515 drivers hit 12 penalty points

A TOTAL of 515 motorists have been put off the road for six months, having accrued 12 or more penalty points in the six years since the scheme was introduced. Of these, 139 were disqualified at the end of August, although just 56 had surrendered their licence as required, according to the Department of Transport.

A driver who accumulates more than 12 points over a three-year period is disqualified for six months and is required to surrender their licence voluntarily to their local tax office.

The Department sends a list of drivers who have failed to surrender their licence to the Gardaí and responsibility for handing over of the licence transfers to them. The penalties for not surrendering a driving licence were increased last year and the offence now attracts a fine of up to €1,000.

Figures also show that almost a quarter of a million drivers, or one in eight, have been given penalty points for speeding since the system was introduced. By the end of August, 468,836 penalty points had been allocated to speeding motorists, with a significant proportion of these accepting a fixed penalty and the two points arising for the offence.

More than 46,570 penalty points have been given to drivers for holding a mobile phone while driving, suggesting up to 230 motorists a week are being given points for this activity since it became an offence in September 2006.

Noel Brett, chief executive of the Road Safety Authority said last night that the penalty points system “has saved lives and prevented injuries year on year since its introduction.

“It is critical that all offences detected result in the penalty points being assigned to the drivers licence irrespective of nationality of licence holder”.

The number of penalty points given to motorists who do not hold an Irish driver’s licence rose to 165,409. This includes driver from another EU state and Northern Irish drivers.