Speeding or dangerous motorists may have to sit retraining courses
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Retraining for problem drivers who repeatedly commit offences is being considered by junior transport minister James Lawless in an effort to reduce the carnage on the country's roads.
A graduated penalty points system is also being examined, where points awarded for speeding would be based on the severity of the offence, according to Mr Lawless
The junior minister is examining introducing retraining and education for problem drivers, saying that similar practices exist in other areas.
“In most areas of the law, if somebody goes before a court on a public order offence or an alcohol-related offence, very often as part of their sanction they will be asked to complete a rehabilitation programme or an additional awareness programme,” Mr Lawless said.
He said if a driver accrues a certain level of penalty points, or if they commit a particular offence, they should be sent on a driver retraining course alongside the initial sanction.
Retraining could have two potential impacts according to Mr Lawless - acting as a deterrent and also increasing awareness of the impact of dangerous driving.
“I suspect that the type of drivers who are most likely to end up on one of these courses are also the kind of people who would least want to go on a course like this,” Mr Lawless.
“If you have a boy racer who is clocking up repeat points for speeding, the last thing they want to do is spend two days on a training course being told why it’s not something they should be doing.”
Mr Lawless, who took over as roads minister last month, said that the existing penalty points system did not “seem to be proportionate”, citing the same penalty points are awarded if a person is 1km/hr or 100km/hr over the speed limit.
He added that he wanted to examine graduated penalty points as a solution.