Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 June 2004
444 Mr. Gogarty asked the Minister for Transport if he will consider introducing on-the-spot fines for breaches of the three tonne limit, in view of the fact that this is a major problem nationally as regards enforcement, particularly in built-up areas such as Kennelsfort Road in Palmerstown, Dublin 20. [17338/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraArticle 17 of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997 provides that where the appropriate traffic sign is provided at the entrance to a road by a local authority, the driver of a vehicle, the unladen weight of which exceeds the weight specified on the sign, shall not proceed beyond the sign save where it is necessary for a vehicle to enter a road solely for the purpose of gaining access to or egress from premises only from that road.
As with all offences created under the Road Traffic Acts, the maximum fine for the commission of a first offence relating to a contravention of article 17 of the traffic and parking regulations has been increased through the Road Traffic Act 2002 from €190 to €800. Where a person is convicted of the offence on a second or subsequent occasion, a maximum fine not exceeding €1,500 can be applied. In addition however, where a third or subsequent such offence is committed within 12 months, in addition to a maximum fine of €1,500, the court may at its discretion impose imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months. The so-called on-the-spot fine system does not apply to that offence.
The Road Traffic Act 2002 provides for the replacement of the on-the-spot fine with the new fixed charge system. Measures to apply that system generally to a significant number of traffic and parking offences are being progressed by my Department in consultation with the Garda authorities and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The inclusion of the offence of driving a vehicle beyond specified weight signs in the new fixed charge system is being considered as part of that process.
