A DECADE AGO, road deaths were almost double the current rate, privatised speed cameras were a twinkle in Seamus Brennan’s eye, and penalty points were something that happened to drivers in other countries.
Much has changed. Random breathtesting is a fact of life, a driving test can be arranged within weeks, not months, and the practice of learner drivers rampaging across the country unaccompanied has been banned, if not eradicated.
Behind most of these changes has been a sustained Government focus on road safety, which has seen a decline of almost half in deaths from crashes, down from an average of 400 a year to 212 last year. That tightening of the legislative vice in a bid to further cut deaths and serious injuries is set to continue.
From the October bank holiday, there will be a number of significant legal changes, starting with the introduction of lower drink-driving limits.
The current limit of 80mg will fall to 50mg for licenced drivers and to 20mg for inexperienced or professional drivers. The new limits mean one unit of alcohol is the maximum a driver can consume; either half a pint or a small glass of wine. For those subject to the 20mg limit, even one unit will put them over the new legal alcohol level.
A range of new drink-driving penalties will also be introduced, many of which will be dependent on the amount of alcohol detected. The Medical Bureau of Road Safety has purchased and installed new evidential breath-testing (EBT) machines in 86 Garda stations for testing the new limits, as well as a range of other concentrations: 80mg, 100mg and 150mg.
As part of the new regime the State will for the first time have a drink-driving penalty that does not include a driving ban. Drivers caught with a blood-alcohol level of between 50mg and 80mg will receive three penalty points and a fine of €200, if they do not challenge the conviction in court. This concession was the price the former minister Noel Dempsey had to pay to secure support from rural Fianna Fáil TDs for the new limits.
Learners, recently qualified drivers and professional drivers found with a blood-alcohol level of between 20mg and 80mg face a three-month disqualification and a €200 fine. Those with a blood-alcohol reading of between 80mg and 100mg will be disqualified for six months and receive a €400 fine.
If a driver opts to go to court and is convicted, those with a blood-alcohol level of less than 80mg will be disqualified for six months for a first offence and one year on a subsequent conviction. A driver found with between 100mg to 150mg of alcohol will face a two-year disqualification, and those detected over 150mg will face a three-year driving ban.
Since June, gardaí have carried out a mandatory breath test of all drivers involved in a collision in which a person is injured. From the end of the month, the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar, will bring forward a law to allow for testing a driver taken to hospital for treatment. Drivers who appear intoxicated, but who pass a roadside Intoxilyzer test will, from the end of the month, be subject to an impairment test to determine whether they are under the influence of drugs.
During such tests motorists will be required to perform a number of tasks designed to measure co-ordination. A cohort of Traffic Corps gardaí has been trained to recognise physiological symptoms of drug use, such as pupil dilation. Drivers who fail these tests will be required to provide a blood sample.
It is likely the introduction of the new limits will be accompanied by a highly visible campaign of Garda checkpoints.
The second major change for motorists will be a revamp of the penalty-points system and the closure of a number of loopholes.
More than 85,000 Irish licence-holders have escaped penalty points because drivers are not legally required to bring their licence to court. Because of the wording of the legislation, this simple omission prevents the allocation of points to the driver’s licence.
Also, gardaí currently have no powers to seize the licence of a disqualified driver. As a result, only 531 of the 1,354 drivers who have accumulated 12 penalty points – and with it a six-month driving ban – have handed in their licence.
Varadkar says he plans to sign into law a provision giving gardaí the power to seize a licence and making it offence to fail to bring a licence to court.
From the end of the month, a driver who fails to produce their licence on request within 10 days will be assumed not to have a licence. Holders of a non-Irish driver’s licence with a disqualification applying in this jurisdiction will have that driving ban extended to the state where the licence was issued.
Varadkar may also increase penalty points for other driving offences. “I am considering adjusting the points allocated for speeding and using a mobile phone,” he told The Irish Times recently.
Both offences currently warrant two penalty points, and the Road Safety Authority has recommended the points for speeding should be increased to three.
Varadkar also plans to widen the offences covered by penalty points to include driving with faulty lights, failing to wear a motorcycle helmet and a series of points relating to the taxi industry.
Learner and new drivers will face a range of restrictions from next year. The first of these, an expanded driver-theory test with a wider range of questions, has already been introduced.
The driving test is also going to become more difficult. A new format is being designed and will be introduced by the end of the year, and a hazard-perception test will be included from the middle of 2012.
Varadkar says his priority for next year is to pass legislation providing for the graduated driver-licensing system. This will include a range of severe penalties for learner and new drivers caught speeding, not wearing a seatbelt or breaking traffic lights. The sanctions will range from retaking the test to fitting a speed limiter to being barred from carrying passengers and/or having a curfew imposed.
The new laws may also provide for the introduction of a tracking device and for the fitting of an “alcolock” – a device measuring the alcohol level in a driver’s breath before allowing a car to start – for those convicted of drink-driving . Another proposal would double penalty points for learner drivers detected speeding, not wearing a seatbelt or ignoring traffic lights.
It’s all towards the ultimate goal of getting road deaths under 200 and to reduce the number of serious injuries.
Changes for drivers
From the October Bank Holiday
* Alcohol Limits will fall to 50mg, and to 20mg for inexperienced and professional drivers
* New penalties for drink driving based on alcohol-level detected
* Injured drivers to face a test in hospital
* Penalty-points system will be revamped. Gardaí will be able to seize the driving licence of a disqualified motorist
* It will be an offence to fail to bring licence to court
From the end of 2011
* Penalty points for speeding and using a mobile phone likely to rise
* New offences to be added to the penalty-points system
* New format to be introduced for the driving test, and driver theory test to be expanded
From 2012
* Learner drivers will face new sanctions for speeding and for failing to wear a seatbelt
* Hazard-perception test introduced
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