§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office (Baroness Denton of Wakefield) rose to move, That the draft order laid before the House on 1st April be approved.
§ The noble Baroness said: My Lords, this order seeks to harmonise Northern Ireland's road traffic laws in relation to prosecution and punishment of road traffic offenders with those in force in Great Britain under the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988. In particular, this revision of the law would introduce a penalty points system in Northern Ireland for road traffic offenders together with new dual level fixed penalties.
§ In brief, this order has three main parts. Part II deals with the trial of road traffic offenders and with evidence and production of documents to courts. Part III makes provision for the sentencing of offenders, endorsement of licences and disqualification. This part introduces penalty points for certain road traffic offences. Under this system road traffic offences would be divided into endorsable and non-endorsable offences. All endorsable offences would carry a number or range of penalty points and these would be endorsed on the counterpart of an offending driver's licence. On accumulation of 12 or more penalty points within a three year period the driver would be disqualified. The aim of the penalty points system is to provide for offences of varying gravity and to render any person who repeatedly commits endorsable road traffic offences liable to disqualification.
§ The proposed order also specifies offences which would carry obligatory disqualification in their own right and those where a court would have discretion to disqualify. In addition, provision is included introducing a new extended driving test for those disqualified on conviction of certain serious road traffic offences and for an experiment in the use of rehabilitation courses for drink drivers.
§ Part IV sets out the existing fixed penalty procedures and introduces two levels of fixed penalty. The present fixed penalty (£20) would continue for non-endorsable offences and a second level (£40) would be introduced for endorsable offences. These amounts would be subject to review.
§ The order creates five offences. These relate to failure to produce driving licences and certain information to courts, providing false statements in response to notices to owners seeking details of the driver of a vehicle at the material time and to the unauthorised removal of fixed penalty notices fixed to vehicles.
1354§ As your Lordships will appreciate, it is a matter of considerable concern that Northern Ireland's road casualty record is worse than anywhere else in the United Kingdom. In recent years there has been a substantial reduction in the number of road traffic deaths and serious injuries and it is encouraging to see, in 1995, a 29 per cent. reduction in fatalities and serious injuries when measured against the 1981 to 1985 average. However, our target is to achieve a one-third reduction by the year 2000 and there is much to do.
§ Among the measures being taken to achieve this reduction is a review of Northern Ireland's road safety laws. A Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 dealing with road safety and related matters was enacted in November of that year. This, the offenders order, follows on from the 1995 order and revises the law relating to the prosecution and punishment of road traffic offenders. Its provisions are designed to increase the contribution which road traffic law can make to road safety and in particular to reduce the number of casualties on our roads in Northern Ireland. I beg to move.
§ Moved, That the draft order laid before the House on 1st April be approved.—(Baroness Denton of Wakefield.)
§ Lord Williams of MostynMy Lords, I thank the Minister for that introduction. We welcome the order, in particular Article 41, the extended driving test for those disqualified on conviction of dangerous driving, motor manslaughter and causing death by dangerous driving. Article 36 seems to be an imaginative scheme—an experiment in the use of courses for drink drivers which brings about a reduction in the length of disqualification. We welcome the order.
§ Baroness Denton of WakefieldMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that welcome. It is important that we reduce casualties on the road. We appreciate the support of your Lordships' House. I commend the order.
On Question, Motion agreed to.