Motorists found guilty of careless driving will automatically receive five penalty points from next June, the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, revealed yesterday.
The new penalty will cover a defined set of offences, including dangerous overtaking, dangerous reversing and failure to dim lights, according to Mr Brennan, who said the measure would give gardaí "much broader scope" and improve road safety.
Drivers convicted of these offences on or after June 1st will incur five penalty points.
This will be a cause for concern for the 1,117 motorists who have acquired penalty points to date. Motorists accumulating 12 points on their licence record within three years face a six-month disqualification. Only one motorist has accumulated the maximum 12 points, while 15 drivers are two points short of automatic disqualification.
Unlike the speeding and seatbelt penalty points, which are automatically issued on the roadside, the careless diving penalty points will only be issued on conviction in the courts. This, according to Mr Brennan, will afford motorists the opportunity to defend themselves in court.
The Minister said the penalty system was having a "good, solid" effect, and was beginning to change driving culture in Ireland.
He said he intended to look closely at the level of fatalities on Irish roads over the weekends.
A Department spokeswoman said no date had yet been set for the introduction of penalty points for mobile phone offences.