Drivers face 10 years in jail for ‘leaving scene’

Drivers who leave the scene of a fatal crash may face up to ten years in prison, under plans being worked out between Transport Minister Leo Varadkar and his opposite number, Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley.

Mr Varadkar has previously said he accepted Mr Dooley’s argument that there is currently a loophole that provides a lesser penalty for a driver who leaves the scene of a fatal crash.

Under existing legislation a driver who is convicted of dangerous driving in the case of a fatal crash, faces a maximum fine of up to €20,000 and or up to ten years in prison.

However if the driver flees the scene of the crash and is subsequently caught, prosecutions for leaving the scene may only result in a €2,000 fine and a six month prison sentence at most.

Mr Varadkar said it is difficult for gardaí to demonstrate a driver had been driving dangerously if he is not detained at the scene, and so the offence of leaving the scene is employed.

Now Mr Varadkar is proposing to bring the penalty for leaving the scene into line with the penalty for dangerous driving in a bid to remove the incentive for errant drivers to make a run for it.

Speaking at the Oireachtas Transport Committee this afternoon Mr Varadkar said the legal changes necessary were currently being worked out by his officials, with the aid of Mr Dooley and the Attorney General. He said he hoped to include the measure in the latest Road Traffic Bill currently before the Houses of the Oireachtas.

The Bill also increases penalty points for 17 offences including speeding, driving while holding a mobile phone, dangerous overtaking and failure to obey traffic rules.

The legislation will also allow for blood tests from drivers left unconscious or incapacitated and taken to hospital, under certain conditions, to establish consumption of intoxicants.

But in a concession to novice drivers Mr Varadkar is to amend proposals to reduce to six the number of penalty points at which a recently qualified driver can lose their licence.

Mr Varadkar said this would now become seven points

He explained this followed the increase in the number of penalty points applicable for speeding to three, from two. In such circumstances a novice driver getting two speeding offences could find themselves off the road in a day. At seven penalty points the new regime allows a learner three mistakes before they are put off the road.