Penalty Points To Be Increased Over The Bank Holiday Weekend

Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar has today announced changes to introduce or increase penalty points for seatbelts and vehicle weight offences from this bank holiday weekend.

Statistics released by the RSA earlier this month have shown that in the first six months of this year, 23% of drivers killed and 29% of passengers killed were not wearing seatbelts. A particularly worrying feature is the number of people not wearing a seatbelt and who were ejected from the vehicle.

Minister Varadkar said: "We have made significant strides in recent years to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads. However, the Gardaí still report that a large number of people do not wear their seatbelt or allow other passengers to travel unrestrained."

The Minister continued: "Shocking as it may sound there are still motorists who permit children under 3 to travel without being properly restrained. Failing to wear a seatbelt or allowing a passenger to travel unrestrained is a breach of the law and you risk a fine and penalty points on your licence which will remain in place for 3 years."

Mr. Noel Brett, Chief Executive, RSA said: "Putting on a seatbelt only takes a few seconds and it’s something we do automatically. Despite this there is a minority who are willing to put their lives at risk by not wearing one. Wearing a seatbelt significantly increases your chance of survival and can reduce the severity of your injuries if involved in a collision. According to the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) in the UK around 2 out of 3 people will survive or have less serious injuries if they are wearing a seat belt. If you do not wear a seatbelt you become a potential killer in a crash. You will be thrown around the inside of a car, possibly seriously injuring or killing other occupants in the car. Quite simply, without a seatbelt you're a killer."

Minister Varadkar concluded: "Since 2000 a total of 55 lives have been lost and 147 people have been seriously injured over August Bank Holiday weekends. I want to take this opportunity to remind all road users, motorists, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians, to take care on our roads this bank holiday weekend."

(CD/GK)