On-the-spot road fines have been extended to include defective tyres, driving cars in bus lanes and traffic-light infringements.
Ignoring "Stop" and "Yield" signs and violating box-junction rules will also be included in the extended system, the Minister of State for the Environment, Mr Robert Molloy, said yesterday in Galway.
A £50 fine will be levied for the "Stop" and "Yield" sign and traffic-light infringements. A £20 fine £20 will be applied for violating boxjunction rules, carrying defective tyres, not wearing seat belts, breaching centre roadway and merging/diverging road markings, and driving an unauthorised vehicle in a bus lane.
By paying the fine immediately, motorists will avoid court proceedings. Mr Molloy said the measure discouraged traffic violations without necessarily taking up the time of the courts and the Garda.
The regulations fulfilled a commitment given in the Government's Strategy for Road Safety 1998-2002, which was published last year, the Minister said. He was attending the publication of the grant programme for non-national roads by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey.
