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Transport Omnibus 2017

Penalty Points

Penalty points

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During 2017, a total of 189,095 penalty point endorsement notices were issued, a decrease of 4.9% on the previous year. Almost seven out of every ten (67.8%) of the penalty point endorsement notices issued in 2017 were for speeding.
Males incurred more penalty point endorsement notices than females in 2017. Of the 158,267 endorsement notices where gender was recorded, males incurred 102,125 (64.5%) penalty point endorsement notices while females incurred 56,142 (35.5%) notices.
In 2017, women were more likely to incur more penalty point endorsement notices for speeding than men (74.3% vs 65.0%) whereas men were more likely to incur more notices for holding a mobile phone while driving than women (14.6% vs 11.7%).

	Penalty endorsement notices by offence type, 2017
Speeding	67.8
Driving a vehicle while holding a mobile phone	12.9
Other	19.3

	Penalty point endorsement notices by offence type, 2016
Speeding	71.9
Driving a vehicle while holding a mobile phone	11.6
Other	16.5

Penalty points

Table 3.1 Key figures for penalty point endorsement notices, 2016 and 2017
Number and rate
Offence type	2016	2017	% Change 2016-2017
Male	105,382	102,125	-3.1
Female	62,461	56,142	-10.1
No gender recorded	31,001	30,828	-0.6
Total endorsement notices issued	198,844	189,095	-4.9
Sources: Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport and Road Safety Authority

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2017 Table 3.1 (XLS 9KB)

Table 3.2 Number of penalty point offences¹by county as at 31 December 2016 and 2017
County	2016	2017	% Change 2016-2017
Carlow	9,737	8,676	-10.9
Cavan	10,385	9,643	-7.1
Clare	21,622	19,905	-7.9
Cork	77,920	70,908	-9.0
Donegal	16,144	14,999	-7.1
Dublin	150,615	143,773	-4.5
Galway	43,055	40,556	-5.8
Kerry	20,622	18,480	-10.4
Kildare	36,358	33,589	-7.6
Kilkenny	16,960	15,019	-11.4
Laois	11,794	12,054	2.2
Leitrim	4,476	3,635	-18.8
Limerick	32,005	29,794	-6.9
Longford	6,107	5,761	-5.7
Louth	13,302	11,978	-10.0
Mayo	16,010	15,334	-4.2
Meath	26,680	25,597	-4.1
Monaghan	8,792	8,352	-5.0
Offaly	11,638	10,655	-8.4
Roscommon	10,306	9,460	-8.2
Sligo	9,122	7,782	-14.7
Tipperary	28,540	25,171	-11.8
Waterford	17,736	15,955	-10.0
Westmeath	14,479	12,262	-15.3
Wexford	27,437	26,450	-3.6
Wicklow	22,591	20,287	-10.2
Total	664,433	616,075	-7.3
Foreign licence holders²	76,219	70,583	-7.4
Unknown³	575	648	12.7
Sources: Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport and Road Safety Authority
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.

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2017 Table 3.2 (XLS 10KB)

Table 3.3 Top 20 penalty point endorsement notices issued, 2016 - 2017
				Number and rate
Offence type	Penalty points on payment	Penalty points on conviction	2016	2017	% Change 2016-2017
Speeding	3	5	142,962	128,191	-10.3
Driving a vehicle while holding a mobile phone	3	5	22,973	24,450	+6.4
Use vehicle without NCT certificate	3	5	6,181	6,000	-2.9
Adult Failing to wear Safety Belt cat. M1 Vehicle	3	5	3,732	4,172	+11.8
No insurance - (user)	m*	5	3,318	4,082	+23.0
Driving without reasonable consideration	2	4	3,792	4,079	+7.6
Learner driver unaccompanied by a qualified driver	2	4	2,766	3,122	+12.9
Fail to obey traffic lights	3	5	2,681	2,949	+10.0
Non-Display of L Plate (Learner Driver)	2	4	1,178	1,449	+23.0
Fail to comply with prohibitory traffic signs	1	3	920	1,155	+25.5
Cross continuous white line/broken white line	3	5	1,067	1,029	-3.6
Adult Failing to wear Safety Belt cat. N1 Vehicle	3	5	765	913	+19.3
22-35mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath	3	..	403	571	+41.7
Offence relating to Overtaking	3	5	471	542	+15.1
Driver Fail ensure Passenger U/17 wear Safety Belt	3	5	452	527	+16.6
Driver Fail Restrain Child O/3 in Child Restraint	3	5	482	513	+6.4
Careless Driving	m*	5	437	509	+16.5
Dangerous Driving Reduced to Careless Driving	3	5	460	448	-2.6
Entry to hatched marked area	1	3	369	405	+9.8
Adult Failing to wear Safety Belt cat. N3 Vehicle	3	5	168	402	+139.3
Sources: Road Safety Authority and Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
m* Mandatory court offence

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2017 Table 3.3 (XLS 11KB)

Table 3.4 Number of penalty point endorsement notices issued by gender and county, 2017
County	Female	Male	No gender recorded	Total
Carlow	845	1,480	100	2,425
Cavan	862	1,687	128	2,677
Clare	2,396	3,426	285	6,107
Cork	5,654	11,113	1,077	17,844
Donegal	1,250	2,711	203	4,164
Dublin	11,815	23,625	2,651	38,091
Galway	4,362	7,072	606	12,040
Kerry	1,609	2,873	291	4,773
Kildare	2,988	5,366	454	8,808
Kilkenny	1,220	2,039	98	3,357
Laois	1,299	2,400	147	3,846
Leitrim	345	640	12	997
Limerick	2,656	4,681	550	7,887
Longford	514	1,040	77	1,631
Louth	1,114	2,100	229	3,443
Mayo	1,812	3,130	107	5,049
Meath	2,629	4,361	363	7,353
Monaghan	767	1,511	97	2,375
Offaly	992	1,976	167	3,135
Roscommon	1,027	1,794	84	2,905
Sligo	760	1,285	68	2,113
Tipperary	2,048	3,473	308	5,829
Waterford	1,125	2,166	156	3,447
Westmeath	1,089	1,990	165	3,244
Wexford	2,949	4,792	182	7,923
Wicklow	2,015	3,394	125	5,534
Foreign licence holder¹			21,871	21,871
Unknown²			227	227
Total	56,142	102,125	30,828	189,095
Source: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
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.

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2017 Table 3.4 (XLS 13KB)

Table 3.5 Number of penalty point endorsement notices issued by gender, 2011 - 2017
Year	Female	Male	No gender recorded	Total
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
2016	62,461	105,382	31,001	198,844
2017	56,142	102,125	30,828	189,095
Source: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2017 Table 3.5 (XLS 9KB)

Table 3.6 Number of penalty point endorsement notices issued by gender and age, 2017
Age profile	Female	Male	No gender recorded	Total	% of total
Under 21	494	2,359		2,853	1.5
21 to 25	3,601	8,602		12,203	6.5
26 to 30	5,920	11,130		17,050	9.0
31 to 35	7,543	13,022		20,565	10.9
36 to 40	8,724	14,237		22,961	12.1
41 to 45	7,870	12,920		20,790	11.0
46 to 50	6,763	10,970		17,733	9.4
51 to 55	5,470	9,123		14,593	7.7
56 to 60	3,824	6,943		10,767	5.7
61 to 65	2,580	5,215		7,795	4.1
over 65	3,353	7,604		10,957	5.8
Date of birth not recorded			30,828	30,828	16.3
Total	56,142	102,125	30,828	189,095	100.0
Source: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2017 Table 3.6 (XLS 10KB)

Table 3.7 Top 20 offences for penalty point endorsement notices issued to males by age group, 2017
Number
Offence description	Age (years)
Offence description	Under 21	21-25	26-30	31-40	41-50	51-65	66 and over	Total
Speeding	1,040	4,518	6,447	16,659	15,943	15,527	6,198	66,332
Driving a vehicle while holding a mobile phone	178	1,080	1,892	5,296	3,677	2,392	379	14,894
Use vehicle without NCT certificate	65	364	486	1,020	777	470	101	3,283
Adult Failing to wear Safety Belt cat. M1 Vehicle	61	312	310	693	593	574	216	2,759
Driving without reasonable consideration	170	380	327	576	490	389	187	2,519
Fail to obey traffic lights	42	175	202	480	474	420	136	1,929
Learner driver unaccompanied by a qualified driver	329	576	309	389	186	56	6	1,851
No insurance - (user)	58	215	254	309	182	108	15	1,141
Non-Display of L Plate (Learner Driver)	139	305	179	200	61	24	3	911
Adult Failing to wear Safety Belt cat. N1 Vehicle	6	24	59	181	201	207	70	748
Fail to comply with prohibitory traffic signs	9	41	81	202	190	178	36	737
Cross continuous white line/broken white line	18	86	77	184	151	135	38	689
22-35mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath	4	39	49	99	92	111	34	428
Offence relating to Overtaking	11	47	36	96	70	61	18	339
Entry to hatched marked area	2	22	22	78	81	51	9	265
Adult Failing to wear Safety Belt cat. N3 Vehicle	0	4	16	52	93	85	12	262
Driver Fail ensure Passenger U/17 wear Safety Belt	7	5	19	66	96	46	7	246
Fail to comply with traffic lane markings	3	19	22	71	69	48	12	244
Non-Display of N plate (Novice driver)	103	81	18	17	4	1	0	224
Driver Fail Restrain Child O/3 in Child Restraint	2	12	29	74	67	21	8	213
Source: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2017 Table 3.7 (XLS 12KB)

Table 3.8 Top 20 offences for penalty point endorsement notices issued to females by age group, 2017
Number
Offence description	Age (years)							Total
Offence description	Under 21	21-25	26-30	31-40	41-50	51-65	66 and over	Total
Speeding	274	2,236	3,843	11,243	11,198	9,878	3,025	41,697
Driving a vehicle while holding a mobile phone	47	468	975	2,540	1,603	860	96	6,589
Use vehicle without NCT certificate	10	78	217	620	466	229	23	1,643
Learner driver unaccompanied by a qualified driver	77	268	215	319	178	49	1	1,107
Driving without reasonable consideration	29	101	109	247	196	192	62	936
Adult Failing to wear Safety Belt cat. M1 Vehicle	4	79	95	220	175	159	47	779
Fail to obey traffic lights	4	47	80	176	183	162	37	689
Non-Display of L Plate (Learner Driver)	22	105	97	139	66	27	2	458
No insurance - (user)	7	60	73	141	77	30	3	391
Fail to comply with prohibitory traffic signs	3	19	36	106	97	52	7	320
Driver Fail Restrain Child O/3 in Child Restraint	0	15	32	95	45	12	2	201
Cross continuous white line/broken white line	1	15	28	56	49	36	9	194
Driver Fail ensure Passenger U/17 wear Safety Belt	0	8	15	81	63	20	2	189
Fail to comply with traffic lane markings	1	6	12	41	33	17	1	111
Offence relating to Overtaking	0	6	16	29	33	25	2	111
Entry to hatched marked area	0	4	4	22	20	19	1	70
Driver Fail Restrain Child U/3 in Child Restraint	0	8	9	28	13	9	1	68
22-35mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath	0	7	7	20	18	14	0	66
Careless Driving	2	3	11	22	9	8	5	60
Fail to stop before stop sign/stop line	1	5	3	9	12	8	5	43
Source: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2017 Table 3.8 (XLS 12KB)

Table 3.9 Top 10 penalty point endorsement notices issued for males by county, 2017
Number
County	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	No insurance - (user)	Non-display of L Plate (learner driver)	Adult failing to wear safety belt cat. N1 vehicle
Carlow	1,480	971	247	39	42	38	7	38	3	25	11
Cavan	1,687	974	292	88	42	40	7	26	29	27	17
Clare	3,426	2,288	529	53	120	79	40	53	25	16	29
Cork	11,113	6,796	1,819	380	262	231	285	294	109	109	54
Donegal	2,711	1,828	326	55	49	89	15	24	46	16	47
Dublin	23,625	16,370	2,343	840	309	549	853	493	332	220	76
Galway	7,072	4,343	1,331	123	351	178	101	79	55	44	82
Kerry	2,873	1,865	564	49	56	61	19	41	19	17	15
Kildare	5,366	3,498	771	218	80	226	107	94	53	49	18
Kilkenny	2,039	1,351	317	71	62	50	17	44	11	19	7
Laois	2,400	1,144	583	124	164	70	13	47	32	27	53
Leitrim	640	437	103	15	18	16	5	3	7	1	5
Limerick	4,681	2,794	973	122	182	112	74	49	39	31	44
Longford	1,040	657	132	40	23	40	13	13	29	16	15
Louth	2,100	1,405	312	81	33	48	38	34	21	16	12
Mayo	3,130	2,238	451	34	70	66	24	38	11	15	16
Meath	4,361	2,991	575	225	57	99	71	55	45	27	9
Monaghan	1,511	892	304	43	55	27	13	14	16	7	7
Offaly	1,976	1,126	306	94	136	46	18	45	28	21	35
Roscommon	1,794	1,184	295	30	62	45	8	16	13	7	38
Sligo	1,285	825	202	34	37	35	23	15	15	2	13
Tipperary	3,473	2,373	492	107	78	78	30	43	38	23	17
Waterford	2,166	1,388	300	77	68	88	21	51	21	30	16
Westmeath	1,990	1,204	301	79	67	68	28	31	60	26	23
Wexford	4,792	3,022	659	144	259	72	41	138	66	80	44
Wicklow	3,394	2,368	367	118	77	68	58	73	18	40	45
Total	102,125	66,332	14,894	3,283	2,759	2,519	1,929	1,851	1,141	911	748
Source: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2017 Table 3.9 (XLS 18KB)

Table 3.10 Top 10 penalty point endorsement notices issued for females by county, 2017
Number
County	Total no. of penalty point endorsement notices issued	Speeding	Driving a vehicle while holding a mobile phone	Use vehicle without NCT certificate	Learner driver unaccompanied by a qualified driver	Driving without reasonable consideration	Adult failing to wear safety belt cat. M1 vehicle	Fail to obey traffic lights	Non-Display of L Plate (Learner Driver)	No insurance - (user)	Fail to comply with prohibitory traffic signs
Carlow	845	663	86	23	11	13	15	2	8	3	5
Cavan	862	623	97	41	22	11	8	7	15	6	4
Clare	2,396	1,768	347	36	49	43	42	17	17	14	5
Cork	5,654	3,908	782	199	187	75	56	120	47	32	27
Donegal	1,250	1,008	110	24	5	38	12	2	2	9	1
Dublin	11,815	8,951	877	439	302	197	92	263	114	129	213
Galway	4,362	3,084	747	53	40	83	118	51	23	15	5
Kerry	1,609	1,171	256	32	21	29	23	9	8	6	2
Kildare	2,988	2,218	370	107	62	67	26	44	26	16	8
Kilkenny	1,220	965	134	24	25	21	11	4	9	5
Laois	1,299	781	279	51	24	24	44	2	20	15	2
Leitrim	345	288	33	2	2	3	3	1		1
Limerick	2,656	1,779	526	56	29	42	72	26	19	13	6
Longford	514	377	51	18	6	14	6	6	8	5
Louth	1,114	868	102	42	20	16	9	14	6	9	4
Mayo	1,812	1,522	161	22	14	23	6	9	5	5	1
Meath	2,629	2,121	215	108	28	21	19	22	17	14	8
Monaghan	767	571	99	27	3	14	12	4	2	3	1
Offaly	992	704	112	51	28	26	24		14	10
Roscommon	1,027	796	123	23	6	17	22	5	5	7	3
Sligo	760	584	97	13	12	11	10	7	1	8	4
Tipperary	2,048	1,582	266	38	20	35	20	11	12	6	6
Waterford	1,125	779	128	40	43	55	22	14	5	6
Westmeath	1,089	794	128	35	16	28	19	12	10	13	1
Wexford	2,949	2,170	300	63	109	17	61	16	51	31	8
Wicklow	2,015	1,622	163	76	23	13	27	21	14	10	6
Total	56,142	41,697	6,589	1,643	1,107	936	779	689	458	391	320
Source: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Open in Excel: Transport Omnibus 2017 Table 3.10 (XLS 18KB)

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