There are all kinds of factors involved in motoring accidents. Education, road engineering, enforcement. But speed, according to the Road Safety Authority, is the biggest contributory factor.
How do you tackle excessive speeding on our roads?
Well, again, there are various approaches. Banning people from driving, penalty points, education, again. And then, of course, fines.
But fines are a little bit of a blunt instrument, according to some. And not much of a deterrent, according to others. With the current speeding penalty of three penalty points (five if convicted in court), and an €80 fine, it might hurt your pocket if you are on social welfare or the minimum wage, but if you are a successful professional, it’s no more than the cost of an average dinner out.
One proposed solution? Link the level of the speeding fine to the level of the speeder’s income. It’s a system that is being considered now, by the Road Safety Authority, and it was outlined in detail by Geraldine Herbert, motoring correspondent with the Sunday Independent, when she spoke this morning to Sean O’Rourke.
‘There is a famous case in Finland where a driver, a millionaire businessman, was driving at 103km in an 80km zone. He was fined €54,000. This was calculated on his income, which was €6.5 million.’
Ouch! You might say. But for that particular businessman, with that plush income, it was certainly affordable.
According to Geraldine, there are three factors that make fines effective. Firstly, they have to be severe enough to act as a deterrent. Secondly, motorists need to know what they are and where they are applicable. And thirdly, there must be a realistic prospect of being caught.
‘Unless people feel there is a high risk they are going to be caught, they won’t drive within the speed limit.’
Income-based penalties are the norm in many European countries, including Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Finland, France and Switzerland. All have some kind of version of a sliding scale fine for motoring offences. In Finland, it is believed that ‘the wealthy and the poor should suffer equally’, and income-based penalties are applied to a range of offences, not simply road safety violations.
Norway is particularly stringent, even beyond fines, when it comes to enforcing the rules of the road.
But there are also some arguments against income-based fines. According to Geraldine, it’s arguable that such systems send the wrong message about speeding, that enforcement needs to be prioritised in terms of road safety benefits and not income generated in fines. There are also arguments over how income should be determined, particular where an offender has dependents. And finally, that punishment should be proportionate to how much you exceed the speed limit, rather than your ability to pay.
Still, at this stage, the proposals are only under consideration. Watch this space, as soon as there is any more news, Sean O’Rourke will be there with the up-to-date details.
To listen to today’s full interview which Irving, click here.