New statistics from the CSO based on data collated by the Road Safety Authority and the Department of Transport has revealed some interesting facts.
The data looks at Irish motorists and driving patterns and revealed that arguably, the countries worst drives are from Laois and Wexford.
Almost 20 percent of drivers from these two counties with either a full or learner licence have received penalty points within the previous three years. That is four percent higher compared to the national average of 16 percent.
By the end of 2018, the data also revealed that 563,673 motorists out of over 2.9m with an Irish driving licence had a penalty point recorded on their licence.
But, in good news, penalty points were down overall by 8.5 percent last year, that’s over 52,400 points less compared to 12 months previous.
Motorists in Donegal were also noted as the “best” drivers in the country with the lowest share of penalty points and well below the national average at just 11.5 percent.
The Irish Road Victims Association chairperson, Donna Price spoke about these statistics saying:
“Gardai reassure us that they are out there enforcing road traffic law and there’s no doubt many people have changed their driving habit but we would always say that more can be done including in relation to enforcement.”
Wexford was also noted as one of the counties with most drivers off the road for receiving too many penalty points. They have almost twice the national average off the road.
