{"id":24212,"date":"2025-05-13T21:23:06","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T20:23:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/?p=24212"},"modified":"2025-05-13T21:25:38","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T20:25:38","slug":"drivers-want-tougher-tests-but-at-what-cost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/drivers-want-tougher-tests-but-at-what-cost\/","title":{"rendered":"Drivers Want Tougher Tests \u2013 But At What Cost?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Nearly 9 in 10 Irish motorists support making the driving test tougher, according to new Aviva research. But many are worried about longer waiting times and higher costs.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Almost 9 in 10 motorists back plans to shake up Ireland\u2019s driving test \u2013 but not without a few nerves, according to new research from Aviva.<\/p>\n

The nationwide survey found that a massive 88% of drivers support proposals from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to make the test more realistic. Think higher-speed zones, tougher manoeuvres, and real-world driving conditions. The aim? Better-prepared, safer drivers.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a catch.<\/p>\n

Over half of respondents (53%) worry that making the test harder will mean more people failing \u2013 leading to even longer waiting lists for retests (already pushing 24.1 weeks on average). Younger drivers, in particular, fear extra costs from more lessons and repeat tests. No surprise there \u2013 there are now nearly 380,000 learner drivers in the country, a 63% jump since 2019.<\/p>\n

Still, there\u2019s a strong belief that raising the bar could raise road safety too. Over a third of drivers (37%) believe tougher tests will make for better drivers and safer roads \u2013 especially important given the pressure on Ireland\u2019s driving infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear many drivers feel the test needs a revamp to reflect today\u2019s roads,\u201d said Mike Kavanagh, Manager of Aviva Driving School. \u201cYes, there are concerns \u2013 but the long-term benefits could be worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So, should the driving test be more challenging? Most say yes \u2013 as long as learners aren\u2019t left in the slow lane.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nearly 9 in 10 Irish motorists support making the driving test tougher, according to new Aviva research. But many are worried about longer waiting times and higher costs. Almost 9 in 10 motorists back plans to shake up Ireland\u2019s driving test \u2013 but not without a few nerves, according to new research from Aviva. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[117,77],"tags":[5639,5645,5644,5638,5643,5646,5642,5431,5640,5641],"yoast_head":"\nDrivers Want Tougher Tests \u2013 But At What Cost? - wheelsforwomen.ie<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"88% of Irish drivers back tougher driving tests, but concerns grow over waiting times, costs, and stress for learners, Aviva research reveals.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/drivers-want-tougher-tests-but-at-what-cost\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Drivers Want Tougher Tests \u2013 But At What Cost? - wheelsforwomen.ie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"88% of Irish drivers back tougher driving tests, but concerns grow over waiting times, costs, and stress for learners, Aviva research reveals.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/drivers-want-tougher-tests-but-at-what-cost\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"wheelsforwomen.ie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wheelsforwomen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-13T20:23:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-13T20:25:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/learners1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Geraldine Herbert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Geraldine Herbert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/drivers-want-tougher-tests-but-at-what-cost\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/drivers-want-tougher-tests-but-at-what-cost\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Geraldine Herbert\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/4e9263f6ed5330b3f3553487011f8b95\"},\"headline\":\"Drivers Want Tougher Tests \u2013 But At What Cost?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-13T20:23:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-13T20:25:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/drivers-want-tougher-tests-but-at-what-cost\/\"},\"wordCount\":255,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Aviva driving test survey\",\"Aviva research driving test\",\"driving lessons Ireland\",\"driving test changes Ireland 2025\",\"driving test waiting times\",\"Irish motorists driving test opinion\",\"learner drivers Ireland\",\"road safety Ireland\",\"RSA driving test update\",\"tougher driving test Ireland\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Latest\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/drivers-want-tougher-tests-but-at-what-cost\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/drivers-want-tougher-tests-but-at-what-cost\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/drivers-want-tougher-tests-but-at-what-cost\/\",\"name\":\"Drivers Want Tougher Tests \u2013 But At What Cost? 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