Overloading car with passengers

GT89

Is there penalty points for carrying more adult passengers than your car can hold for example six people (including yourself) in a five seater car. Or is the fine just for the passengers themselves. Can't find a straight answer. I know drivers are not responsible to make sure passengers wear seatbelts if they are over 17 but does also apply to overloading.

Rothmans

It is an offence to overload Public Service Vehicles with passengers. But I'm actually not aware of any specific offence of overloading in relation to private vehicles.

However, the driver of the vehicle can still be issued a FCN if a passengers are unbelted, regardless of their age. The only difference is that if the unbelted passenger is under 17, the driver gets penalty 3 points in addition to the fine. If they are over 17, the driver and the passenger (if over 18) are both liable to a €60 fine each (but with no penalty points).

Also, overloading could very easily come within the scope of Driving wothout due consideration/Careless/Dangerous driving so it would very much be something to be avoided.

EDIT: For clarity the second paragraph refers to PSVs not private vehicles.

FishOnABike

If the maximum authorised mass for the vehicle / licence class is exceeded it could fall under
Using vehicle – (a) whose weight un-laden exceeds maximum permitted weight, (b) whose weight laden exceeds maximum permitted weight, or (c) any part of which transmits to ground greater weight than maximum permitted weight
which attracts 1 penalty point on payment and €200 fine if paid within 28 days, €300 if paid within the following 28 days or 3 penalty points on conviction in court.

phill106

These would be the likely possible offences i think, from the entire list of points possible

Driving without reasonable consideration 2 4 €80 €120
Driving without insurance m* 5 Court fine Court fine ( i suggest driver would be uninsured for the amount of passengers in vehicle)
Driver found to be driving carelessly m* 5 Court fine Court fine

horse7

Your insurance could be void also.

biko

Joseph Gilroy who killed Shiva Devine and Conall McAleer got done for dangerous driving among other things.
This is the overcrowded car in Bundoran recently.

Whocare

It pretty obvious especially if Road policing garda caught you driver would be summons for court

mikeecho

The days of overloading cars is well gone.
I remember going to and from school on the 80's with 6 kids in the back seat, 2 in the front, and if there was room another 1 in the boot with the school bags .

Good times.

And let's not talk about sitting in a trailer that was going 60mph.. , or in the back of a pickup. or sitting on top of a load of hay bales, ducking to avoid telegraph wires.


It's a wonder how I'm alive at all.

Just remembered a time when I was working a summer job on a farm, and we were all loaded into the back of a Isuzu trooper, to be brought to the field, 5 of us in the back, with a loaded shotgun.

Back then, there was no health & safety.... I don't think yellow jackets even existed.

arleitiss

In 2014 - I got FPN on the spot for having 4 people in the back (typical saloon car, not an SUV)
Also two passengers got left on side of the road (one ejected by Gardai and one joining him voluntarily for a company)