Penalty Points System

[WhipLash]

I see that the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, yesterday announced the new forthcoming Penalty Points System.

Points will accumulate for speeding or breaching other traffic regulations, with offences allocated either 1 or 2 points each. Clock up to 12 points and your driving license will be suspended for 6 months! :eek:

So does anyone know the exact ins and outs of the proposed new system then? What exactly are the offences and the points for each one? When do any accumulated points expire?

Will this bring cheaper insurance for the more careful driver??

[BrianS]

I can't see how it will affect the cost of insurance. Those money-grabbers will always take our money in a gyrating manner (if you know what I mean...) I see a 20 year old from D.15 is taking one of the companies to the Equality commission. The Co. is charging over £4k for him to drive a Civic. I don't know who's worse - maybe he's got more money than brains but he has my respect. Something should have been done about those gangsters a long time ago.

The penalty points system should be interesting. In my 10 years driving I've been fined once for speeding and that was for going 10mph over the limit and I had just overtaken someone! I reckon the Garda force is understaffed enough. Like all of their new initiatives, it will be strictly enforced at first but then it will dwindle a little when they see they need their resources to deal with drugs, violence, burglaries, murder, rape and everything else that happens in this safari park.

I think people will always break traffic laws, no matter what. They think the risk is better than the inconvenience of going slow, parking in the right place, etc. etc. How many people get killed on the road every week? I thought that would a Death-Risk be a far better deterent than any fining system but people only slow down when they think there's a speed-trap ahead. The 20 year old's insurance is high because he is in the highest-risk group for causing an accident. Those adolescent hormones don't always disappear when you leave your teens (but weren't they great - Girls drove me mad!!) But growing up gives you a need to show-off to the gang and get adrenalyn buzzes in your little cars. I'm not tarring everyone with the same brush but we've all seen it around us.

Anyway - I'm starting to sound like I'm on a SoapBox. I guess we'll have to wait and see how it will turn out.

Take care of yourselves
Brian.

[WhipLash]

Here's the official press release from the Dept. of the Environments web site....

Ministers Announce Road Traffic Bill 2001

Noel Dempsey T.D., Minister for the Environment and Local Government, and Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government, Mr. Robert Molloy T.D., today (28 March) announced the Road Traffic Bill, 2001. The Bill extensively improves enforcement arrangements in relation to road traffic offences. In particular, it provides for a system of penalty points which will trigger automatic disqualification from driving on the accumulation on a person's licence record of a number of infringements.

Minister Dempsey said “This Bill provides for a range of legislative measures aimed at obtaining reductions in deaths and injuries on our roads. Its main plank is the introduction of penalty points which, as they accumulate, will lead to the loss of the driving licence. These will be the new ‘facts of life’ for motorists.”

Minister Molloy declared “Driving on public roads is not just a social freedom, but a social responsibility. Major breaches of safe driving practice will continue to attract the full rigours of court penalties and disqualifications. But from now on, run of the mill carelessness or lack of consideration in relation to safe driving will also have the potential to result in driving disqualification.”

The Ministers agreed “Penalty points are being introduced to instil greater caution in motorists in their driving; and to obtain greater respect for the Rules of the Road which exist to protect all road users.”

The penalty points system is being introduced against a background of real and worthwhile gains in road safety made within the framework of Government’s Road Safety Strategy. Road deaths have reduced by over 12% between 1997 and 2000 relative to the Strategy target of a 20 % minimum reduction by end 2002. Similar gains have been made in relation to the reduction of serious injuries.

The Ministers explained that the administration of the system will need to be supported by the computerisation of the national driver file (NDF) and that this is being urgently advanced.

Penalty points will in most cases be incurred through the acceptance/payment by motorists of fixed charge penalties (formerly fines on the spot) imposed by the Gardai for infringements of road traffic law. If the motorist pays the fixed charge he/she will be accepting the consequence that the prescribed number of penalty points will be endorsed on their driving licence record. The intended effect of these new arrangements is to make motorists more responsible in relation to their driving; and to transfer most of the enforcement of the system from the courts to an administrative process.

In addition to providing for the introduction of penalty points, and again in response to a commitment in the Strategy, the Bill also extend the grounds on which a member of the Garda Siochana may require a driver to provide a preliminary breath specimen to include situations where a driver is involved in a road accident, or where the Garda considers that a road traffic offence has been committed.

The Bill also provides for a comprehensive review of the maximum fines provided for offences under the Road Traffic Acts and provides for the first major review of the administrative penalty system provided for under the Road Traffic Acts since 1961. The new system of fixed charges involves a redesign and refinement of the present on-the-spot fine system. The new system will also underpin the new penalty point system.

Other major initiatives of the Bill include:

The introduction of a system of fixed charges to replace the current “on the spot fine” system
An extended basis for the use of electronic and other equipment, including cameras, for the establishment of proof of a constituent of an offence. Under existing legislation such equipment is limited to establishing evidence in relation to speed only.
A framework for implementing the European Convention on Driving Disqualification
The creation of a broad power to the Minister to contract out functions and services under the Road Traffic Acts
The transfer of the control of taxi ranks and bus stops from the Garda Commissioner, and
A power to introduce road traffic legislation for environmental reasons.
Both Minister Dempsey and Molloy stated that the Bill supplies the substantive legislative measures which were promised under the Strategy to support the road safety agencies to continue to strive for a reduced toll of fatalities and serious injuries.

“I am confident that we can improve Irish road safety performance to the targets set out in the Government Strategy and progressively go beyond these,” concluded Minister Dempsey.

[Phil]

I agree and disagree with you BrianS. I know or have heard of speeders who have got caught more than once for speeding within the same hour as they head down the country.

So hopefully for people that just can't keep their foot off the gas, their going to get stung or even maybe loose their license.

But for the most of us it won't make much difference. Their is one problem though, that if you get pulled over for say not having your car taxed, you will loose points, but depending on the Garda, he/she me go around your car checking your threads on your tires or broken lights etc.

So if your wheels are in bad shape, well you could loose your licence, because you get fined per wheel.:(

Ah well we'll see how it turns out.

[Phil]

Does anyone know where to get a copy of the Penalty Points Scoring system? i.e if your speeding your get x amount of points against you.

[BrianS]

I hear you, Phil! Some people, shall we say, just aren't with the program. The majority of drivers are good but there are others who consistently speed and drive recklessly. All we can do is hope they don't crash into us. As the ad used to say, they might live to regret it.

Its funny though when you hear of people getting caught more than once in the same trip. As I said earlier, they think they won't get caught. If you just got a ticket slapped on you, you reckon "what are the chances of getting another ticket now?" Answer - "a strong chance". How do we get through to them?..... lets see how penalty points work.

Take care out there,
Brian

PS I'm also interested in seeing a copy of the points system.

[Astraman]

Question???
Once you get penalty points on your licence what length of time will it take before you're given a clean slate again.

[Phil]

Ìn the UK I think your points are wiped clean every year.
If you go over 12 points, well then you loose your licence and you have to retake your test.

Bald tire= 3 points
red light= 2 points
speeding = 3 points

I don't know if that's the same over here.

[Toad]

Teh uk system works that if you amount X amount of points in 2 years. And that's any two year period. So to clear you lisence you'll need two years of clean driving from the last time you "earned" points.
I don't think I've explained that well but your all intelligent people so youshould be able to work it out :)

[WhipLash]

Thats sounds clear enough to me Toad! I've heard that it will be similar enough here, but instead of two years I've heard that it will be three. Still, thats just hearsay and not official or anything.

Anyone hear any other details? I'll try and investigate this issue further myself.

I have to say though, I for one look forward to this system. You may call me lucky (roll on the jokes :rolleyes: ), but I've never had a motoring related fine, ever!!!

"Now sir, an insurance quote...what type of car are you insuring....year...value...NCB...and what is the tally of your penalty points?!!!"