One of the first vehicle seizures under the Clancy Amendment, targeting unaccompanied learner drivers, has taken place in Cork.
The car was seized on the M8 southbound, near Fermoy, by the local Roads Policing Unit. The driver was caught speeding, and it was discovered he was an unaccompanied learner driver.
Since December 21, it is an offence for the owner of a vehicle to knowingly allow an unaccompanied learner or an unlicensed person to drive his or her vehicle. The measure was introduced under the Clancy Amendment, named after Kilworth mother and daughter Geraldine and Louise Clancy who died in a collision with an unaccompanied learner driver in December 2015.
Gardaí said the driver and the owner of the car in Tuesday’s case on the M8 will now both face court appearances.
There have been other detections in Kildare since the legislation came into force.
In one incident on December 29, a car turned around when approaching a checkpoint. Gardaí managed to stop the car and found it was being driven by an unaccompanied learner driver.
In a separate incident in recent days, a motorist was stopped because of having a faulty rear light. Gardaí discovered the car’s L plates had been taken down.
In another separate case, an unaccompanied learner driver failed a roadside breath test and was found to be over the legal limit, as well as having broken the law under the Clancy Amendment.
On Tuesday, a learner motorist was detected in Kildare travelling at 115km/h in a 50km/h zone, while driving unaccompanied. In that case, the driver was also travelling without L plates displayed.
Before the Clancy Amendment, learners could be fined for driving without a driver who has a full licence, but there was no penalty for a car owner who allowed their vehicle to be driven by an unaccompanied learner driver.
