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Transport Omnibus 2015

Penalty Points

Penalty points

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During 2015, a total of 249,599 penalty point endorsement notices were issued, an increase of 7.1% on the previous year. Over three quarters (75.4%) of the penalty point endorsement notices issued in 2015 were for speeding. The number of endorsement notices for the use of a vehicle without an N.C.T. Certificate rose by 150.7% to 7,408 in 2015.
Males incurred more penalty point endorsement notices than females in 2015. Of the 210,914 endorsement notices where gender was recorded, males incurred 132,467 (62.8%) penalty point endorsement notices while females incurred 78,450 (37.2%) notices.

	Penalty endorsement notices by offence type, 2014
Speeding	77.1
Driving a vehicle while holding a mobile phone	11.3
Other	11.6

	Penalty point endorsement notices by offence type, 2015
Speeding	75.4
Driving a vehicle while holding a mobile phone	10.5
Other	14.1

Penalty points

Table 3.1 Key figures for penalty point endorsement notices, 2014 and 2015
			Number and rate
Offence type	2014	2015	% Change 2014-2015

Endorsement notices by gender
Male	122,808	132,467	7.9
Female	73,397	78,450	6.9
No gender recorded	36,925	38,682	4.8

Total endorsement notices issued	233,130	249,599	7.1

Sources: Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport and Road Safety Authority

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 3.1 (XLS 9KB)

Table 3.2 Number of penalty point offences¹by county as at 31 December 2014 and 2015

Licensing authority	2014	2015	% Change 2014-2015
Carlow	9,714	9,984	2.8
Cavan	9,825	10,191	3.7
Clare	23,377	22,196	-5.1
Cork	76,902	79,327	3.2
Donegal	15,555	15,644	0.6
Dublin	168,264	158,095	-6.0
Galway	37,974	42,562	12.1
Kerry	18,985	19,698	3.8
Kildare	36,572	36,814	0.7
Kilkenny	15,185	17,200	13.3
Laois	10,734	11,450	6.7
Leitrim	5,561	4,892	-12.0
Limerick	31,281	32,619	4.3
Longford	6,897	6,485	-6.0
Louth	15,586	14,442	-7.3
Mayo	16,024	16,442	2.6
Meath	29,084	28,587	-1.7
Monaghan	7,349	8,047	9.5
Offaly	11,492	11,626	1.2
Roscommon	11,528	10,755	-6.7
Sligo	10,410	9,533	-8.4
Tipperary	24,458	27,231	11.3
Waterford	16,003	17,822	11.4
Westmeath	15,244	15,660	2.7
Wexford	23,027	25,908	12.5
Wicklow	24,984	23,754	-4.9

Total	672,015	676,964	0.7

Foreign licence holders²	75,253	78,738	4.6
Unknown³	1,013	473	-53.3

¹ Penalty point offences are recorded on the offender’s driving licence and remain on the licence for a period of three years.
² Drivers who produce a valid foreign licence and have an Irish address.
³ Unknown refers to non-resident drivers who pay on the spot penalty fines.
Source: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 3.2 (XLS 10KB)

Table 3.3 Top 20 penalty point endorsement notices issued, 2014 - 2015
				Number and rate
Offence type	Penalty points on payment	Penalty points on conviction	2014	2015	% Change 2014-2015

Speeding	3	5	179,822	188,077	4.6
Driving a vehicle while holding a mobile phone	3	5	26,337	26,216	-0.5
Use vehicle without NCT certificate	3	5	2,955	7,408	150.7
Adult Failing to wear Safety Belt cat. M1 Vehicle	3	5	5,557	4,530	-18.5
Driving without reasonable consideration	2	4	3,450	3,637	5.4
Fail to obey traffic lights	3	5	3,340	3,480	4.2
No insurance - (user)	m*	5	2,786	3,011	8.1
Learner driver unaccompanied by a qualified driver	2	4	-	2,234	-
Fail to comply with prohibitory traffic signs	1	3	1,131	1,284	13.5
Cross continuous white line/broken white line	3	5	1,277	1,214	-4.9
Non-Display of L Plate (Learner Driver)	2	4	-	1,170	-
Adult Failing to wear Safety Belt cat. N1 Vehicle	3	5	792	905	14.3
Driver Fail Restrain Child O/3 in Child Restraint	3	5	627	512	-18.3
Careless Driving	3	5	506	506	0.0
Driver Fail ensure Passenger U/17 wear Safety Belt	3	5	478	506	5.9
Offence relating to Overtaking	3	5	317	499	57.4
Dangerous Driving Reduced to Careless Driving	3	5	381	422	10.8
Entry to hatched marked area	1	3	369	373	1.1
22-35mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath	3	..	385	358	-7.0
No cert of road worthiness user	3	5	311	338	8.7

m* Mandatory court offence
Sources: Road Safety Authority and Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 3.3 (XLS 10KB)

Table 3.4 Number of penalty point endorsement notices issued by gender and county, 2015
				Number
Licensing authority	Female	Male	No gender recorded	Total

Carlow	1,140	1,749	164	3,053
Cavan	1,157	1,910	169	3,236
Clare	2,257	3,688	337	6,282
Cork	9,303	16,178	1,334	26,815
Donegal	1,894	3,297	245	5,436
Galway	5,903	9,225	801	15,929
Kerry	2,341	3,814	302	6,457
Kildare	4,570	7,010	591	12,171
Kilkenny	2,541	3,350	192	6,083
Laois	1,230	2,179	184	3,593
Leitrim	487	756	44	1,287
Limerick	3,969	6,126	684	10,779
Longford	682	1,240	87	2,009
Louth	1,423	2,513	260	4,196
Mayo	1,826	3,186	129	5,141
Meath	3,166	5,452	267	8,885
Monaghan	890	1,634	84	2,608
Offaly	1,092	2,172	219	3,483
Roscommon	1,151	1,965	108	3,224
Sligo	1,086	1,657	113	2,856
Tipperary	3,401	5,232	365	8,998
Waterford	2,333	3,759	242	6,334
Westmeath	1,812	2,923	187	4,922
Wexford	3,564	5,259	191	9,014
Wicklow	2,769	4,262	164	7,195
Dublin	16,463	31,931	2,216	50,610
Foreign licence holder¹			28,812	28,812
Unknown²			191	191

Total	78,450	132,467	38,682	249,599

¹ Drivers who produce a valid foreign licence and have an Irish address.
² Unknown refers to non-resident drivers who pay on the spot penalty fines.
Source: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 3.4 (XLS 13KB)

Table 3.5 Number of penalty point endorsement notices issued by gender, 2010 - 2015
				Number
Year	Female	Male	No gender recorded	Total

2010	73,706	174,312	37,421	285,439
2011	79,109	136,036	42,419	257,564
2012	74,478	125,785	38,808	239,071
2013	65,859	111,415	33,125	210,399
2014	73,397	122,808	36,925	233,130
2015	78,450	132,467	38,682	249,599

Source: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 3.5 (XLS 9KB)

Table 3.6 Number of penalty point endorsement notices issued by gender and age, 2015
					Number and rate
Age profile	Female	Male	No gender recorded	Total	% of total

Under 21	1,017	4,023		5,040	2.0
21 to 25	5,693	11,528		17,221	6.9
26 to 30	8,833	14,073		22,906	9.2
31 to 35	11,064	17,014		28,078	11.2
36 to 40	11,130	16,967		28,097	11.3
41 to 45	10,581	16,240		26,821	10.7
46 to 50	8,929	13,721		22,650	9.1
51 to 55	7,443	11,787		19,230	7.7
56 to 60	5,384	9,418		14,802	5.9
61 to 65	3,744	7,178		10,922	4.4
over 65	4,632	10,518		15,150	6.1
Date of birth not recorded			38,682	38,682	15.5

Total	78,450	132,467	38,682	249,599	100.0

Source: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 3.6 (XLS 9KB)

Table 3.7 Top 20 offences for penalty point endorsement notices issued to males by age group, 2015
								Number
Offence description	Age (years)
Offence description	Under 21	21-25	26-30	31-40	41-50	51-65	66 and over	Total

Speeding	2021	7107	9147	23,294	22,334	23,194	9,513	96,610
Driving a vehicle while holding a mobile phone	294	1,341	2,239	5,615	3,821	2,290	296	15,896
Use vehicle without NCT certificate	164	543	582	1,038	746	484	85	3,642
Adult Failing to wear Safety Belt cat. M1 Vehicle	178	391	397	721	549	499	160	2,895
Driving without reasonable consideration	272	392	268	597	422	307	107	2,365
Fail to obey traffic lights	99	232	266	557	492	437	118	2,201
Learner driver unaccompanied by a qualified driver	398	430	221	224	88	25	0	1,386
Cross continuous white line/broken white line	47	111	95	204	177	153	25	812
Fail to comply with prohibitory traffic signs	14	59	93	231	220	158	33	808
Non-Display of L Plate (Learner Driver)	253	258	125	118	36	9	0	799
No insurance - (user)	64	177	147	222	111	41	4	766
Adult Failing to wear Safety Belt cat. N1 Vehicle	19	52	76	211	168	175	31	732
Offence relating to Overtaking	21	33	36	96	73	52	7	318
22-35mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath	8	34	41	52	47	56	18	256
Entry to hatched marked area	5	20	33	75	66	43	7	249
Driver Fail Restrain Child O/3 in Child Restraint	3	20	37	89	69	11	5	234
Driver Fail ensure Passenger U/17 wear Safety Belt	6	13	18	85	63	40	4	229
Fail to comply with traffic lane markings	4	21	16	53	57	52	6	209
Careless Driving	12	29	21	28	35	21	12	158
No cert of road worthiness user	2	11	27	49	38	21	1	149

Source: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 3.7 (XLS 12KB)

Table 3.8 Top 20 offences for penalty point endorsement notices issued to females by age group, 2015
								Number
Offence description	Age (years)
Offence description	Under 21	21-25	26-30	31-40	41-50	51-65	66 and over	Total

Speeding	655	3,952	6,548	17454	16,431	14,989	4,397	64,426
Driving a vehicle while holding a mobile phone	78	731	1,148	2,593	1,540	682	62	6,834
Use vehicle without NCT certificate	18	180	303	595	436	222	16	1,770
Fail to obey traffic lights	22	78	105	240	194	164	35	838
Adult Failing to wear Safety Belt cat. M1 Vehicle	27	87	142	220	193	137	27	833
Learner driver unaccompanied by a qualified driver	102	241	130	181	96	19	0	769
Driving without reasonable consideration	23	75	93	197	135	100	44	667
Fail to comply with prohibitory traffic signs	7	41	36	114	84	59	11	352
Non-Display of L Plate (Learner Driver)	44	110	67	71	37	7	1	337
No insurance - (user)	15	52	65	93	43	17	2	287
Cross continuous white line/broken white line	8	22	29	60	56	44	7	226
Driver Fail Restrain Child O/3 in Child Restraint	1	15	32	80	44	11	3	186
Driver Fail ensure Passenger U/17 wear Safety Belt	1	11	24	74	49	13	1	173
Offence relating to Overtaking	2	11	16	21	34	10	1	95
Driver Fail Restrain Child U/3 in Child Restraint	0	11	16	29	10	7	0	73
Entry to hatched marked area	2	7	9	17	9	17	2	63
Careless Driving	1	7	5	13	14	5	1	46
Fail to comply with traffic lane markings	2	1	7	15	14	6	1	46
22-35mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath	0	2	8	10	17	6	1	44
Driving past a red light. Contrary to sec 35(5)RTA 1994	0	5	6	15	12	2	2	42

Source: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 3.8 (XLS 12KB)

Table 3.9 Top 10 penalty point endorsement notice offences for males by county, 2015
											Number
Licensing authority	Total no. of penalty point endorsement notices issued	Speeding	Driving a vehicle while holding a mobile phone	Use vehicle without NCT certificate	Adult failing to wear safety belt cat. M1 vehicle	Driving without reasonable consideration	Fail to obey traffic lights	Learner driver unaccompanied by a qualified driver	Cross continuous white line/broken white line	Fail to comply with prohibitory traffic signs	Non-Display of L Plate (Learner Driver)

Carlow	1,749	1,278	209	41	35	32	22	37	8	12	23
Cavan	1,910	1,388	246	72	27	26	12	16	17	4	20
Clare	3,688	2,465	502	134	147	95	51	49	22	8	29
Cork	16,178	11,321	2,381	514	314	251	251	217	144	56	111
Donegal	3,297	2,491	322	52	83	74	12	18	37	8	8
Dublin	31,931	23,654	3,032	982	461	550	1,027	347	106	498	192
Galway	9,225	6,186	1,515	221	355	222	148	59	50	16	27
Kerry	3,814	2,890	481	64	65	72	27	41	47	3	3
Kildare	7,010	5,320	754	204	111	135	100	64	38	33	45
Kilkenny	3,350	2,692	325	55	58	46	21	59	11	5	9
Laois	2,179	1,444	296	111	68	60	19	31	14	12	11
Leitrim	756	600	79	12	15	8	2	1	6	3	1
Limerick	6,126	4,638	628	117	145	116	80	65	41	15	30
Longford	1,240	876	147	33	29	24	14	7	17	3	13
Louth	2,513	1,822	329	108	34	41	47	9	7	13	10
Mayo	3,186	2,288	494	43	59	64	32	20	45	6	24
Meath	5,452	4,100	715	138	67	83	72	28	33	34	25
Monaghan	1,634	1,166	221	31	27	30	21	8	22	6	16
Offaly	2,172	1,374	297	120	86	43	20	29	11	2	40
Roscommon	1,965	1,340	260	61	89	45	14	11	12	6	11
Sligo	1,657	1,278	200	22	28	28	18	9	17	10
Tipperary	5,232	4,046	490	124	127	85	38	50	31	10	38
Waterford	3,759	2,895	419	53	85	63	42	39	27	2	24
Westmeath	2,923	2,089	367	96	81	52	28	33	15	9	21
Wexford	5,259	3,837	708	97	200	53	23	75	25	7	40
Wicklow	4,262	3,132	479	137	99	67	60	64	9	27	28

Total	132,467	96,610	15,896	3,642	2,895	2,365	2,201	1,386	812	808	799

Source: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2015 Table 3.9 (XLS 19KB)

Table 3.10 Top 10 penalty point endorsement notice offences for females by county, 2015
											Number
Licensing authority	Total no. of penalty point endorsement notices issued	Speeding	Driving a vehicle while holding a mobile phone	Use vehicle without NCT certificate	Fail to obey traffic lights	Adult Failing to wear Safety Belt cat. M1 Vehicle	Learner driver unaccompanied by a qualified driver	Driving without reasonable consideration	Fail to comply with prohibitory traffic signs	Non-Display of L Plate (Learner Driver)	No insurance - (user)

Carlow	1,140	999	71	6	6	13	15	5	6	5	5
Cavan	1,157	978	87	29	5	7	6	4	1	5	9
Clare	2,257	1,690	259	65	22	55	35	39	4	16	16
Cork	9,303	7,188	1,101	247	140	110	136	81	19	42	22
Donegal	1,894	1,644	112	24	8	19	7	20	6	4	11
Dublin	16,463	13,390	1,205	475	321	92	217	127	231	84	95
Galway	5,903	4,570	778	105	70	94	30	84	4	10	20
Kerry	2,341	1,993	201	37	10	17	9	11	4	1	4
Kildare	4,570	3,868	338	139	46	26	32	41	3	19	16
Kilkenny	2,541	2,281	125	33	7	19	24	12	1	9	1
Laois	1,230	949	123	50	8	25	13	14	4	11	1
Leitrim	487	425	43	4	3	2	1	2	1		2
Limerick	3,969	3,346	294	55	37	60	37	31	11	17	7
Longford	682	522	82	13	7	15	5	8		3	9
Louth	1,423	1,180	118	50	7	6	6	20	7	4	4
Mayo	1,826	1,522	183	29	11	10	4	10	7	11	1
Meath	3,166	2,704	267	54	24	23	16	14	8	8	10
Monaghan	890	736	87	10	8	3	1	12	2	3	1
Offaly	1,092	819	120	50	6	28	15	12	1	9	4
Roscommon	1,151	932	125	14	5	27	14	8	1	4	4
Sligo	1,086	946	88	12	8	6	6	4	4		1
Tipperary	3,401	2,961	201	54	21	25	28	34	2	18	10
Waterford	2,333	2,021	163	32	8	31	24	12	2	10	5
Westmeath	1,812	1,501	154	52	13	21	7	14	3	11	8
Wexford	3,564	2,915	333	65	16	70	48	28	4	19	13
Wicklow	2,769	2,346	176	66	21	29	33	20	16	14	8

Total	78,450	64,426	6,834	1,770	838	833	769	667	352	337	287

Source: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport