2) Regulations 2009 ( S.I. No. 203 of 2009 );

“tricycle” has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 3(1) of the Regulations of 2006;

“Regulations of 2006” means Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) Regulations 2006 ( S.I. No. 537 of 2006 ).

4. (1) For the purposes of Regulation 3 a course of instruction (known as Essential Driver Training for Car Drivers) shall consist of training in procedures and processes in each of 12 lessons as set out in the Schedule.

(2) Where a person undertakes Essential Driver Training for Car Drivers—

(a) lessons 1 to 8 must be taken in sequence, and

(b) lessons 9 to 12 may only be taken after lesson 8 is taken, but need not be taken in sequence.

(3) A person undergoing lessons 1 to 8 of Essential Driver Training for Car Drivers is not entitled to progress to the next lesson or any subsequent lesson of the course unless he or she has demonstrated the necessary knowledge and ability for the procedures and processes of the proceeding lesson of the course to the satisfaction of the instructor.

(4) The length of time of a course of instruction for Essential Driver Training for Car Drivers shall be dependent on the knowledge and ability of the learner driver but shall not be less than one hour for each lesson set out in the Schedule.

5. (1) A log book ceases to be in force where the learner permit issued to the learner driver to which it relates has ceased to be in operation for a period of 5 or more years.

(2) A learner driver shall sign the log book issued to him or her upon the completion of any course of instruction.

(3) In this Regulation “logbook” means a logbook made available under Regulation 4(1) of the Road Traffic (Courses of Instruction) (Cars) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. _ _ of 2011) and issued by a driving instructor to a learner driver in respect of Essential Driver Training for Car Drivers.

Regulation 4

SCHEDULE

Essential Driver Training For Car Drivers

LESSON 1

CAR CONTROLS AND SAFETY CHECKS

Covering:

use of primary and secondary controls;

vehicle safety; and

vehicle roadworthiness.

LESSON 2

CORRECT POSITIONING 1

Covering positioning the vehicle:

on the straight;

cornering;

negotiating bends and junctions;

changing lanes;

entering and exiting from slip roads;

entering and exiting junctions and roundabouts; and

positioning within traffic lanes.

LESSON 3

CHANGING DIRECTION 1

Covering driving in light traffic:

using the mirror and signalling;

basic scanning techniques when turning left and right, turning at roundabouts, negotiating junctions.

LESSON 4

PROGRESSION MANAGEMENT

Covering the following aspects of speed management on public roads:

controlling speed;

speed limits;

stopping distances;

effects of road and weather conditions;

driving too fast.

LESSON 5

CORRECT POSITIONING 2

Covering correctly positioning the vehicle when:

on the straight;

in traffic lanes;

on bends turning left and right;

turning left and right;

negotiating roundabouts;

approaching and emerging from junctions;

reversing;

performing a turnabout;

parking;

stopping in a confined space;

stopping in traffic.

LESSON 6

ANTICIPATION AND REACTION

Covering driving in a variety of road:

junctions;

streets with parked cars;

streets with substantial numbers of pedestrians;

roads with multiple warning signs;

roads with poor visibility such as bends with tree cover or hill brows.

The lesson should cover potential hazards associated with:

road junctions;

blind spots;

parked vehicles;

crossings;

roundabouts;

motorcyclists and cyclists;

road works;

pedestrians.

LESSON 7

SHARING THE ROAD

Covering driving in a variety of road conditions including:

Junctions;

streets with parked cars; and

streets with substantial numbers of pedestrians so that there is significant interaction with them in how and when to give way to other road users.

LESSON 8

DRIVING SAFELY THROUGH TRAFFIC

Covering driving in traffic in a variety of busy road conditions where there is significant interaction with other road users while focusing on:

defensive driving;

recognising risks to the safety of others; and

co-operating with other road users.

LESSON 9

CHANGING DIRECTION 2

Covering driving in traffic in a variety of busy road conditions where there is significant interaction with other road users while making independent decisions about which route to take.

LESSON 10

SPEED MANAGEMENT

Covering driving in fast-moving traffic or where speeds are highly variable where there are changing speed limits or variable traffic conditions. Some of this lesson should include independent driving.

LESSON 11

DRIVE CALMLY

Covering experiencing the following driving:

joining busy main roads;

entering junctions while driving independently;

simulating the stalling and re-starting of the vehicle; and

parking on a road with significant numbers of other parked cars and moderate traffic volumes.

Also covering:

planning for a journey; and

fitness of passengers to travel.

LESSON 12

NIGHT DRIVING

Covering driving at night in a variety of road conditions, including urban and rural roads, with significant interaction with other road users. This lesson should take place after dark.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

1 April 2011.

LEO VARADKAR,

Minister for Transport.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

The purpose of these Regulations is to require learner drivers in future (i.e. learner drivers whose first learner permit is issued on or after 4 April, 2011) to undergo Essential Driver Training (EDT) before sitting a driving test.