A pioneering deal
to keep disqualified drivers off UK and Irish roads will come into
force in February, Road Safety Minister Paul Clark announced today.
UK drivers disqualified for an offence in the Republic of Ireland
will no longer escape that punishment when they return home.
Likewise, disqualifications earned by Irish drivers while in the
UK will be recognised and enforced when they return to Ireland.
The measures are the result of a deal agreed between the British,
Irish and Northern Ireland Ministers and represent the first
practical step of its kind in Europe.
Paul Clark said:
"Britain has one of the best road safety records in the
world but we need to do everything we can to improve even further.
"If a UK driver commits a serious offence while in
Ireland their ban should still apply when they return home.
"These measures will keep dangerous drivers off our
roads by ensuring that disqualified drivers are not able to escape
their punishment."
The agreement was the first to be drawn up under the terms of the
1998 European Convention on driving disqualifications.
The United Kingdom has made a formal declaration to the EU
Council to enable the mutual recognition of driving
disqualifications with Ireland from February 2010.The EU will
confirm the exact date of implementation.
Notes to Editors
1. The agreement is within the framework established by the 1998
Convention on Driving Disqualifications. We believe that this is
the first such instance of international cooperation within that
framework.
2. In 1998, the UK and Ireland along with all thirteen (at the
time) other EU Member States of the European Union signed the
Convention on driving disqualification (98/C 216/01). The
Convention intends to ensure that drivers disqualified from
driving in a Member State other than their normal place of
residence should not, on their return home, escape the
consequences of that disqualification.
3. The Convention provides for six agreed kinds of conduct which
will be internationally recognised for the purposes of driving
disqualification. The Convention automatically comes into force
across all Member States only when all original signatory States
have ratified it. However, the Convention allows one EU Member
State to recognise another's driving disqualifications
before all Member States have ratified.
4. The agreed behaviours covered by the 1998 Convention include:
reckless or dangerous driving; hit-and-run driving; driving whilst
under the influence of alcohol or drugs; speeding; and driving
whilst disqualified. The Convention and therefore also
today's agreement does not apply to disqualifications
under the totting up of penalty points procedure.
5. The UK and Ireland implemented the necessary primary
legislation to allow for ratification (in Great Britain through
the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003, and in Ireland
under the Road Traffic Act (2002). The UK legislation is
formulated to enter into force 90 days after the later of the
necessary notifications being made by Ireland and UK to the EU
Council. This means that, in practice, the legislation in UK will
come into force early in February on a date to be notified by the
EU authorities after receipt of the UK and Ireland declarations.
6. Mutual recognition of driving disqualification came into
effect between Britain and Northern Ireland on 11 October 2004 and
was extended to include the Isle of Man on 23 May 2005.
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