Cyclists face on-the-spot fines for seven road traffic offences

Cyclists face penalties of up to €2,000 under a new system of on the spot fines unveiled by Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe.

An initial group of seven cycling offences will attract €40 fines from the beginning of next month under the scheme to be run under using the motoring fixed charge notice and penalty points infrastructure.

Cyclists will receive a fixed charge notice in the post at the address they supply to the Garda member that detects them committing the offence.

They will then be given 26 days to pay the fine and if they comply the matter will go no further.

Failure to pay within that period will result in the fine increasing by 50 per cent to €60, with a 56-day window to pay.

If the fine remains unpaid, a summons will be issued and the matter dealt with by the courts, where members of the judiciary can impose fines of up to €2,000.

The Garda and Road Safety Authority have both pointed out the cycling fine of €40 is equal to the lowest sum motorists are fined in the fixed charge notice system.

And they have said while some motoring offences dealt with under the fixed charge notice system carry a maximum fine in court of €1,000, half the sanction that cyclists face; other motoring offences that reach the courts are punishable by fines of up to €5,000.

Those cyclist who give a false name or address to the Garda would be prosecuted outside the on the spot fines system, according to Mr Donohoe.

“Supplying the name and address is fundamental to making sure this new system is implemented,” Mr Donohoe said.

“And we do know that this can be a challenging area for road traffic law in other ways.

“Under the Road Traffic Act 2015 I’ll look at any measures that will enable the gardaí to be confident that the name and address they are supplied is accurate and if it’s not, to see what further sanctions and options will be open to them.”

The listed offences already exist, though their inclusion in the fixed charge notice system, along with promised increased enforcement and on the spot fines, is new.

Mr Donohoe said the aim of the new system was to increase safety for cyclists as well as other road users.

While a specific offence of cycling on a footpath was not included in the schedule published today, those cycling on pavements could be fined if they were doing so “without reasonable consideration”.

However, he insisted children cycling to school on pavements, either alone or with their parents, would not face fines.

He believed the introduction of penalty points and fines for motorists under the fixed charge notice had positively influenced road use behaviour and safety. And he was hopeful the new system for cyclists would have the same impact.

While a schedule of 36 cycling offences had been drawn up by the Department in consultation with the Road Safety Authority, Mr Donohoe was non-committal about when those offences would be added to the new system.

Offences now the subject of €40 fines are:

1. Cyclist driving a pedal cycle without reasonable consideration.

2. No front lamp or rear lamp lit during lighting-up hours on a pedal cycle.

3. Cyclist proceeding into a pedestrianised street or area.

4 . Cyclist proceeding past traffic lights when the red lamp is illuminated.

5. Cyclist proceeding past cycle traffic lights when red lamp is lit.

6. Cyclist failing to stop for a School Warden sign.

7. Cyclist proceeding beyond a stop line, barrier or half barrier at a railway level crossing, swing bridge or lifting bridge, when the red lamps are flashing.