One third of penalty points issued given to drivers without a driving licence

 FG calls for uninsured vehicles to be impounded

 As  Gardaí  prepare a motoring crackdown for St Patrick’s Day, Fine Gael has revealed that one third of  drivers who receive penalty points for breaking the law do not have a valid driving licence, including almost every single driver stopped for having no insurance.

 According to official Road Safety Authority (RSA) figures, a staggering  188,581  of  the  total  of  608,324 current penalty points could not be  enforced.  Almost  100%  of  all  penalty  points  for  driving without  insurance  were  issued to drivers without a valid driving licence. Most worrying  of  all  is  the  fact  that a quarter of drivers who received  penalty  points  for  their  role in a fatal or serious accident did not have  a  valid licence. These shocking figures confirm that thousands of  motorists are driving around without a driving licence.

 Other  RSA  figures  reveal a clear link between unlicensed drivers and  the most serious offences, including driving without insurance and fatal  accidents. 

 Current powers are simply too weak to clamp down on the growing problem  of  unlicensed  drivers.  For  a  start, Gardaí should get new powers to  impound  uninsured  vehicles,  with  the vehicles only being returned on proof of insurance.

 Fine Gael will also put down amendments to the Road Traffic & Transport  Bill  when  it  comes  before  the  Dáil in a few weeks’ time. We cannot  tolerate  a  situation where a third of all penalty points are literally  not  worth the paper they are written on, because the driving licence in question does not even exist.