A “small correction” to road traffic legislation could have significant repercussions for disqualified and uninsured drivers, allowing gardaí “real-time” access to motorists’ information and capacity for full enforcement of the law.
The amendment to the 2023 Road Traffic Act, which comes into effect on December 1st, will require all motorists to supply their driver number as well as licence number to insurers before they get cover.
Drivers have a unique number held for life, separate from a licence number which changes on renewal. At present, motorists are not obliged to provide their driver number, despite it being listed on their licence.
The change is expected to make the process of verification more effective and allow gardaí instantly check a car licence plate with all up-to-date information. It will also prevent drivers who pay insurance monthly and then cancel payment once they receive an insurance disc, from illegally driving with an up-to-date disc.
Susan Gray, of the Parc road safety group, said the changes would be “a game changer” in terms of how insurance works, but it needs to be properly overseen and enable gardaí to have “real-time” information rather than facing a lag.
“The fear of getting caught for disqualified drivers is slim and they believe if they produce their licence that they’ve held onto there’s nothing on that licence to alert the gardaí that they’re disqualified,” she said.
Ms Gray said between 9,000 and 10,000 drivers annually are disqualified in the courts, but just 3 per cent of learner drivers and fewer than 10 per cent of fully qualified motorists surrender their licence to the courts.
In correspondence with Parc last month, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan’s office confirmed the “capture of driver number with policy details” was an outstanding issue and the provision required a “small correction, which was made in the Road Traffic Act 2024″, after the development of software and implementation of data protection measures.
The “capture and verification” of driver numbers, not traditionally taken by insurance companies, will start on December 1st with transmission to the Irish Motor Insurance Database, run for insurance companies by the Irish Motor Insurance Bureau.
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Insurance Ireland chief executive Moyagh Murdock confirmed that insurers have in the past 12 to 18 months been contacting policyholders and collecting driver numbers in advance of the measure coming into effect. Brokers will now be required to do the same before December 1st.
Meanwhile, gardaí will be “duty bound” to investigate reports of bad driving made by members of the public via a new online portal.
The “Traffic Watch” reporting form — garda.ie/en/trafficwatchreport/ — opened on Thursday and replaces a 20-year-old phone line previously used for reporting non-emergency traffic incidents, which received 45,000 reports over the last decade.
The new system relies on a “partnership approach” with all road users and aims to improve driver behaviour and reduce road collisions, said the Garda.
Supt Liam Geraghty said the initiative sends a signal to drivers that just because they cannot see a garda on the road “this does not mean that somebody is not watching you or that somebody is not prepared to stand up and say that is irresponsible; that is unacceptable”.
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