Letters 'sent in error' to learner drivers

Letters incorrectly stating that provisional drivers due to take a driving test with SGS next month must have held their licence for six months have been sent to thousands of candidates.

The error appears to be a hangover from the confusion over the October bank holiday weekend when Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey introduced new regulations for provisional drivers only to defer their introduction for eight months after a public outcry.

A copy of the letter, seen by this newspaper, states that the eligibility rules for taking a driving test will change from December 1st and that from that date "all driving test candidates must be in possession of a provisional licence/learner permit that has been valid for a minimum of six months on the date of the driving test". The letter is dated October 31st.

However, the change in fact only applies to those drivers on a first learner permit and since these licences have only been issued since October 30th last, would not apply to drivers sitting a test next month.

A spokesman for the Road Safety Authority (RSA) said the letters "appear to have been sent in error" and may have been written and sent in anticipation of the new regulations.

An SGS spokeswoman said the letter had been prepared on the basis of the new driver licensing regulations being introduced by the RSA and before the Minister changed his mind.

"The letter was to reflect the change of guidelines and was a blanket mail shot to all candidates due to take a test with SGS between December 1st and 14th," she said.

She added that only a few would be provisional licence holders of less than six months and said that the company had not received any calls as a result of the letters.

She said the letter would have been issued to about 4,000 drivers due to take a test with SGS between December 1st and December 14th. A second letter clarifying the position will be issued to these candidates later this week, the company said.

"No one with a test date has had their test cancelled and we advise anyone who has got one of these letters to get in touch with our call centre if they have any questions," the SGS spokeswoman said.

Last night Fine Gael's road safety spokesman Shane McEntee said it was "not surprising that even the State-sanctioned testing company is confused after the Government's recent provisional licence fiasco". He added: "Noel Dempsey sowed chaos and confusion with his botched launch of the new provisional licence regime last week. It now seems that the company contracted by the State to conduct driving tests is equally confused."