More than 30,000 speeding fines issued in Waterford since 2019

Nearly €3,000,000 in speeding fines have been issued by An Garda Síochána since 2019, across 30,445 speeding offences.

The data, released to the Waterford News & Star under the Freedom of Information Act, shows that 3,367 fines have been issued so far this year alone.

The number of Fixed Charge Notices (FCNs) issued in the Garda districts of Dungarvan, Tramore, and Waterford has remained relatively stable since 2019. However, the number peaked during the pandemic in 2021 when there was a sharp rise to 5,955 drivers receiving speeding fines that year.

There has been a 12% decrease in annual speeding fines since 2021, with mobile phone offences reducing significantly by nearly 50% since their peak in the same year.

This year, up to September 19, just 3,367 offences have been registered. Waterford is on track for the lowest number of speeding fines issued since 2019 if the current rate continues.

Of the 30,445 fines issued in this period, just 13,093 were issued by GoSafe speeding vans. These fines amounted to €1,177,480 in revenue paid.

In total, 30,445 fines were issued, generating €2,916,200. In Ireland, the penalty for being caught speeding is 3 penalty points and a fixed charge fine of €160.

If unpaid, the fine increases to €240 after 28 days, if left unpaid for another 28 days the offence is brought to court. If convicted in court the driver faces a fine of up to €1,000 and up to 5 penalty points.

Fines paid after the pre-court 56-day window were captured by this data, though cases, which were unsuccessful in court would also have featured in this data.

There were 5,292 FCNs issued for drivers who were caught using their mobile phones while at the wheel of an automobile since 2019. Similarly to the speeding fines issued each year, the number of mobile phone-related offences peaked in 2021 at 1,321 - nearly four drivers caught every day.

This rate has dropped in recent years, with just 559 drivers caught on their phones in 2023 and 672 so far this year. Since January 1, 2019, an average of 2.5 drivers have been caught every day.

Drivers have paid out €635,040 in fines since 2019 as a result of those fines, though that number is likely significantly less than the overall amount of money paid in fines.

The penalty for using your phone while driving is a fixed charge of €120, and 3 penalty points. This increases to a fixed charge of €180 after 28 days. As with speeding fines, if unpaid after 56 days the driver may face 5 penalty points and a more significant fine if it goes to court.

Fines which were paid following a court process were not captured in this data.

In a statement to the Waterford News & Star, the Road Safety Authority said, “A recent RSA survey shows that there has been an increase in the number of drivers using mobile devices.”

The RSA said that their Mobile Device Usage Observational Survey in 2023 showed that “9% of motorists were observed using a mobile device, an increase on the figure of 6% in the 2022 survey.”

Van and lorry drivers were the worst offenders, they said, “The highest rate of handheld mobile device usage was seen by drivers of light goods vehicles at 13%, with rates ranging from between 6% and 8% amongst drivers of other vehicle types.”

While not captured by the data released by An Garda Síochána, the RSA said that drink driving rates had increased worryingly, “one in 10 drivers have reported driving after drinking alcohol” when surveyed in 2023.

Our surveys have also indicated higher levels of social acceptability of drink-driving in recent years, and that one in four drivers believe it is acceptable to drive short distances after having a drink. In addition, our analysis of coronial data found that 37% of driver fatalities for 2015-2019 with a toxicology result available had a positive toxicology for alcohol,” the Road Safety Authority told the Waterford News & Star.

The Government is currently considering the implementation of a graduated penalty point system, increasing the penalty for more serious breaches of the road traffic laws. 

The Irish Times revealed that Garda Commissioner Drew Harris called upon the Government to implement a scheme in light of the number of deaths on the road this year.