"Rip up licenses!" demand as scale of Northern Ireland driving offences revealed
PSNI data shows how many got fines, court time or courses for their trouble
PSNI data has revealed how many motoring offences took place over 12 months - and Belfast Live readers are demanding action in our comments section, with everything from more speed cameras to "ripping up licenses".
From September 1, 2023, to August 31, 2024, there were 36,071 detections for motoring offences in Northern Ireland, with the vast majority dealt with using fines or being referred to the courts. 3% of all cases were dealt with using speed awareness and driver safety courses.
The figures represent a decrease of 17% in offences compared to the previous year. The number of motoring offences have been generally decreasing over a 10 year period, from a total of 60,838 recorded in 2014, to 41,364 recorded in 2023.
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Insurance offences and speeding collective make up a third of the latest figures. Over a fifth of NI offences were detected within Belfast, and eight out of ten offenders were males.
Readers want further action, including commenter DanielPrior: "And yet we only have a few speed cameras in Belfast. Why not put some gantry ones up on the west link and invest in further cameras located all over Belfast and the surrounding motorways etc., you'll soon recover your costs I can assure you!"
Reader Hondavfr57 says: "A while back, on two different women were caught doing 108 and 109 mph on the M2, punishment was a fine and a slap on their wrists! Now either our laws need updating or our judges need retraining!"
Zeitgeistian writes: "Cars roar past my house every day, well over 140mph, with nothing to slow them down. There are never any police or speed cameras in sight, despite us residents constantly reporting it – and despite the car crashes piling up at the end of the road at least a couple of times each month. Drivers treat our road like an autobahn, where speed limits don’t exist, with nothing and no one holding them accountable. They drive like they are untouchable — and so far, they’re right."
Nemo2000 says: "M2 northbound is plagued by speeding drivers between Belfast, Antrim and beyond. Traveling at the speed limit will have you aggressively tailgated should you enter the speeding lane to overtake slower traffic. It would be comical if it was not so deadly, the M2 is just crying out for average speed cameras monitoring each section between entrance and exit slip roads."
Pb11 writes: "These drivers no doubt arrested then bailed. The reality is they should be pulled from the car, rip up the license and then straight to jail, no questions asked."
Have your say! What would be your silver bullet to reducing the number of driving offences further? Comment below, and join in on the conversation.