Extra Penalty Points for Bank Holiday weekends

Economics101 · 16-10-2023 2:04pm #1

This has got to be the stupidest idea ever

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2023/1016/1411137-road-safety/

If I drive dangerously is it somehow less of an offence or less dangerous on A Wednesday as opposed to a bank holiday Monday.

Allinall · 16-10-2023 2:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058318392/extra-penalty-points-for-bank-holiday-weekends

The statistics would say yes, it's less dangerous on a non bank holiday weekend.

Economics101 · 16-10-2023 3:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121245541#Comment_121245541

Yes, in the sense that there be more careless/dangerous drivers about on Bank Holiday Weekends. That is a case for more enforcement at such times. If I drive at 80 kph in a 50 kph area, the danger posed by that has nothng to do with the fact that it may be at a weekend. Roads can be just as busy at vertain times during the week.

_Kaiser_ · 17-10-2023 11:08am

This is just another kneejerk panicky reaction to recent events - never a good idea to legislate in that manner but it's what we do here.

JP 1800 · 17-10-2023 11:46am

We have enough laws and legislated punishment for traffic offences. The issue is around detection and prosecution of dangerous driving and driving without care. The lack of resources giving to roads policing in this country is farcical at this point. More knee jerk reactions from those who are supposed to be managing the justice portfolio.

Allinall · 17-10-2023 11:50am

I don't see what harm it can do myself.

It might just focus minds a bit more on bank holiday weekends, when the stats show the accident rates rise.

Mellor · 17-10-2023 11:54am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121246042#Comment_121246042

If you drive at 80 in a 50 zone, when the roads are busier than normal. Then of course there is an increased risk.

You try not speeding.

JP 1800 · 17-10-2023 11:54am

Anecdotal evidence from my perspective is daily whether I am in the car or riding the motorbike I observe regular traffic infringements. Example on Sunday while out on the bike in Wicklow I observed dangerous overtaking on solid white lines, regular speeding through towns with limits set at 50k, failure to come to a halt at stop signs and without fail a good proportion of individuals on phones. Some are actively texting and even watching videos whilst driving. Those under the age of 35 appear to be the main offenders with the phone use. My route was 120km and I did not see one Garda patrol, hence no chane of enforcement of our numerous traffic laws.

Zebra3 · 17-10-2023 12:09pm

A case of being seen to be doing something as opposed to actually doing something.

Economics101 · 17-10-2023 2:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121249243#Comment_121249243

Yes, when the roard are busier than normal, but that can be well outside holiday weekends. As for "you try not speeding" what makes you thing I was trying to defend speeding? I was simply pointing out the absurdity of the severity of the offence depending on the time of the week

Atlantic Dawn · 17-10-2023 2:28pm

What I would support is speeding and mobile phone use fines based on your salary/social welfare income, something like 1% for your first offence, 5% for your 2nd, 10% for your 3rd in the space of 3 years.

myfreespirit · 17-10-2023 2:46pm

According to a report on RTÉ radio 1 this morning, in Switzerland, speeding results in an immediate driving ban, presumably enforced by the police who detect the road traffic offence.

It would be well worth trying this approach in Ireland - the prospect of a driving ban might encourage drivers to slow down....

Mellor · 17-10-2023 2:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121250010#Comment_121250010

I didnt say you are defending speeding. But you do seem to be missing the point if the increase.

Its about awareness, not the severity or risk of speeding at a given time.

SharkMX · 17-10-2023 2:58pm

2 people died on motorcycles in one day. Ban motorcycles.

Take my motorbike and im left with my Boardman to get around day to day.

A few cyclists get killed and you will be banning those.

Then what? Back to the car with us?

tjhook · 17-10-2023 3:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121250040#Comment_121250040

I accept your point that a fixed fine will mean different things to people in different circumstances. But it's too simplistic to think that affordability depends solely on income.

Person A has a salary of €30k, lives in parents' home. Person B has a salary of €60k, mortgaged, married with kids in college, minding elderly parents. Which of them can afford the larger fine?

I'd suggest there should be no fine at all. Flatten the playing field. Let penalty points be the punishment. It puts one's driving license at risk and it affects insurance premiums anyway. We already have a tax system to "redistribute" peoples incomes, the traffic laws don't need to do the same.

magicbastarder · 17-10-2023 3:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121250172#Comment_121250172

the point of the increase is to be trying to be seen to do something about it, rather than actually doing something about it.

POBox19 · 17-10-2023 3:04pm

Not that any of this will make a blind bit of difference to the idiots driving at stupid speeds every weekend.

marno21 · 17-10-2023 3:05pm

They do this here in New South Wales. I think the logic behind it is that the roads are busier on holiday weekends and busier roads are more accident prone. The busier the road the less margin for error so presumably the logic is that the higher the penalty the more likely people are to behave.

Of course, the real problem continues to be adequate enforcement of existing laws which this will not address

Ger Roe · 17-10-2023 3:17pm

Speed is a simple focus.... our current safety issue is not exclusively speed. The standard of driving generally in this country has declined dramatically over a number of years, no doubt as a result of a parallel lack of enforcement.

This year, there has been an increase in road deaths and the knee jerk reaction is to reduce speed limits and introduce a 'holiday time' complication..... the same current speed limits were in force in 2021 when we had the lowest number of road deaths since records began in 1959.

https://www.rsa.ie/news-events/news/details/2022/01/01/2021-records-lowest-number-of-road-fatalities-since-recording-began-in-1959

Driver behaviour is more the issue, drink/drug driving, mobile phone usage, lack of general awareness, motorway driving without adequate training or appreciation for the additional risks. I see more risky driving every day, than speeding. Speeding is an easy scapegoat ... driving dangerously can happen at any speed and is more the issue.

A spokesperson for PARC on the radio this morning, said that we would be better off enforcing the laws that we have, before we go adding new ones. I would tend to agree with that. I was in Dublin last Saturday night, for the first time in years and I drove home to Wicklow at 1am. From the city center to my home in north wicklow, I didn't see one guard on patrol or one Garda car on the road - on a night where big crowds were out and about for a major sporting event. In my 40 years of driving I can count the times I have been stopped at a road checkpoint on one hand. I have been randomly breath checked once in my lifetime. That severely limited amount of Garda intervention occurred mainly in my early 20's .... I can't remember the last time I was randomly stopped.

Enforcement is non existent ..... but speed is the main problem?

Furze99 · 17-10-2023 3:18pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121250238#Comment_121250238

Not a whit of difference I agree. Virtue signalling nonsense. Same as the idea that we'll have ZERO road deaths, whatever that means in year xyz. I suppose these boyos have to justify their salaries and fees by coming up with new ideas all the time.