Penalty points, fixed charges and driving bans

From the Rules of the Road published by the Road Safety Authority (RSA). iTest.ie is not affiliated with the RSA — check rsa.ie for the latest edition. Read in the app (contents, picks up where you left off) →

Encouraging road users to behave well is important, and Ireland has adopted a system of penalty points to support this change. This system is a key part of road safety policy in this country, and is designed to save lives.

If you break the law, there’s a price to pay. The system will record your failure and the penalty on your driver licence record. For minor offences, the penalty is a sum of money, a fixed charge, and points that attach to your licence record: penalty points. For more serious offences you may be brought to court. The system applies to both full licence and learner permit holders.

If you break the law and are caught, you will be fined and you will build up penalty points.

This section describes how penalty points and fixed charges work and outlines the points and charges that apply to road traffic offences. For a list of all current penalty point offences and fixed charges, see Appendix 4 or www.rsa.ie.

Penalty points

The penalty points system covers offences that relate to road safety. Offences can be detected either:

• by Gardaí directly; or
• by safety cameras, in the case of speeding.

If a Garda stops you for committing an offence

• You must show your driving licence or learner permit, and give your name and current address, if asked.
• You will receive a fixed charge notice by post.
• You have the choice to pay the fixed charge within the time allowed (up to 56 days) or let the matter go to court.
• Penalty points will be applied to your licence record 28 days after the notification has been sent to you. This notification will be issued when you pay the fixed charge or if you are convicted of the offence in court.

If your vehicle is recorded breaking the speed limit

• If you are the registered owner of the vehicle, you will receive the fixed charge notice.
• If you were not driving the vehicle when the offence took place, you must give the Gardaí the name and address of the driver of your vehicle within 28 days. If you do, the named driver will receive the fixed charge notice. If you don’t, you will be assumed to be the driver of the vehicle when the offence took place.
• Penalty points will be applied to the driver’s licence record either when the charge is paid or when the driver is convicted of the offence in court.

For more information on penalty points, visit the RSA website www.rsa.ie.

Fixed charge system

This system applies to many offences, including most of the penalty point offences.

How it works

• You receive a fixed charge notice setting out:
  • the details of the offence;
  • the fixed charge amount to be paid; and
  • where that charge can be paid.
• You have 28 days to pay the fixed charge.
• If you do not pay the charge within this time, it increases by 50%. You then have another 28 days to pay the increased charge.
• If you do not pay it, the matter goes to court.

The Unaccompanied Learner Driver

The owner of a vehicle who allows an unaccompanied learner or unlicensed driver to drive their vehicle is liable to have their vehicle seized by the Gardaí and could face a fine of up to €1,000.

A vehicle being driven by an unaccompanied learner driver will be detained by Gardaí.

A learner driver detected of driving unaccompanied faces

• an €80 fine and two penalty points if paid within 28 days;
• a €120 fine and two penalty points if paid within the next 28 days; and
• a €120 fine and four penalty points if convicted in court.

A lower threshold of penalty points leading to disqualification will apply to any driver who is granted their first learner permit on or after 1 August 2014 while they drive under a learner permit, and subsequently during the first two years while they drive under their first full driving licence.

Note: Under the Graduated Driver Licence GDL system, learner drivers must always be accompanied by a fully qualified driver (not a novice).

Driving bans

• If you build up 12 or more penalty points (as a fully licensed driver) or 7 or more penalty points (as a learner or novice driver) in 36 months:
  • you will receive a notice telling you that you have been banned from driving for 6 months from a particular date; and
  • you will have to post your driving licence to the NDLS within 14 days of the start of the driving ban.
• You will be banned from driving if you are convicted in court of an offence such as drink driving, dangerous driving or leaving the scene of a crash. You will be banned from driving as a result of the conviction alone, no matter how many penalty points are on your licence record.
• The courts can issue driving bans for any offences involving vehicles, not just the offences already resulting in automatic bans. The court will decide the length of the ban in each case.
• If you are convicted in court, you may be fined and, in some cases, face a prison term.