Learner drivers, the gardai have their eyes on you…

Are you a naughty learner driver? You better watch yourself because the gardaí are planning on clamping down on people who sport the L-plates.

The Irish Sun reports that new garda data has revealed almost half of learner drivers actively break the law.

To gather the statistics, members of the garda traffic cops targeted various learner drivers around the country and found that at least 43 per cent of them break the law by travelling without a fully licenced driver in the car with them.

In fact out of 2,200 learners who were stopped at checkpoints around the country, 946 did not have a fully licenced driver with them. Uh-oh…

Three out of ten also didn’t bother to put up their L-plates. We imagine the reasons that they gave were probably pretty interesting/hilarious...

Anyway, gardaí don’t take too kindly to learner drivers breaking the law and they have confirmed that court proceedings are being taken against 279 drivers, while 949 drivers got away with an official caution for now.

“One of the focuses of An Garda Siochana this year is particularly on the area of learner drivers,” said Assistant Garda Commissioner John O’Mahoney.

“We remind all learner permit holders of their legal obligations with regards to displaying L-plates, being accompanied by qualified drivers at all times and motorway restrictions,” he added.

And it’s not just the gardaí who have a few words of warning. So does the Road Safety Authority…

“A learner permit is just that. It is not a driving licence – it allows an individual to learn to driver under certain conditions, until they are ready to take a driving test,” said Noel Brett, the chief of the Road Safety Authority.

If you’re currently a learner driver, it’s probably best to adhere strictly to the rules of the road, because the gardaí are unlikely to be merciful if they catch you doing something that you really shouldn’t be doing.