94 people have lost their lives on Irish roads in 2022 so far.
Fines for speeding, driving while using a mobile phone, and not using a seatbelt while driving are set to be doubled in a bid to tackle the increasing number of road deaths and injuries in Ireland.
So far in 2022, a total of 94 people have lost their lives on Irish roads – a 42% increase and a stark statistic that Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said is “of great concern” on Monday. 673 people have been injured in road-related incidents during this time.
One such previously mooted measure to combat this difficult problem is officially set to be introduced, with fines for dangerous driving offences due to be doubled once new legislation clears in the next number of weeks.
This would see the fine for speeding increase from €80 to €160. A fine for mobile phone use would increase from €60 to €120, with the same amount applying to not wearing a seatbelt. Measures to increase penalty points will require further legislation, which the Government intends to look towards.
61 new speed cameras are now in operation on Irish roads – you can get the full list of them here. The new zones are spread across 23 counties, with 49% on Regional Routes, 31% National Routes and 20% on other routes, such as motorways, and local roads.
Speaking on Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio 1 on Tuesday (26 July), Minister of State at the Department of Transport Hildegarde Naughton confirmed the plan while previewing a new safety campaign ahead of the forthcoming Bank Holiday weekend.
Asked if there is any specific reason that can be attributed to the spike in road deaths in Ireland this year, Minister Naughton responded:
“A number of these fatalities – and not to forget the serious injuries; there’s over 600 serious injuries on our roads already this year – are as a result of people speeding, using mobile phones while driving, and not wearing seatbelts. This year alone, over 100,000 of these offences were committed – so this is simply not acceptable.”
Minister Naughton said she wishes to bring in a measure “with almost immediate effect” to increase fines, acting as a deterrent for road users, particularly during the month of August – “a very busy month when people are holidaying, we have a lot of tourists visiting Ireland, there’s a lot of school children out and about,” explained Naughton.
In terms of a timeline of introducing the fine increases, Naughton said:
“The regulations are being worked on at the moment within my Department, so I would say within the next number of weeks.”
Asked if there was any evidence that increased fines will actually have significant impact on reducing road deaths, with the suggestion that penalty points may represent more of a potent measure, Minister Naughton replied:
“What I wanted to do was to put in place measures that were almost immediate – so by increasing the fines, that could be done more quickly.
“Penalty points; that would need primary legislation and that’s something that we can work on. But what we wanted to was act fast, put in place immediate measures.”
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