The number of speeding offences detected by gardaí increased last year by over 30,000 compared with 2005, new Garda figures indicate.
There were 175,517 detected speeding offences in 2006, compared with 143,651 the previous year, while the number of people caught not wearing their seatbelt also increased, from 18,084 in 2005 to 26,107 last year. There were 17,788 drink-driving offences last year, compared with 13,369 in 2005.
Meanwhile, 5,698 incidents involving mobile phone use while driving have been detected since it became a penalty points offence on September 1st.
The figures come as the chief executive of the Road Safety Authority (RSA) confirmed he had written to Minister for Transport Martin Cullen requesting that a special court be established to deal exclusively with driving offences.
Noel Brett told The Irish Timesthe RSA was examining whether the sentencing options available to judges in driving offences should be widened. "This could include compelling people with a drink-driving offence to go on a drink-awareness course, or a driving refresher course."
While the decision to establish such a court would be one for the Courts Services and the Minister for Justice, it was recommended in several submissions to the RSA during its consultations on the new road safety strategy, which will be published before March.
A number of submissions called for a traffic court, "dealing solely with road traffic offences". The Irish Insurance Federation said one should be established "with the objective of streamlining the judicial process".
Mr Brett said the board had written to Mr Cullen "asking that a driving offences court be established in the Dublin area. Under the current system, where driving offences are prosecuted in the District Court, there are hundreds of gardaí hanging around, waiting for other cases to be dealt with, and they're not out doing enforcement work.
"We have written to Minister Cullen and he has passed this request on to them."
Provisional licences, he continued, would be replaced "as soon as possible, possibly before the summer" with learner permits. These would place severe restrictions on the driving behaviour of new, inexperienced drivers.
There are currently 440,000 provisional licences in the State and these will continue to be valid until they expire or their holders pass a test.
Restrictions under the new permit system could include limits on the engine size, limits on types of vehicle, lower or zero blood/alcohol levels permitted and mandatory lower limits on the age and experience of the licence-holder accompanying permit-holders in a vehicle.
