Heavily targeted offences include speeding, mobile phone, no L-plate, driving while unaccompanied and not wearing a seatbelt.

Can cocaine turn into BZE after your blood is taken? YES. Cocaine can begin to break down after a blood sample has been taken. Some of it may turn into benzoylecgonine, usually shortened to BZE. But that is only the beginning of the answer. Let’s dispel one myth right away: the temperature and the length of time the blood is stored do not scientifically cause the sample to corrode. But this is not to say that cocaine in blood cannot break down. Facts The fact that cocaine can

On 27 October 2025 the Financial Times reported that Belgium was now regarded as a “narco state” by some members of its own judiciary. Quoting an investigating judge, now living in a safe house for 4 months, Belgium was “facing an organised threat that undermines our institutions”.

"The law may be the same, but the human being applying it is not"

Irish drug-driving law explained by a former Garda and practising road traffic solicitor. Covers the DrugWipe 6S, blood samples, MBRS testing, cannabis, cocaine, prescription medication, summonses, court and possible defences.

Future cameras won't necessarily be looking at your registration plate. They may be looking inside the car

You may not have to be stopped for your NCT problem to be detected. Imagine driving past a camera and receiving a notice afterwards because your vehicle didn’t have a valid NCT. That’s one of the possibilities specifically contemplated in Ireland’s National Safety Camera Strategy. Cameras may eventually be used to enforce invalid NCT, tax and insurance offences. That means the State won’t have to rely on Gardai to stop and prosecute you any more. Machines will. We seem to be

At the moment, most people probably think of driving without insurance as something discovered when a Garda stops a vehicle. But that will likely change.

The next speed camera may not be looking at your speed. Most Irish drivers associate roadside cameras with speeding. That may be about to change. The Government's National Safety Camera Strategy (published April 2026) specifically provides for the future use of cameras to detect mobile phone use while driving. Not a Garda stopping you, just a fixed charge notice in the post weeks later telling you that you were detected holding your phone while driving. That’s a huge change.

If a butcher leaves his shop to collect a delivery of meat from a truck parked across the street, is he breaking the law if he carries a knife with him while he collects the meat?

Another bank holiday weekend: another huge surge in penalty points is on the way. The top 5 penalty point offences in Ireland are: Speeding Holding a mobile phone Unaccompanied learner driver Driving without reasonable consideration NCT. Of those 5 the Gardai will be focusing hugely on the first 2 ie speeding and mobile phones. But they’ll also be focusing on drink and drug driving and seatbelt offences. For decades bank holiday weekends have been the times when road fataliti

NCT statistics Based on the official NCT statistics compiled by Applus (the company that operates the National Car Test), the top five reasons vehicles fail the NCT have been remarkably consistent year on year. Here they are: 1. Steering and Suspension This tops the list, accounting for around 15% of all failures. Worn shock absorbers, broken springs, perished bushes and play in steering joints are the usual culprits, and Irish road conditions (potholes in particular) take m

"It’s worth repeating: the law allows the Gardai to test you if you have broken the law in any way. So if you speed you can expected to be tested"

"Judge Carroll told the employer that she could not understand how any employer could not identify which one of their staff were driving their vehicles at all times"

They're a legal "goldmine"... Speeding is still the biggest offence detected on Irish roads. By far. According to the Department of Transport statistics there were 428,528 speeding offences recorded on Irish driver’s licenses' in June 2025. "Speeding offences actually dropped by 4% in Cork and 5% in Dublin. But they rose elsewhere, and in a certain part of the country, dramatically. The Southeast to be precise and the rise here was extraordinary" One year later that number ha

"Learner Driver Unaccompanied offences have surged 18.5% in one year. Its by far the fastest growing offence".

"In 12 months 40,000 new drivers received penalty points"

Cannabis, Cocaine, Codeine: How Long Before You Can Legally Drive? “I Took It Yesterday — So I’m Grand, Right?” That’s the sentence I hear the most in drug driving cases. The person feels fine. They waited a day. Maybe two. They assume they’re safe to drive. But here’s what they don’t realise: You can still test positive. And if you test positive, the Gardaí can charge you. Even if you haven’t felt high in hours, or even days. Even if it was last night. Even if it was “just a

If people are aware of this, the ‘deterrence’ power of jail has been effective. In other words, the risk of jail helps people to ‘self-police’ while on the roads, without the necessity of having police officers standing on every street corner or sending scores of people to jail.

Section 109 (A) Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 JAMES MAX IS a tv and radio broadcaster in the UK. He writes a regular column for the Financial Times. Recently he complained about the maintenance bill for his 50-year-old Rolls Royce. He described the model as a “Corniche convertible in silver mink”. When he bought it several years ago it cost “£60,000 with just over 75,000 miles on the clock”. It’s had its problems over the years. On one occasion “the brakes locked, engulfin