Motorists convicted of driving without insurance will from this Sunday incur five penalty points on their licences, as well as court fines, in the first extension of the penalty points scheme since its introduction.
An order giving effect to the new offence has been signed by the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, who published figures yesterday showing that almost 23,000 drivers had incurred penalty points since the scheme was introduced, for speeding only, last November 1st.
A third offence, resulting in two penalty points for not wearing a seat-belt and four if there is a conviction in court, is due to be effective from July 1st.
Announcing the latest penalty points figures, the Minister again called on insurance companies to follow the example of Hibernian and agree to reduce premiums for drivers who have incurred no points under the scheme.
The call comes ahead of the planned introduction next month by AXA, the State's largest motor insurer, of a new reduced-premium scheme for safe drivers.
A spokesman for the company said young drivers could enjoy a discount of up to 50 per cent on their premiums if they participated in the scheme, under which their vehicles would be monitored for speeding by satellite technology.
Introduced on a pilot basis in August 2001, Tracksure has already been tested on 1,000 young drivers. Speeds and distances travelled are reviewed by AXA through a dashboard tracking device, which sends signals every three minutes through satellite and mobile infrastructure.
"We have mapped out the country's speed limits and can see if and when anyone is consistently breaking them," said a spokesman for the company.
"It's very cost effective for safe drivers. As well as saving a substantial amount of money on premiums, they will get a full bonus at the end of three years if accident free," he added.
As for the Minister's call for lower premiums, the spokesman said AXA had dropped its rates by 6 per cent over the past six months.
He added that Hibernian's announcement of a 10 per cent drop for points-free drivers from November was merely "a promise" at this stage.
A total of 22,969 drivers had received penalty points up to May 27th. Some 22,570 had received two points, 379 four points, 18 six points, and two drivers - both in Dublin - eight points.
Any driver who accumulates 12 points in a three-year period is to be banned from the roads for six months. The Minister said the new five-point penalty for driving with- out insurance would "send out a clear signal that those who recklessly flout the law are gambling with losing their driving licence and high premiums when they do insure".
He described as "tragic and disappointing" the fact that 35 people had been killed on Irish roads this month, 15 more than in May 2002, and he appealed for "particular care" on the roads this bank holiday weekend.
An Garda Síochána has launched its national road safety campaign, Operation Taisteal, running from midnight last night to midnight next Monday.
More than 5,000 checkpoints are due to be mounted over the weekend to crack down, in particular, on speeding, drink driving, the non-wearing of seatbelts and the driving behaviour of young male drivers.
Gardaí say their enforcement activities will be visible on all the road networks, with particular emphasis on collision-prone areas within each Garda division.
Over 100 people were injured and eight people killed on the roads during the recent May bank holiday weekend. Almost 4,000 drivers were fined on the spot for speeding, while 31 drivers were arrested for drink-driving in relation to accidents over the same period.
Gardaí arrested 254 drivers for drink-driving, and 1114 people were fined on the spot for not wearing their seatbelts. Gardaí also made 211 detections for dangerous and careless driving. During the June bank holiday period last year, five people were killed on Irish roads and over 80 injured.
Gardaí are urging motorists to drive carefully, at the appropriate speed, and ensure that all drivers and passengers wear their seat belts.
