Increased penalties to be imposed on drink drivers

Increased penalties for drink drivers will be imposed from this month following the commencement of parts of the Road Traffics Act.

Minister for Transport Martin Cullen signed a commencement order relating to parts six, seven and 18 of the Road traffic Act 2006 to allow for the increases earlier this month.

The penalty for refusing to give a blood, breath or urine sample has been increased from two years' disqualification from driving to four years.

For second or subsequent offences disqualification will rise to six years from four years.

Penalties for offences relating to specific levels of alcohol in the blood, breath or urine have also increased.

Depending on the level of alcohol, a drink driver can be disqualified for between one and six years, compared to between three months and four years up to this month.

The rules on applying to have a disqualification lifted are also stricter.

In the past a person could apply to have their driving rights restored having served only half of their disqualification.

Under the new legislation, at a minimum a person must serve two-thirds of the disqualification before applying to go back on the road and only if they have not had a separate period of disqualification in the previous 10 years.

If a person has been disqualified for less than two years, they must serve their entire term.