Penalty points - System has been a failure

THOUGH the rate of deaths on our roads is falling, the heartbreak felt by those so bereaved is not in any way eased by the improved figures.

So far this year 208 people have been killed on the roads in the Republic, with eight fatalities in August. The figure for the year to date is down by 40 compared to the same period last year.

Nonetheless, it has almost become a set piece that we read of the latest weekend tragedy in the Monday morning newspapers.

Invariably the deaths are multiple and the victims young. Too often just one vehicle is involved.

The news that a great number of dangerous drivers have avoided incurring penalty points by challenging the process through the courts will do nothing to build belief in the system that was designed to protect all road users and reduce further the death toll on our roads.

The figures are staggering. Last year two in every three people who told a judge that they unfairly issued with penalty points had those points removed from their licences.

Put simply, this means that the system is a failure and needs to be replaced with something deserving confidence and respect; something with some prospect of achieving the objectives of the programme.

This is not the first time, and undoubtedly won’t be the last, that an initiative aimed at improving a situation has, in fact, exacerbated it.