No change in level of fines paid for learner or novice driver offences in 2020

Over 7,300 fines were paid for learner or novice driver offences last year.

It’s almost exactly the same as 2019, despite Covid-related travel restrictions.

Learner drivers must be accompanied by a fully qualified driver at all times and stick to other rules.

If they break them, they face penalty points and fines of up to €120.

Newly qualified drivers have to put N plates on their car for two years, or they could get points and fine of up to €90.

Last year 7,345 drivers paid Garda fines for learner or novice driver offences, just 11 fewer than the year before.

That’s despite travel restrictions being in place for much of 2020, due to Covid-19.

Donna Price is the chairperson of the Irish Road Victims Association, she says “We’re very concerned at those numbers 7,345 is unbelievable, unbelieveable to see the gardai still apprehending drivers in those numbers, particularly at a time when we’ve less drivers on the road and we would have expected the numbers to go down so it would appear there are a certain cohort of drivers who have absolutely no regard for their own safety or for the safety of others”.

30% of last year’s fines were in Dublin, and that’s followed by 654 in Cork, and 555 in Kildare.

Wexford, Waterford, Laois-Offaly and Limerick all had more than 300.