2,500 put off road for hitting penalty point limit

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar has confirmed that more than 2,500 drivers have been put off the road after accumulating 12 penalty points since the legislation was introduced.

In a written Dáil response to TD Tommy Broughan, Mr Varadkar said 2,086 drivers with full licences had been banned from driving after reaching 12 penalty points, with an additional 536 learner drivers also banned.

The penalty points legislation was brought into force in October 2002 and it took two years before the first drivers reached 12 penalty points, with a total of 18 put off the road in 2004.