The Garda authorities have welcomed the Minister for Transport's announcement that the long-delayed penalty points system for motorists is to be phased in from October.
When he became Minister, Mr Brennan said that he would expedite the introduction of the system, with the intention of having it in operation by the end of the year. He has now announced that penalty points will be introduced on a phased basis from October. Speeding motorists will be the Minister's first target.
"Excessive speed is recognised as the most significant contribution to the cause of road accidents and has already been the subject of significant investment in enforcement measures by the gardaí, with over 345,000 speeding notices issued in 2001," the Minister said.
"I am therefore giving high priority to the introduction of penalty points on a phased basis, commencing with its application to speeding offences from October this year," he added.
Mr Brennan had been informed that the penalty points system could not become fully operational until the end of 2003 because of delays in implementing a new computerised system to process offences. However, a spokesman for the Department said that the Minister had now chosen to "accelerate" the process by introducing the system section by section.
A Garda spokesman said that the Minister's decision was "absolutely part of the plan" to get the penalty points system under way and the decision had been taken following consultation between the gardaí and the Department of Transport. The next step would be to get their computer systems working together, the spokesman added. This is the first time motorists will face penalty points, although the system was promised more than four years ago, following Cabinet approval in July 1998.
After several false starts the Government finally introduced the Road Traffic Bill, which provided for the introduction of penalty points, in November 2001.
The Minister has started the ball rolling with speeding and it is likely that non-wearing of seatbelts will be the next target, from January or February of next year, the Department spokesman said.
Drivers accumulating 12 penalty points will be automatically disqualified from driving for six months. A driver stopped by the gardaí will have the option of paying an on-the-spot fine, thus incurring a lower number of points, or going to court and risking a higher number of points on their record, if convicted.
Typical penalty points for offences are: speeding, two points at the roadside or four points following a court conviction; driving without a licence: two points at the roadside, rising to five for a conviction; not wearing a seatbelt and not wearing a crash-helmet on a motorcycle both incur an initial two points, rising to four on a court conviction.
In introducing the new system the Minister voiced his concern at the level of road deaths on holiday weekends. Twenty people have lost their lives in road accidents over the four bank holidays since the beginning of the year. Mr Brennan said he hoped that the threat of penalty points would encourage drivers to use caution.
"I envisage that the implementation of a penalty points system to address recurring driving violations, in particular speeding, will significantly improve driver behaviour on our roads," he said.
