THE FINES for 16 road safety offences have doubled in Ireland from today.
The doubling of the fines is aiming is part of the Department of Transport's aim to reduce risk factors and provide interventions to speeding.
The fines that are doubling include speeding from €80 to €160, mobile phone use from €60 to €120, non-wearing of seatbelts (€60 to €120) and failing to ensure that a child is properly restrained (€60 to €120).
Fines relating to offences committed by learners and novice drivers are also increasing. The fines for a learner permit holder driving a vehicle unaccompanied by a qualified person will increase from €80 to €160. The fine for novice drivers not displaying ‘L’ or ‘N’ plates (or tabards in the case of motorcyclists will double to €120.
Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton also announced that three new Fixed Charge Notices will come into force in the new year.
These relate to the misuse of a disabled parking permit (€200). Illegally parking in an electric charging bay (€80) and breaching an HGV ban and entering a specified public road without a valid permit (€200).
Failure to pay the fine within a 28-day period increases it from to €180 or €240, while failure to pay after a further 28-day period and the fine increases to €240 or €320.
Speaking at the Road Safety Authority’s Annual Conference, Naughton said:
“As of today there have been 123 people killed on the road, an increase of 12 on this day last year, and compared to 2019. In response to the increase in road deaths this year, this summer I announced that I was bringing forward the implementation of Action 30 in the Road Safety Strategy to review the penalties for serious road traffic offences and said that I intended to increase the fines for those offences that significantly contribute to road deaths."
Rod King MBE, founder and Campaign Director of ‘20s plenty – Love 30’ also spoke on the benefits of 30km/h speed limits, which Naughton welcomed.
Rod played an instrumental role in empowering local communities in the UK to campaign for default 30km/h limits on urban streets.
Dr Judy Fleiter, Global Manager with the Global Road Safety Partnership discussed the motivations for speed choices on the road, while Guro Ranes, Director of Road Traffic Safety, Norwegian Public Roads Administration spoke about Norway’s approach in tackling speeding with a particular focus on graduated speeding.
The World Health Organisation has estimated that a 5% reduction in average speed could result in a 30% reduction in fatal collisions, and therefore reducing motorists’ speed is essential to improving safety on our roads.
