The faster the speed, the higher the fine
The Minister for Transport Shane Ross has proposed that the faster a driver goes over the speed limit, the higher the fine.
Currently, the fine for speeding is €80, but Shane Ross is proposing a new punitive “sliding scale” system basing fines according to the driver's speed.
Statistics show that speeding is one of the leading causes of road deaths in the Republic of Ireland each year. Last year, tragically, 157 people died on Irish roads. Conor Faughnan of the AA agreed with the proposal, saying,
“The one-size-fits-all punishment that we have for speeding at the moment is arguably inappropriate.
“If you have got somebody who is doing 125km/h on the motorway, for example, that’s higher than the speed limit so it is an offence, but it is nowhere near as dangerous as the individual going through a rural village at 90 km/h in a 60km/h zone, for example.”
Motorists caught speeding may in the future receive fines determined by how fast they were going under the proposed new law being considered by the Government.
Currently speeding motorists face the same penalties no matter how fast they are driving over the speed limit. Anyone who fails to pay is summoned to court where they automatically get five penalty points on conviction and a fine of up to €1,000.
The proposed bill will outline penalties for speeding dividing them into three bands with increased penalties determined by the bands and more serious offenders are to receive more serious penalties.
An example of this is if motorists are caught speeding between 10 and 20 km/h over the limit, they would be fined €150 and get four penalty points.
- Up to 10km/h over: €80 fine, 3-5 penalty points
- 10 -20km/h over: €150 fine, 4-6 penalty points
- 20-30km/h over: €200 fine, up to 7 penalty points
- 31km/h or over: Dangerous driving charges
The proposed law has yet to be brought to Cabinet.
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