Minister says new legislation will help to reduce road deaths and injuries
The Galway Minister with responsibility for road safety has highlighted what he described as two major pieces of legislation that he said would help reduce fatalities and serious injuries on the country’s road.
Minister Seán Canney was referring to the National Vehicle and Driver File Bill and the Road Traffic Bill together represent a comprehensive package of reforms focused on making Ireland’s roads safer.
“As Minister with responsibility for road safety, my priority is to see practical, enforceable measures that change behaviour on our roads and support enforcement. These Bills are about preventing collisions and saving lives,” he said.
The National Vehicle and Driver File Bill, which is prioritised for publication and progressing through the Spring legislative session, contains eleven separate provisions designed to modernise road safety enforcement, improve the use of data and address identified gaps in road traffic legislation.
The Bill will strengthen the legal basis for sharing vehicle and driver data held on the National Vehicle and Driver File – and also restore a clear legislative basis for local authorities to directly receive and process road collision data
It enshrines the power of local authorities to retain the right to set 60km/h speed limit bye-laws on local roads in urban areas where required for safety reasons.
It also provides clarity on the application of penalty points in multiple-offence incidents – ensuring drivers committing more than one offence in a single incident receive multiple sets of penalty points.
Separately it will abolish the requirement to display a motor tax disc.
The Road Traffic Bill will see the introduction of a graduated penalty points system, designed to strengthen deterrence and address repeat offending – and the further expansion of safety camera enforcement to reduce speeding and improve compliance with road traffic laws.
Minister Canney said timely progression of both Bills is essential.
“Speeding, repeat offending and dangerous driving remain major contributors to serious and fatal collisions,” he said.
“These measures strengthen enforcement, improve the use of data and support safer behaviour on our roads. There is also a personal responsibility on road-users to obey the rules of the road – never drink or drug drive, use a phone while driving and always wear your seatbelt,” he added.
Minister Canney was also speaking after the latest driving test waiting time figures showed the national average at 10.6 weeks at the end of December – just above the ten-week Service Level Agreement.
He said that this showed the success of the Road Safety Authority’s targeted action plan, which he had ordered last April when average waiting times had risen to 27 weeks.
He acknowledged that pressures remain in some individual test centres.
“I recognise that waiting times are still not acceptable in every location. Where delays remain excessive, this is not good enough,” he said.
“I am monitoring performance on an ongoing basis and will continue to engage closely with the RSA to ensure improvements are delivered and maintained,” he added.
Pictured: Promise...Seán Canney, Minister of State with responsibility for Road Safety, at the launch of the Christmas and New Year Road safety appeal in Oranmore.