The penalty points system is to be expanded within the next month to include dangerous overtaking and careless driving, writes Liam Reid.
The move will result in the largest expansion of the points system since its introduction 15 months ago, and is coming six months ahead of the full computerisation of the penalty points system.
It is understood that the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, wants serious traffic offences to attract penalty points as soon as possible.
Dangerous overtaking is believed to be the cause of up to 60 per cent of fatal road accidents, according to figures from the National Roads Authority. The offence of careless driving will expand the system to include a wide range of illegal behaviour.
The introduction comes as the first two months of this year saw a 25 per cent rise in the number of road fatalities, although the overall numbers are down by more than 10 per cent in the 15 months since the introduction of penalty points.
The two offences will attract two penalty points each, rising to five each if convicted in the courts. At present the system applies to a limited number of offences, including speeding, not wearing seat-belts and not having insurance.
The regulations for the expansion of the points system have now been completed and the Department of Transport is finalising details on the inclusion of the offences with the Garda and the Department of Justice.
The inclusion of other offences in the penalty points system, with the possible exception of the use of mobile telephones, will not take place until its full computerisation later this year. The system is expected to be in place by July, but it will have to undergo a testing period of three months before it is rolled out nationally.
Once it is computerised, more than 60 road traffic offences will come under the system.
Its expansion to include careless driving and dangerous overtaking is the first in a series of measures promised for 2004 by Mr Brennan. They include a major overhaul of the provisional licence system, which will ban all provisional licence holders from driving unaccompanied.
A new permit system requiring motor-cyclists to undergo lessons before being allowed on the road has also been pro-mised.
The roll-out of over 70 speed cameras later this year has also been promised while legislation to allow full random breathalysing of all drivers is expected to be in place before Christmas.
Meanwhile, a new national road safety strategy is due to be published in the next few weeks. It aims for a reduction in the number of road fatalities by more than 25 per cent to under 300 in three years.