Gardaí urged to target black spots for points

Gardaí must be able to show where penalty points are being imposed on Ireland’s roads, it was urged today.

Progressive Democrat Senator Tom Morrissey said gardaí confirmed to him that there are no records of the locations where penalty points are being imposed.

“If the National Roads Authority and the National Safety Council were producing figures of where our accident black spots are in this country, then I believe that is where the penalty points and the garda resources should be imposed and deployed,” Mr Morrissey said.

Recent statistics have shown more than 140,000 people have had penalty points placed on their licences.

Mr Morrissey said gardaí should examine the statistics and deploy resources in known accident black spot areas.

He said: “Driver behaviour has not changed dramatically. It has changed to a certain extent but speeding still continues.”

Mr Morrissey said he will be asking gardaí to start correlating the amount of penalty points which are imposed in black spot areas.