Thousands of motorists have escaped censure in recent years.
The introduction of new wording on court summonses will effectively close two loopholes that had allowed Irish motorists to escape penalty points in recent years.
According to the Irish Times, new wording on court summonses in relation to fixed charge penalty notices will mean that motorists will no longer be able to escape punishment by failing to produce their driving licences in court.
While legislation requiring motorists to bring their driving licences to court has been in place since 2011, it has not been a prosecutable offence as a warning of the consequences of failing to do so was not issued on court summonses.
It was a loophole first flagged following a court judgement in November 2015, a loophole that has allowed thousands of motorists to avoid penalty points as a result.
Motorists will also no longer be able to exploit a second loophole by claiming that they didn’t receive their penalty points notices in the post, notices which, if ignored, resulted in a court summons and a penalty more severe than had been issued on the original notice.
Drivers, however, appeared in court claiming that they never received the notice in the first place, which, in some cases, was accepted by judges and their cases were dismissed.
New court summonses, with new wording (see below) on the front and a copy of the fixed charge notice on the back, will now close off both of those loopholes and motorists issued with the new summonses are expected to begin appearing in court from next month on.
“You should bring your driving licence or learner permit to court. If you are convicted the judge will require you to produce your licence or learner permit. If you fail to produce your licence or permit you will be guilty of an offence and may be liable to a fine and/or imprisonment.”
For more information on penalty point offences, check out the Road Safety Authority website.
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