Courts call for dept collectors to recoup motoring fines (1 Viewer)

[killy kill]

From the irish examiner

THE Courts Service has called on the Government to consider appointing a private debt collection agency to tackle the growing problem of unpaid motoring fines.


The court authorities have also recommended urgent changes to road traffic legislation after Garda figures show that up to 50% of all motorists are still failing to pay fines for offences such as speeding and the non-wearing of seatbelts.

The Courts Service claims the system of issuing fixed penalty notices to motorists, designed to keep such cases out of court, is not working. It says that a total of 88,000 summonses in respect of fixed charge offences came before the courts in the first six months of 2007.

Fears that the country’s district courts will be overwhelmed by the number of motorists who end up being prosecuted for the non-payment of fines has prompted the Courts Service to call for a number of radical measures to alleviate the problem.

It also suggests that outstanding fines should be collected with annual motor tax renewals and that penalty points should be increased for those who fail to pay fines.

The recommendations are contained in a submission by the Courts Service in relation to the development of a new Statement of Strategy 2008-2010 being drafted by the Department of Transport.

“There is an urgent need for reform of the current legislation which is failing to keep fixed penalty offences out of court,” claims the Courts Service in its submission. “The logical position is that such cases should only be before a court if the alleged offender wishes to have the case adjudicated by a court. The present system results in cases being dealt with in court, although there is no intention on the part of the defendant to defend it.”

Senior gardaí recently confirmed that “only about 50%-60%” of traffic fines are being paid. However, the Courts Service is concerned that the number of unpaid fines will rise dramatically with the planned introduction of speed cameras next year.

Under the current system, summonses to appear in court are automatically issued if fines have not been paid within 56 days of the initial fixed charge notice being issued.

In August, gardaí told the Courts Service that 31,500 cases had gone past the 56-day limit, while a further 20,000 out of 43,900 fixed charged notices issued in the previous 56-day period are also likely to result in a court appearance.

“One of the objectives of fixed penalty notices was to keep fixed charge cases out of court. This is not working. Mechanisms are needed to ensure that fixed penalties are paid and that court time is spent on those cases that merit judicial attention,” said the Courts Service.

It also claims the current system is “inefficient” in the collection of penalty point data as some offenders do not hand up their driving licence during a court appearance.

The Courts Service recommends that the authorities should record a driving licence number when a car is being taxed. All points incurred by drivers of that car would then be incurred by the registered owner unless they identify the offending motorist.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/irishe...m=ireland-qqqa=ireland-qqqid=44801-qqqx=1.asp

This looks fairly dodgy