This article is from page 6 of the 2009-01-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
THE sale of defective cars to young people is at the root of many serious road crashes. That’s according to a Fianna Fail town councillor, who has urged car buyers to ask questions as to the history of the vehicle.
Shannon-based councillor Sean Hillery said a lot of cars are being sold, “but not in a legitimised way”. Faults in steering or brakes lead to bad accidents, he said.
“If you buy a car, it 1s supposed to be of a certain standard. There are a lot of terrible accidents. I see cars for sale in the middle of fields. Is that a proper way? Is that legal? I see other cars stuck on the side of the road and in parks for sale,” he said.
“Young lads today have money to go out and buy them. It doesn’t take a massive speed to kill you in a car. I don’t believe all these accidents are caused by drugs or drink. I believe there are other causes. These cars that are being sold don’t all have MOTs,” he added.
He said the onus on ensuring all cars on the road are roadworthy falls with both the buyer and seller of a car. ‘There was a time when there was a lot of cowboys around who would sell anything. I thought it was wiped out. I don’t think it 1s,’ he added.
While gardai in Clare say that the matter is not a major issue, however several car owners have been pros- ecuted for failing to have a national car test (NCT) disc displayed on their cars. Cars fail the NCT due to one or more defects. Gardai have the power to seize cars that do not have
an NCT three months after it should have been tested.
Meanwhile, the number of penalty points issued to Clare drivers has just topped the 10,000 mark.
Since the points were introduced six years ago, a net 10,021 were handed to drivers with Clare addresses. The gross figure of points issued is sig- nificantly higher than this, as points
are removed from licenses after three years.
Up to the end of December, five drivers had been disqualified from driving for six months each, having obtained 12 penalty points, while another 25 drivers are on the verge of being disqualified: 24 drivers have 10 points each, while one driver has 11 points.
The overwhelming majority of drivers – 7,/44 – have two points on their licenses. 1,484 drivers have four points, while 354 have six pen- alty points.
Speeding is the main offence for which drivers in Clare are getting points on their licenses, with almost 9,000 drivers caught for this offence.
Since the introduction of the of- fence in September 2006 of driving a vehicle while holding a mobile phone, 1,262 Clare drivers have been handed points for this.
Anyone caught using a mobile phone while driving faces a fine of €60 and two penalty points. Those who fail to pay the fine and end up with a conviction in court will re- ceive four penalty points and a fine of up to €2,000.
1,148 drivers have been penalised for failing to use their seat belts, while crossing continuous’ white lines, failing to obey traffic lights, failing to comply with traffic signs and driving without reasonable con- sideration have all resulted in dozens of points being amassed by Clare Cle Aone