Motorists receive just 71 fines in three years for dangerously overtaking cyclists

Just 71 fines for motorists dangerously overtaking cyclists or attempting to do so have been handed out since the law was introduced more than three years ago.

To date this year, 14 fixed charge notices were issued for the offence, according to provisional figures from An Garda Síochána provided to The Irish Times.

Since November 2019, drivers caught “endangering or causing inconvenience” to a cyclist while overtaking or attempting to overtake them face fines of €120 and three penalty points.

A total of 32 fixed charge notices were issued for the offence over 2019 and 2020, while there were 25 handed out in 2021.

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An Garda Síochána said the figures were based on incidents which occurred from November 12th, 2019, to December 12th, 2022, inclusive.

Phil Skelton, founder and chief campaigner with Safe Cycling Ireland, said it was disappointing to see a “year-by-year drop” in the number of fines handed out and that “we have certainly not seen any substantial evidence that this road safety issue has alleviated to such a degree as to warrant this decrease”.

Mr Skelton said the number of fixed charge notices issued in 2022 in particular was “a cause for concern” and questioned whether Covid-19 and the “associated extra workload heaped upon gardaí has taken away some of the momentum and focus”.

He said the campaign group had called for mandatory training for rank and file gardaí prior to the introduction of the legislation but that “we have seen no evidence of this to date”.

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“We often get reports of gardaí being unaware of this legislation and that is clearly problematic in terms of specific enforcement of hit and miss awareness, and subsequent and predictable postcode lottery situations,” he said.

“We certainly need to see a renewed focus in the new year.”

Dublin Cycling Campaign said it was disappointed with the “low number of fines” and that without enforcement, legislation to protect cyclists was “pointless”.

A spokeswoman for the group said an online tool to allow people to submit video footage to An Garda Síochána was “urgently” needed in support of reporting such incidents.

“In Dublin Cycling Campaign, our aim is to make cycling a safe and reliable travel choice for as many people as possible,” the spokeswoman said.

“We need the support of An Garda Síochána in order to ensure drivers of all motorised vehicles give cyclists the appropriate space to travel safely.”