Longer prison sentences for drivers convicted of driving wrong way – Canney

By Cate McCurry, Press Association

Legislation is expected to be brought in by the end of the year, which will see people convicted of driving the wrong way on the motorway facing a longer prison sentence.

It comes after five teenagers were killed in a horror crash after the car they were travelling in was driven the wrong way on the M9 and was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport Seán Canney said on Friday that this type of criminal activity is “intolerable” and “tempting fate”.

Following a meeting with his department officials, An Garda Síochána, the Road Safety Authority (RSA), Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the Department of Justice officials on Friday, Canney said that legislative proposals will be brought forward in the coming weeks.

He said that amendments will be made to the Roads Act and will be done “fairly fast”.

Asked if it will be done by the end of the year, he said: “Yeah, I think we will have to have legislation in place.

“We had a very enlightening meeting in relation to what happening, how the policing of the road is being conducted and how we can improve our technologies in detecting better response times to alert people that something is going on.

These are people who are deliberately putting other people's lives in danger and creating mayhem. We have to look how we deal with them separately

“There are two elements to this, there are people who actually go down the wrong side of the motorway unintentionally and in error but there are people who go down the motorway deliberately, for one reason or another.

“These are people who are deliberately putting other people’s lives in danger and creating mayhem. We have to look how we deal with them separately.

“Next week my officials will meet with Department of Justice officials and Gardaí.”

He said they will also consider bringing in legislation which will protect gardaí in any pursuits.

“We would be hoping to bring forward legislation quickly if it is needed to make sure we can protect gardaí and also we provide additional penalties for people who are deliberately putting other people’s lives at risk.

“The legislation might be enough but the penalty might not be enough. We need to make sure that when someone does something this wrong, is imposing danger, that there are consequences. The message has (be) we cannot have this prevailing on our roads.

“It’s important that the jail sentences are longer and that there is an attitude that we will not tolerate this type of behaviour.

“We need to make this something that is intolerable for society to accept.

“The people who make the decision to steal a car or borrow a car and decide to go down the dual carriageway on the wrong side and drive at speed are tempting fate. They need to be taken off the road.

“I don’t have a deadline but next week my officials will be meeting with the Department of Justice to bring together the legislation and to get it formalised and drafted.

“With help of Attorney General’s office we will bring in legislation very quickly.”