New Garda figures have revealed a 35 per cent increase in the numbers of learner drivers in Galway caught driving unaccompanied.

That – mirroring the trend nationally – has led the Irish Road Haulage Association to call for a root and branch review of the Road Safety Authority and their operation of the Irish driving test system.

Irish Road Haulage Association President Ger Hyland said there are 40,523 drivers on a provisional license in Galway alone – a significant slice of the 842,260 people on provisional licenses across the state.

The figures also show that the number of unaccompanied learner drivers caught by Gardaí in Galway between the fourth quarter of 2023 and Q4 2024 was 107, up from 79 – constituting a rise of 35 per cent.

In Donegal, there was a 95% year on year increase in the number of unaccompanied drivers caught by Gardaí between 2023 and 2024. In the Sligo/Leitrim Garda division, the percentage increase was 83%.

According to Mr Hyland, an inadequate testing system is forcing many of them out on our roads without a full license, or a licensed driver.

The IRHA is concerned for the safety of their drivers who are coming across inexperienced drivers on a daily basis on Irish roads.

New figures provided by Gardaí show dramatic increases in the number of learner drivers caught driving unaccompanied.

The IRHA said that young drivers, in rural Ireland in particular, needed their car to get to work and significant delays in the driver testing system are forcing young learner drivers to make difficult choices.

Latest figures show that in March of this year, just over 81,000 people were waiting for a date for their test – up from 75,000 in February.

IRHA President Ger Hyland emphasised that his association is in no way condoning young learner drivers driving without a fully licensed driver.

He pointed to the fact that more unaccompanied learner drivers on our roads presents a clear and present danger to his member’s drivers.

Mr Hyland attributed the current rises in the number of unaccompanied learner drivers on our roads as a direct result of the mismanagement of the driver test system by the RSA and has called for the Road Safety Authority to be reformed and restructured.

He called for a radical overhaul of our driving test system to include testing for motorway driving skills, nighttime driving and safe overtaking on secondary roads.

He branded the testing system a laughingstock – and compared it to a pilot being taught how to fly a plane without ever leaving the runway.

“The current 40-minute driving test allows for an approximate driving time of between 15 and 20 minutes, often in heavy urban slow-moving traffic,” he said.

“This would be a great test of one’s ability to sit in a traffic jam, but if we are honestly testing driving skills and driver preparedness, the test as it stands is a shambolic exercise in raising funds for the RSA.

“The increases in the numbers of learner drivers caught driving unaccompanied is only the ones Gardaí are catching and we feel this is just the tip of the iceberg,” he added.

Pictured: IRHA President Ger Hyland