Irish drivers prefer court-ordered driving lessons to penalty points

Irish drivers have endorsed the idea of courts ordering traffic offenders back to driving school instead of handing out penalty points.

AA Motor Insurance said the results of its survey of almost 11,000 motorists showed that a scheme similar to that used across the UK was worth considering in Ireland.

The survey found that 46 per cent would “strongly support” introducing court-ordered driver safety courses in Ireland, with a further 34 per cent being “somewhat supportive”.

Conor Faughnan, director of consumer affairs at AA, said: “Penalty points are proven to work well but they are not the only measure that can be used.

“There are countries, notably the UK, where drivers are directed to take education and safety courses instead of getting penalty points.

“It is not a soft option – the courses are demanding and are only offered for certain categories of offence. But the feedback about them is very positive in terms of making drivers safer so it seems to the AA as if it would be worth considering the idea here.”

In the UK, drivers guilty of certain offences can attend a safety course at a cost of between £60 and £100 to avoid penalty points and a fine.

However, as drivers can only complete one course in a three year period, any repeat offences will result in penalty points and the potential of a driver’s license being suspended.