"It's absolutely terrifying": 90% of the disqualified drivers have failed to make their license

Nearly 90% of drivers disqualified in court and required to surrender their driver's license have not done so this year.

The alarming new statistics underline since 2016 the warnings of road safety groups and relatives of people killed on Irish roads, according to which the current system is not adapted to Gardaí, requiring a dedicated database to successfully detect drivers who drive with a driving ban.

New statistics, published by Tommy Broughan, an independent TD representative, revealed that in the first nine months of 2018, 8,406 motorists were declared unable to drive – but only 854 driver's licenses were returned.

This only accounts for one in ten driving licenses, which actually indicates that 90% of motorists could continue driving with suspended licenses.

Under current regulations, people who are not allowed to drive must submit their permits by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to a post office box in Cork for processing.

Broughan, a strong supporter of the PARC road safety lobby, admitted that the statistics are "extremely alarming".

The number of license impairments has increased significantly from 8,296 in 2016 to 9,449 in 2017 – this number is expected to exceed this year.

A family who lost a young man to a motor vehicle trapping offense and three separate driving bans warned that portable devices allowing Gardaí to instantly check for disqualifications would be useless without a proper, legally controlled database.

Karl Robertson's family has now endorsed PARC's request for Transportation Minister Shane Ross to introduce legislation making it mandatory for motorists badigned to the court for impaired driving or dangerous driving to appear before the court. a court in order to register their database.

Karl's mother, Cathy, and her cousin, Aisling, PARC members, warned that they did not want other families to suffer their loss.

The 28-year-old died after being hit by a car in Artane, Dublin, in March 2017.

The driver then left the scene of the collision.

It turned out that the driver involved had three separate driving bans at the time, each lasting for ten years.

Cathy, Karl's mother, pointed out that the driver had also been sentenced to nearly 50 times for various offenses.

"It's absolutely terrifying to think of the number of motorists disqualified on Irish roads every day," she said.

Following the calls of Karl's family during the judicial inquest into his death, the jury of the inquiry recommended that all guards be provided with pocket drivers to identify the disqualified drivers.

Karl's cousin, Aisling, said the current system was "not suited to his purpose".

"A few years ago, only one in six licenses had been returned because of disqualification," she said.

"Now it's up to one in ten, it tells its own story."

"We need a comprehensive database on which Gardaí can instantly check the details of motorists on the side of the road to check if they are disqualified, etc."

Moyagh Murdock, the head of the Road Safety Authority (RSA), insisted that the new handheld devices would be a crucial aid for Gardaí.

The RSA official suggested that the information in the National Vehicle and Driver File (NVDF) could be used to provide critical data for new Garda handheld devices.

It acknowledged that disqualified and unskilled drivers who can drive undetected on Irish roads are a serious problem.

However, Karl's family subscribed to the PARC, warning that such portable devices would only be as effective as the database from which they operate.

PARC's founder, Susan Gray, warned that the new portable devices that are expected to be distributed in Gardaí in the coming weeks will only be able to detect uninsured drivers of a special vehicle.

App downloaded from the insurance companies that provides the information.

It also inquired whether the NVDF had adequate and up-to-date data to enable efficient use of the devices in the future, warning that it did not contain data on all disqualified pilots.

As a result, new devices will not be able to instantly detect many disqualified drivers at checkpoints.

"The current system is not suitable for this purpose," Gray warned.

"In January 2016, we exposed to the government system failures, including that disqualified drivers were not identifiable, our obsolete computer systems with obsolete computer systems unable to collect, record and share information, "she said.

"We called on the new government to create a primary database similar to that of the UK's DVLA, so that all relevant authorities have instant access to driver and vehicle data."

Ms. Gray warned that a crucial first step is to legislate to force motorists accused of driving while intoxicated or driving dangerous to bring their license to justice in order to allow the registration of information related to the permit of excluded persons and their transfer into the Ministry of Transport's NVDF database. from the Gardaí get information.

"This is the only way we can help Gardaí do her job and make sure that these portable devices work to the fullest," she added.

At a meeting with PARC on November 2, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris acknowledged that these handheld devices are only as effective as the information they rely on.

Assistant Commissioner Dave Sheehan acknowledged that all Gardaí feared arresting a motorist at a checkpoint, handing him a driver's license and not being able to immediately determine if the driver was disqualified or uninsured.

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