Penalty points on Foreign Licences

Luckycharm

Hi,
My wife got a speeding ticket in the post, car registered in my name, she is on the insurance etc. She has a full ozzie Drivers license which she is allowed to drive on here, she does not have an irish license. Can she get penalty points on this license?
I personally would not have thought so but would like to get clarified.
Cheers

bazz26

Was the ticket issued via a garda speed trap or was it issued via a fixed camera?

If issued via a fixed camera I think they apply the penalty points to the registered owner of the car unless you, the owner, can prove that you were not driving the car at the time.

There might be more info at http://www.penaltypoints.ie/faq.php#speedingqueries

R.O.R

If issued from a fixed camera then the fine will be sent to the registered owner but a declaration can be filled in on the back of the form nominating who was driving.

Fill in your wife's details, unlikely they can apply the points and not sure if they even bother sending fines. If you really want to avoid anything, fill in the name and address from her licence.

On a seperate point, are you sure she is allowed to drive in Ireland on her Australian licence?

jhegarty

The points will be waiting for her if she ever gets an Irish license....

Alun

R.O.R wrote:

On a separate point, are you sure she is allowed to drive in Ireland on her Australian licence?

According to the Dept. of Transport website she has to change to an Irish licence after 12 months or at the expiry of her licence whichever is sooner. She doesn't have to retake her driving test though. The citizensinformation.ie website, in it's usual ambiguous way, seems to suggest that she doesn't have to exchange it, although I'd take the info on the DOE website over that one any day.

Luckycharm

I got it 2 weeks later in the post with a picture of my license on it it was on the dual carriageway at lucan but not the speed camera at the spa hotel as I know where that one is. I presume there must another one there it says Lucan Bypass (esker estate) on the license. It is my first one since the introducion of the penalty points.
She has never had a prob driving on her Ozzie license, ask each time insurance is renewed and when she has been stopped Cops have never said anything - she justs acts all touristy you can do this in oz thought you could do it here and gets away with it

R.O.R

Alun wrote:

According to the Dept. of Transport website she has to change to an Irish licence after 12 months or at the expiry of her licence whichever is sooner. She doesn't have to retake her driving test though. The citizensinformation.ie website, in it's usual ambiguous way, seems to suggest that she doesn't have to exchange it, although I'd take the info on the DOE website over that one any day.

Just wasn't sure if Australia was one of the "authorised" countries offering a straight swap. I used to work with an Aussie guy who had to go on to a provisional in Ireland, but I think he'd only recently passed his test in Oz. AFAIR they have a similar system as NI for newly qualified drivers.

whosedaddy?

yes as Australia is authorised country those 12month grace period don't apply. She needs to swap when the license expires - that if it expires.

Alun

whosedaddy? wrote:

yes as Australia is authorised country those 12month grace period don't apply. She needs to swap when the license expires - that if it expires.

But that isn't what it says here ...

http://www.transport.ie/roads/licensing/licence/index.asp?lang=ENG&loc=1836#Exchange_Driving_Licence

Australia is a recognised country in as much as she can just exchange the licence instead of having to retake a driving test as people from, say, the US have to do.

whosedaddy?

oops. I was reading the FAQs first and there they didn't mention the 12 month for recognised countries, but for the non-recognised ones...

I stand corrected!