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AN OIREACHTAS COMMITTEE reviewing the penalty points system, has recommended higher points for mobile phone use while driving.
Chairman of the Oireachtas Transport Committee, Tom Hayes, TD, said the introduction of the penalty points system ten years ago made a major contribution to improving safety on Irish roads. He said:
The Minister for Transport tasked our Committee with considering carefully the recommendations of a review to the points system conducted earlier in the year. It emerged from our discussions that use of mobile phones is viewed as particularly dangerous by road users and accordingly, the Committee supports the recommended 4 penalty points for the offence.
Hayes said it was best, on balance, not to have graduated penalty points based on speeds in excess of the limit until speed limits have been reviewed.
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“For instance, it appears that there is a default speed limit of 80km/h on many narrow, winding rural roads, which are often totally inappropriate,” he said.
The committee also said that in the case of less serious speeding offences, consideration might be given to lowering the lifespan of the points to two years.
Hayes said committee members also agreed that visible Garda enforcement was the single most important factor in ensuring driver vigilance and it was recommended that the points systems north and south of the border should be aligned.
However the committee suggested that penalty points should not be extended to include non-traffic offences.
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