Ireland opts out of EU road safety deal

IRELAND HAS opted out of a new road safety plan agreed by the European parliament that will see motorists who have committed serious traffic offences in Europe tracked down and punished.

Several other EU states have agreed to exchange car registration details to allow the prosecution of motorists who commit a serious driving offence in an EU country participating in the plan.

The offences covered are those behind three quarters of road deaths: speeding, driving under the influence of drink or drugs, not wearing a seatbelt, driving through a red light, using a mobile phones and, for motorcyclists, driving without a helmet.

When a motorist commits an offence outside their home country, the authorities in the state where the offence took place will be able to seek details of the driver or the vehicle’s owner from their country of residence.

The offender will then be sent a letter notifying them of the offence committed and the punishment due. Fines and penalties will be based on the laws of the state in which the offence took place.

Parliament approved the new law earlier this month and will now go before the Council of Ministers where it is expected to be approved. Participating countries have two years to incorporate the measures into their domestic law.

Ireland is one of three countries not covered by the new rules. The dissolution of the Dáil before the general election meant the country was not represented at a final meeting on the proposals in early March. A Department of Transport spokesman said the Minister was considering whether or not to “opt in” to the plan and would bring a proposal to Cabinet.

In Ireland, a third of the 854,953 penalty points issued up to last June were to vehicles that did not have a driving licence registered in the State, in most cases the drivers were from the North, or other EU countries. In the majority of cases, these drivers escape punishment.

Britain has also decided to opt out of the plan, due to concerns over whether its databases are suitable for the project, and this decision undermines the usefulness of the measure for Irish road safety.

Research indicates that foreign drivers represent 5 per cent of traffic on Europe’s roads but account for 15 per cent of speeding offences. “We know that a foreign driver is three times more likely to commit an offence than a resident driver,” said European transport commissioner Siim Kallas.

“These new rules should have a powerful deterrent effect and change behaviour.”