Road Traffic Offences | Terry Gorry & Co. Solicitors

Restoration of Driving Licence | Driving Licence Ireland

If you are seeking the restoration of your driving licence in Ireland, and wish to do so before the period of disqualification has been served, you will need to have been disqualified for more than two years.

This is why you may have seen solicitors asking Judges, when imposing disqualifications on their clients, for a disqualification of two years and a day as opposed to two years only.

District Court application

You can apply for the early restoration of your driving licence in the District Court once you have served 50% of the disqualification period. It would be wise to instruct a solicitor to make the application for you as he will fill out the necessary forms and ascertain from the Gardai that there is no objection from the Garda Siochana.

If you are successful the Court may restore your licence, at best, when you have two thirds of the period spent.

When making his/her decision the Judge may hear some evidence as to the exact circumstances of the offence leading to the loss of licence and ask the Gardai about the conduct of the applicant after losing the licence.

New Drink Driving Limits in Ireland

New drink driving limits came into effect in Ireland from the 28^th of October, 2011 and are now set out in the Road traffic (No. 2) act, 2011 and the Road Traffic Act, 2010.

The main changes are that the 80 mg per 100 ml of blood limit has been reduced to 50 mg and there will be a special lower limit for learner drivers of 20 mg per 100 ml of blood.

This lower limit will also apply to anyone stopped by the Gardai and who does not have their driving licence with them. In addition the lower limit applies to private cars towing a trailer, taxi drivers and tractor drivers.

The Road Traffic (No. 2) act, 2011 also made a significant change in allowing a “second chance” situation to arise. If you are slightly over the 50 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood limit the Gardai have the power to impose an on the spot fine of €200 and impose three penalty points.

Prior to this act the driver would always have to be prosecuted in the District Court and face an automatic disqualification of 12 months if convicted.

This second chance/marginal breach of the limit can only be relied upon once in a three year period but a significant change is that you will not have a conviction marked against you at this lower level.

This is part of the road traffic offences in Ireland series of articles.

Summary

Experienced Drivers with 20 mg-80 mg will be fined €200 and 3 penalty points.

Drivers with 80 mg to 100 mg of alcohol will be fined €400 and disqualified for 6 months (the previous minimum was 12 months on conviction) and you will have a conviction.

Drivers over 100 mg of alcohol will be brought to Court as per the previous situation with a minimum disqualification of 12 months and fine of up to €5,000.

In addition, specified drivers including learners, taxi drivers and those driving a tractor or pulling a trailer will be subject to the penalties below:

Over 20 mg but less than 80 mg will lead to 3 months disqualification and a €200 fine.

If you find yourself in difficulty in relation to drink driving you would be well advised to obtain a solicitor or professional legal assistance.

Filed Under: Road Traffic Offences Tagged With: new drink driving limits

Penalty Points Ireland

If you want to do a penalty points check in Ireland you will find a useful table below which sets out the penalty points in Ireland for various offences.

Penalty points can be imposed on your driving licence record for an increasing number of road traffic offences ranging from speeding to careless driving to holding a mobile phone.

Some of the offences lead to a mandatory court appearance and will lead to a court fine rather than a fixed penalty which is the sanction for most, but not all, road traffic offences.

Rembember that 12 penalty points leads to automatic disqualification for a period of 6 months and that penalty points have a 3 year life span. Penalty points run from 28 days after the issuing of the fixed penalty notice.

Any penalty points that you have accumulated will be recorded not on your driving licence but on a central database maintained by the Gardai in their Pulse computer system and by the Road Safety Authority.

To ascertain how many points you have you can call them on 1890 41 61 41 and give them your name and licence number. It is possible also that you have accumulated penalty points as a result of being convicted in your absence in Court which may occur if you have moved house and not received the fixed penalty notice or the summons to Court.

Penalty Points Chart-Kindly note that this chart is published thanks to the Road Safety Authority.

Filed Under: Road Traffic Offences Tagged With: check penalty points, losing driving licence, penalty points ireland

Breath, Blood and Urine Samples-The Procedures

The procedures adopted after the provision of a breath, blood or urine sample when faced with a prosecution under the Road Traffic Acts is vitally important. A break in the chain of evidence or failure to follow the correct procedure by the Gardai or the Bureau may lead to a collapse in the prosecution case.

Breath samples

The procedure covering breath samples is set out in section 17 of the Road Traffic Act, 1994 (amended by the Road Traffic Act, 2006).

The Gardai must obtain two specimens of your breath, produce two identical statements from the intoxilyser machine and get the accused person to sign both analysis statements. One copy is retained by the Gardai and one is given to the accused person.

Blood and urine samples

Section 18 of the Road Traffic Act, 2004 (as amended by 1(1)(e) of the 2006 Road Traffic and Transport Act, 2006 sets out the procedure for taking urine and blood samples.

A designated doctor or nurse will take a sample of blood or urine, divide it into two parts, put them into 2 containers and seal them. One is sent to the Bureau for analysis and one offered to the accused person who has a choice as to which container he retains.

The sealed container to be sent forward to the Bureau for analysis must be sent as soon as practicable together with the prescribed form completed by the doctor or nurse.

There is a presumption in law that the necessary procedures have been followed by the doctor or nurse unless this presumption can be rebutted by the defence.

Procedure at the bureau

Section 19 of the 1994 Act deals with the procedure at the Bureau when it receives samples taken. The Bureau certifies the accuracy of specimens taken and it must forward to the Gardai “as soon as practicable” a completed certificate in the prescribed form and a copy to the accused person.

Filed Under: Road Traffic Offences Tagged With: blood urine specimen, breath samples, breath specimen

Drink Driving Limits in Ireland

The drink driving limits in Ireland are set out below together with the drink driving penalties and disqualifications.

Blood alcohol level limit

The maximum blood alcohol level is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood.

Breath alcohol limit

The breath alcohol limit is 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 ml of breath.

Urine alcohol level limit

The urine alcohol level limit is 107 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of urine.

You can check out the drink driving penalties for drink driving in Ireland by clicking on the link and learn more about drink driving laws and road traffic offences generally on the road traffic offences page.

It is important to keep in mind that in addition to the disqualification periods (which are mandatory, not discretionary) the Court has discretion to impose fines and/or a term of imprisonment on you as well as an award of costs to the Bureau which certifies the accuracy of specimens sent to it by the Gardai.

STOP PRESS: There have been changes made to the drink driving limits in Ireland in October, 2011 and there are new drink driving limits.

The table of disqualification periods will tell you what the period of disqualification will be depending on

1. Whether it is a first offence or not

2. The amount by which you have exceeded the limits for breath, blood or urine with your concentration of alcohol.

Appealing a conviction for drink driving

You may appeal a conviction for drink driving within 14 days of your conviction.

If you do so your conviction will be adjourned until the hearing of your appeal.

However if your appeal at Circuit Court level is unsuccessful then you may receive a harsher sentence.

Filed Under: Road Traffic Offences Tagged With: drink driving limits, drink driving limits ireland

Drink Driving Disqualifications and Penalties

Drink driving convictions result in a mandatory, consequential disqualification from driving.

The Court does not have any discretion into disqualification but may in addition impose a fine and/or imprisonment and a contribution towards the costs of the Bureau which provides analysis of samples and specimens of drivers who have been bagged or otherwise tested.

(This is part of the Road traffic offences series of articles on this site).

The length of disqualification will depend on whether it is the driver’s first offence or not and the level of alcohol in the breath, blood or urine sample.

Here are the disqualification periods for the various levels of blood, breath and urine tests of alcohol:

Disqualification periods for drink driving in Ireland

Blood alcohol level

81-100 mg alcohol per 100 ml of blood leads to disqualification period of 1 year for a first offence and 2 years for a second offence.

101-150 mg alcohol per 100 ml of blood leads to disqualification period of 2 years for a first offence and 4 years for a second.

Greater than 150 mg alcohol per 100 ml of blood gives rise to 3 years for a first offence and 6 years for a second.

Breath alcohol level

36-44 mcg of alcohol per 100 ml of breath leads to disqualification of 1 year for a first offence and 2 years for a second;

45-66 mcg of alcohol per 100 ml of breath leads to disqualification of 2 years for a firts offence and 4 years for a second;

Greater than 66 mcg of alcohol per 100 ml of breath leads to disqualification of 3 years for a first time conviction and 6 years for a second

Urine alcohol level

108-135 mcg of alcohol per 100 ml of urine leads to disqualification of 1 year for a first offence and 2 years for a second;

136-200 mcg of alcohol per 100 ml of urine leads to disqualification of 2 years for a 1st offence and 4 years for a second;

Greater than 200 mcg of alcohol per 100 ml of urine leads to disqualification for 3 years and 6 years for second and subsequent convictions.

Any disqualification and penalty comes into effect 14 days from the date of conviction. If you appeal the conviction then it will be adjourned until your appeal is heard and you can continue to drive.

However if you lose your appeal you may receive a tougher sentence.

Filed Under: Criminal Law, Road Traffic Offences Tagged With: dring driving penalties, drink driving disqualifications, drink driving ireland

Mandatory Breath Testing-Your Obligations Under the Road Traffic Acts

The Road Traffic Act, 2006 introduced mandatory random breath testing. This act allows a member of an Gardai (not below the rank of inspector) to authorize a checkpoint in a public place.

Section 4 of the above Act obliges you to

1. Provide a sample of your breath for the purposes of establishing the alcohol content of your breath.

A refusal to do so or a refusal to comply with a requirement of a Guard will be guilty of an offence and liable to face a fine of up to £5,000 or a prison sentence of up to 6 months.

The High Court has held that one of the proofs required for a successful prosecution of this offence is the written authorization to set up the checkpoint.

This is part of the Road Traffic Offences series of articles.

Breath testing where there is no checkpoint

Section 12 of the 1994 Road Traffic act obliges you as a driver to provide a breath specimen where there is no checkpoint-but there is an important difference where there is no checkpoint: the Gardai must form an opinion that you, being in charge of a vehicle in a public place

1. Have consumed alcohol

2. Have been involved in a collision OR

3. Have committed an offence.

The penalties for this offence are the same as the checkpoint offence as set out above under the 2006 act.

But the critical difference with these offences is that where there is no checkpoint then the Gardai must form an opinion that you have taken an intoxicant or have committed an offence under the Road Traffic Acts or been involved in a collision.

To be guilty of either of these offences you must be in charge of a vehicle in a public place.

Obligation to provide a blood or urine specimen after arrest

You as driver also have an obligation under the Road Traffic and Transport Act, 2006 which amended section 13 of the Road Traffic Act of 1994 after being arrested under a section of the Road Traffic Act 1961, to do either or both of

a) Provide 2 breath specimens and/or

b) To allow a doctor to take a specimen of your blood or provide a sample of your urine.

The penalties for failing to do so are up to £5,000 in fines or to imprisonment for up to 6 months.

The power of the Gardai to arrest you and bring you to the station requires you to be driving and in charge of a vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant.

Obligation to accompany a Guard to the station to provide a sample

Section 14 of the Road traffic Act, 1994 obliges you, where the guard has formed the opinion that you are under the influence of drugs and are incapable of having proper control of your vehicle in a public place, to accompany him/her to the station to provide a blood or urine sample.

The penalty for failing to do so is a fine of up to £5,000 or up to 6 months jail.

Obligation to provide a specimen in hospital

Section 15 of the Road traffic Act 1994 obliges you to provide a specimen in hospital if the Gardai are of the opinion that you have taken an intoxicant and were driving a vehicle or attempting to drive it.

This obligation stands even if you claim you are injured and the Gardai can enter the hospital with a designated doctor to take a blood or urine sample.

Defence to refusing to provide a sample

Section 23 of the Road Traffic Act, 1994 provides the defence for refusing to provide a sample as required under sections 13, 14 and 15 of the Road traffic Act 1994 and provides that if you can offer “special substantial reasons” for your refusal then you may have a defence.

However the “special substantial reasons” defence will be at the discretion of the Judge hearing your case.

Filed Under: Criminal Law, Road Traffic Offences Tagged With: blood specimen, checkpoint breath testing, mandatory breath testing, road traffic acts, urine specimen

Drunken Driving In Ireland

The two most common offences prosecuted in the courts in Ireland to do with drink and driving are sections 49 and 50 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961.

Section 49 deals with driving or attempting to drive a vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant which includes both alcohol and drugs. This is commonly known as “drunken driving”.
(This is part of the road traffic offences section of this site)

It is important to note that the power of arrest in respect of this charge, without warrant, arises under under section 49(8) and provides that the Garda must form an opinion that the driver is committing an offence or about to commit an offence under section 49.

Drunk in charge-Section 50 Road Traffic Act, 1961

Section 50 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 deals with the offense commonly known as “drunk in charge”. This offence is committed if you are in charge of a vehicle in a public place with intent to drive or attempting to drive.

To be successfully prosecuted for the offence of being “drunk in charge” under Section 50 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961) it is necessary to prove

The offence occurred in a public place
That the accused person intended to drive or intended to attempt to drive the car
That the accused person was in charge of the vehicle.

There is a presumption in law that the accused person intended to drive or intended to attempt to drive the vehicle; it is up to the accused person to prove to the contrary.

Whether the accused person was attempting to drive in the eyes of the law will depend on the facts of each case but there is an important Supreme Court case, DPP v Byrne (2001, unreported) where the accused person was held to be in charge with intent to drive under section 50.

In this case the accused

Was in the driver’s seat
Was actually asleep
Was pulled in to the hard shoulder
The keys were in the ignition, turned two clicks.

As in the previous offense of “drunken driving” the Garda can only arrest you after he has “formed the opinion” that you are committing or about to commit an offense under section 50. The Garda does not have a general power of arrest.

It is notworthy that to prove a section 50 offence the Garda will not have to prove that you were driving, only that you were in charge of the vehicle.

The concentration of alcohol required to prove this offence is an excess of alcohol in the blood of 80 milligrammes of alcohol to 100 millilitres of blood. There are other tests in relation to testing breath (35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath) and urine (107 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath) .

The sample must be taken within 3 hours of the alleged commission of the offence.

It is important to note that the opinion of the Garda in order to arrest you lawfully must be a reasonable one and must be formed after ascertaining and considering the facts.

For the arrest to be lawful, there are 2 factors required:

1. The driver must be informed why he is being arrested in plain language

2. The driver must be informed that he is no longer at liberty.

Mandatory breath testing

Section 4 of the Road Traffic Act, 2006 provides for mandatory breath testing and covers the situation of the setting up of a check point by the Gardai.

Where a check point is validly set up by the Gardai the Garda does not have to form an opinion beforehand-he is entitled to request a breath test from you by virtue of the setting up of the check point.

If there is no check point set up then the Garda can request a breath specimen from you under section 12 of the Road Traffic Act 1994 if the Garda has formed an opinion that you have consumed intoxicating liquor or have been involved in a collision or have committed or about to commit and offence under the Road Traffic Acts.

Obligation to provide a sample after arrest

Under Section 13 of the Road Traffic Act 1994 a driver can be arrested and brought to the station for driving and being in charge of a vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant.

Once this happens you are obliged to provide a blood or urine sample to a designated doctor provided by the Gardai.

Under section 14 you can be requested to accompany the Gardai to the station to provide a sample if the Garda is of the opinion that you are under the influence to the extent that you are incapable of having proper control of your vehicle.

If you fail to accompany the Garda you are guilty of an offence and can be arrested without warrant.

Filed Under: Criminal Law, Road Traffic Offences Tagged With: drink driving ireland, drunk in charge, drunken driving

Dangerous Driving | Careless Driving

Dangerous driving and careless driving are serious offences in Irish road traffic law. A less serious charge is driving without reasonable consideration as set out in section 51A(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1961.

There is no definition in law of “driving without reasonable consideration” but it is generally considered to be acting like a nuisance on the roads.

This offence attracts 2 penalty points and a small fixed penalty fine.

Careless driving

Careless driving is covered by Section 52(1) of the 1961 Road Traffic Act and involves driving in public place “without due care and attention”. Again, there is no statutory definition of due care and attention but generally it is the standard of care that a reasonably prudent driver should exercise while driving.

There are generally 3 defences:

1. Automatism

2. Duress

3. Mechanical defect.

Penalties can run up to a fine of £2000 and 3 months imprisonment, 5 penalty points and a possible disqualification which is discretionary on the first offence and mandatory on second or subsequent offences.

Dangerous driving

This is covered by Section 53(1) of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 and involves driving in a manner which a prudent person would recognise as involving an unjustifiable risk of harm to the public.

Defences to this offence are the same ones set out above for careless driving.

Penalties

Penalties for dangerous driving will depend on whether bodily harm or death has arisen as a result of the driving. If this is the case the offence will be prosecuted on indictment in the higher courts.

If not, it will be prosecuted in the District Court.

Penalties depend on the seriousness of the case and circumstances and so on and can range up to a £20,000 fine, up to 10 years imprisonment on indictment (6 months in District Court), endorsement on your licence and disqualification from driving.

For a first offence in the District Court you will be disqualified for 2 years; a first offence on indictment will lead to automatic disqualification for at least 4 years.
This is part of the road traffic offences series on this site.

Filed Under: Criminal Law, Road Traffic Offences Tagged With: careless driving, dangerous driving, road traffic offences ireland

Driving Without A Licence | Driving Without Insurance

Some common road traffic offences on the roads in Ireland are set out below together with the penalties and any possible defences.

Driving without a licence

This offence is contained in Section 38 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 and basically states that you cannot drive or allow another to drive your vehicle in a public place without the driver holding a valid driving licence.

It must be a mechanically powered vehicle so if your vehicle is broken down or no longer capable of being mechanically propelled then it is exempt.

The only defence to this offence is that the driver holds a valid learner permit for that class of vehicle.

It is important to note that both the driver and owner are liable on conviction and the penalties include 2 penalty points on payment of the fixed charge; if you don’t pay the fixed charge penalty the penalty is 5 points on conviction in court.

Driving without insurance

This is covered by sect. 56 of the Road Traffic Act 1961 which was substituted by sect. 34 of the Road Traffic Act 2004.

It is noteworthy that this offence can be proved even if you are only parking the vehicle.

Defences

If you are the owner of the vehicle which is the subject of the legal proceedings it is a good defence to show that the vehicle was being used by the driver without your consent.

If you are the driver of the vehicle and you do not have a valid insurance policy for that vehicle, it can be a good defence to show that you were acting on the express instructions of the owner (perhaps your employer).

Of course it is a good defence to show that you had in fact a valid insurance policy which you can produce later in the Garda station or court.

There are stiff penalties for driving without insurance including 6 months in jail or a fine up to £5,000.

If you are brought before a court on this charge and it is your first offence, the court has the discretion not to impose a consequential disqualification if it decides that you have a special reason for driving without insurance.

But a second or further offence for this charge will lead to an automatic disqualification for at least 2 years.

This offence will also lead to 5 penalty points for you and even if it is your first offence and the court uses it’s discretion not to impose a disqualification you will still get the 5 penalty points on your licence.

It is worth noting that once a Garda asks you for production of your insurance certificate and you fail to do so, the evidential burden of proof shifts to you to prove that you had insurance in place at the time of the alleged offence.
This is part of the road traffic offences series. If you need to speak to a solicitor please feel free to do so.

Filed Under: Criminal Law, Road Traffic Offences Tagged With: driving without insurance, driving witout a licence