merrion street

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar today announced changes to introduce or increase penalty points for seatbelts and vehicle weight offences from this bank holiday weekend.

Statistics released by the RSA earlier this month have shown that in the first six months of this year, 23% of drivers killed and 29% of passengers killed were not wearing seatbelts. A particularly worrying feature is the number of people not wearing a seatbelt and who were ejected from the vehicle.

Minister Varadkar said:

We have made significant strides in recent years to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads. However, the Gardaí still report that a large number of people do not wear their seatbelt or allow other passengers to travel unrestrained.

Shocking as it may sound there are still motorists who permit children under 3 to travel without being properly restrained. Failing to wear a seatbelt or allowing a passenger to travel unrestrained is a breach of the law and you risk a fine and penalty points on your licence which will remain in place for 3 years.

The Minister concluded:

Since 2000 a total of 55 lives have been lost and 147 people have been seriously injured over August Bank Holiday weekends. I want to take this opportunity to remind all road users, motorists, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians, to take care on our roads this bank holiday weekend.