Cyclists will be included in the same fixed charged notice, or penalty points, system with court appearances for new offences and on the spot fines.
The Department of Transport is preparing legislation that will introduce €50 on the spot fines for cyclists breaking red lights and committing other offences.
The same legislative package will also see cyclists treated in the same way as motorists under the existing penalty points system.
An initial set of offences that on the spot fines will apply to will be introduced first, in coming months.
Then further offences will be added, in the same way the penalty points system for motorists was commenced and then expanded.
Also mirroring the motoring fixed charge notice system, cyclists will be alerted via the postal service that a fine is due and given around two months to pay.
Advertisement
If the fine is not settled at the end of a 56 day notice period, they will be summonsed to appear in court.
Cycling has never been more popular and now the authorities are determined to bring about motoring-style enforcement for those on two wheels.
It is understood that as well as breaking red lights, among the offences to be part of the new system from launch date will be cycling the wrong way on roads and cycling on footpaths.
When further offences are added, they will likely include cycling without lights or reflective clothing in the dark according to media reports.
Related News
The system could be introduced as early as March, which would be a full 12 months ahead of a previously mooted schedule.
A spokesman for the Department of Transport told The Irish Independent the heads of the Bill providing for the new offences and new system of fines and court appearances will be published within weeks.
Once the legislation is published, it must be passed by the houses of the Oireachtas and then signed into law by President Higgins.
Rental bike schemes in Dublin, Cork, Galway and other major urban centres have accelerated the rapidly expanding bike culture in Ireland as the wider public is appreciating the many benefits of cycling.
Officials from the Department are currently consulting with the Garda before the heads – or provisional main points - of the new Bill are published.
"This primary legislation change will be made in the new Road Traffic Bill currently in preparation, the heads of which are expected to be published in the coming weeks," a spokesperson for Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe told The Irish Independent.
"When this legislation is completed, amendments to the Fixed Charge Notice system can then be made to include cycling offences,” he added in reference to operating the penalty systems for cyclists under the existing system for motorists.
“The Department will look at all safety issues in conjunction with An Garda Siochana, concentrating firstly on those offences that already exist in current legislation," Minister Donohoe’s spokesman added.
Topics
