1. Friday, February 28, 2014 NEWS DONEGAL NEWS 11
CAOLAN Marley admits to what he
called an act of “stupidity” that re-
sulted in a four-year driving ban.
“It was the biggest mistake of my
life,” insists the young Cloghan
man.
With nine other male drivers, he
has just completed the Donegal Pro-
Social Drivers Programme which
aims to improve the driving habits
of offenders.
“I lost my licence a year ago and
I am now realising just how much I
miss it and how I didn’t respect it. It
was stupidity on my part and I re-
gret it.”
He describes the course as “very
beneficial” and says it has taught
him to be more aware on the road.
“You have to be in control yourself
and that is drilled into you in this
course.
“There was plenty of discussion
and the fact that the course was on
at the weekend was ideal for me as
I am undertaking a sports course
during the week.”
Adds Caolan: “The tutors were
very good and very friendly and
there was always a bit of crack but
the main thing was about learning
how to be a road user.
‘The course taught us that a car is
a weapon on the road and we got to
watch videos of crash scenes and
the devastation crashes can cause
to the victims and their families.”
Like his fellow participants on
the course, he is hoping for one
thing. ‘I’d like to have my licence
back.”
But this time with a greater
awareness of the responsibility that
goes with being a driver.
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‘Act of stupidity’ resulted in four-year driving ban
THE first thing that struck Joe
McHugh when he introduced himself
to the completion participants in the
latest Donegal Pro-Social Drivers Pro-
gramme was the gender of the group.
“All men here,” he noted with a
quick glance around the room at the
Congress Resource Centre in the
Celtic Apartments on Letterkenny’s
Pearse Road.
He was there to present certificates
to the ten young males who had com-
pleted the course but this was no for-
mal gathering and no formal setting.
Consequently it allowed for a thor-
oughly informal exchange between
the Fine Gael T.D. and the partici-
pants and tutors involved.
The first car he owned, he told his
audience, was a Volkswagen Golf 1600
when he was twenty-two or twenty-
three. Top speed – 55 m.p.h. They had
all been there, he said. All young driv-
ers at some stage in their lives.
“I’m not here to judge,” he told the
group.
But they had been judged in the far
from informal setting of a courthouse
where their respective offences and
misdemeanours on the county’s roads
had landed them. However, they had
been given the opportunity to under-
take the Pro-Social Drivers Pro-
gramme and it was here that they had
learned about behaviour, good and
bad, when motorists of whatever age
got behind the wheel.
Joe McHugh revealed he had un-
dertaken a charity driving test and it
had demonstrated to him the bad
habits that every driver can pick up
along the way. Should there, he won-
dered, be an option for a refresher
course for all drivers?
‘STATE OF MIND’
Martin McFadden, course tutor, re-
ferred to the “state of mind” that ex-
isted whenever someone sits behind
the wheel of a vehicle. “If you get into
a car angry, you’re going to drive an-
gry,” he pointed out.
Programme coordinator, Gary
Doggett, said the emphasis during the
driving test was the technical skills
when it was equally important to
learn the social skills required.
A number of issues arose during
the discussion. Drivers using mobile
phones to text and send e-mails; slow
drivers who hold up traffic; and the in-
variable road rage that can result
from such incidents.
Gary reflected on the changes that
had taken place in Irish society in re-
lation to smoking. Could such chang-
ing attitudes apply to poor behaviour
on the roads?
Those who participate in the Done-
gal Pro-Social Drivers Programme got
the opportunity to view what Martin
described as “graphic footage” of
what can happen when you’ve sent
what could, all too literally, be your
last text.
Drink drivers received much atten-
tion but there was also the conse-
quences of drug driving. “It’s a huge
issue, massive, but it’s not given any
credence,” Martin maintained.
The justice system, too, needed to
be educated, he argued.
“People in authority need to be less
judgemental,” added Gary.
Joe McHugh highlighted the issue
of school curriculums and whether
they should involve aspects in relation
to driving.
“Anybody here feel they were
wronged?,” he asked at the conclusion
of the exchange. Only one of the par-
ticipants believed this to be the case
as he had been informed a couple of
months after his driving offence
telling him that he was being charged
with dangerous driving when he be-
lieved he had originally been cleared.
They were, the Dail Deputy in-
formed them before presenting the
certificates, getting a second chance.
“A good bunch of blokes”, Gary
Doggett declared. “I hope Judge Kelly
will be kind.”
Councillor Jimmy Kavanagh, TD Joe McHugh, Martin McFadden and Gary Doggett.
Male-only at Pro-Social Drivers night
Certificates for road offenders who were ordered to complete programme