A TOTAL of 17,610 penalty points were issued to drivers in Clare during 2020, according to the Central Statistics Office.
The number of points issued in Clare was down by 6.7% on 2019. While that might not be surprising given the lower levels of activity during the year, the numbers didn’t drop in most counties and across the Republic of Ireland there was actually a small increase.
In total 4,920 endorsement notices were issued around the Banner during the year, with 1,704 going to women, 3,131 to men and in 74 cases the gender was not recorded.
Among the Clare men, 2,402 of the 3,131 of the endorsement notices were issued for speeding. With Clare women, 1,355 of the 1,704 notices were in relation to speeding.
One Clare motorists picked up 12 points within 2020, but over 85% of offenders received just three points over the course of the year.
At the end of 2020 a total of 13,994 Clare motorists had at least one penalty point on their licence, while 24 were off the road having reached 12.
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.