[Article] Careless drivers to incur 5 penalty points

Victor

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/topstories/2923035?view=Eircomnet

Careless drivers to incur 5 penalty points
From:ireland.com
Thursday, 1st April, 2004

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.

BrianD3

5 penalty points for not dipping your lights? Is this an April fool or what....

Lets see - you get the same number of points for dangerous reversing and dangerous overtaking. Hmm....I wonder which of these kills more people on the roads. Of course dangerous reversing should be punished but I think there needs to be some perspective here.

Plus you get the same number of points for not dipping your lights as for driving without insurance :rolleyes:

BrianD3

seamus

Originally posted by BrianD3
Plus you get the same number of points for not dipping your lights as for driving without insurance :rolleyes:

BrianD3

Seems a bit excessive alright, but at least now some people might discover that you don't want the big blue light on your dash when driving in the city.

(Yes, a girl actually said to me one day, "No, my lights aren't properly on, the blue light isn't showing!". :rolleyes: )

Bee

Sad to see nice Mr.Brennan panicking due to effect of the initial start that penalty points had wearing off due to totally stupid policing (and lack of a traffic corps)

As per normal I don't know how many times I have seen "gardai" skulking on straight sections of dual carraigeway where there have been virtually zero accidents nicking drivers for exceeding the speed limit,in many cases a too low limit.

As long as little or no action is continued to be taken by the gardai the latest turn of the screw with the penalty points will soon fade away leading to a further rise in road fatalities.

I know some people imagine speed kills... It's stupid driving that kills along with non-enforcement of existing laws.

Cycling along Pearse St I spotted a BMW plonker cut across two lanes to get into a mini sized gap nearly causing an accident. Where was the law? Standing like an eejit at the DCC created traffic jam to prevent cars going from Pearse St via College Green :rolleyes:

Bee

Victor

Originally posted by BrianD3
5 penalty points for not dipping your lights?

My brother was driving over the crest of a hill at new years at night and there was some guy parked on the wrong side of the road with his full head lights on. The road simply disappeared in front of us, as our visibility went from 100m to 3m.