Can Someone Take Your Penalty Points in Ireland?

The “Small Favour” That Can End In Prison

The points swap that sent a Cabinet Minister to prison

In 2003 a senior British politician, Chris Huhne, asked his wife, Vicky Pryce, to accept speeding points for him.

Mr Huhne was a senior member of the Liberal Democrat party and was tipped to be its future leader. He had accumulated 9 points and wanted to avoid a ban.

He also wanted his wife to take the points.

She agreed to help.

Years passed. Their marriage collapsed. It was at this point that the truth of what they had agreed to do years earlier emerged.

Huhne and Pryce, who enjoyed ‘stellar careers’, were prosecuted for perverting the course of justice.

At a retrial they were found guilty and sentenced to 8 months imprisonment.

Huhne’s meteoric career was reduced to ashes.

"As the judge ordered they be taken to begin their sentences Huhne went first.

His former wife waited a few seconds for him to disappear through the door,

and with a barely perceptible nod to her legal team and the judge, followed him out”. 

The drama began in March 2003 when Huhne was detected speeding on his way home from Stanstead Airport.

He knew that if he paid the fixed charge notice he would be disqualified from driving for 6 months due to penalty points. Pryce stepped in and agreed in writing that she had been driving.

Things lay dormant for 7 years until June 2010 when Huhne became aware that a newspaper was about to break a story that he was having an affair with his advisor. He told his wife that he was leaving her.

Enraged, Pryce began speaking to the media, especially the Sunday Times, and she revealed what had happened with the fixed charge notice 7 years earlier.

Instead of destroying her husband she stood alongside him in the dock and was sent to prison with him.

In sentencing them both Mr Justice Sweeney said that Pryce had reported the matter to the press in order to achieve her “dual objective” of bringing down Huhne and not implicating herself.

Turning to Huhne the judge remarked that he had “fallen from a great height’ and that he was ‘somewhat- but not greatly in my view-more culpable” than his ex-wife.

He had stronger words for his ex-wife.

He said that Pryce had demonstrated an ‘implacable’ desire for revenge following the end of her marriage and she had shown a ‘controlling, manipulative and devious side’ to her character.

The Guardian reported that as sentences were handed down:

“Neither gave any visible reaction…or looked at each other. As the judge ordered they be taken to begin their sentences Huhne went first.

His former wife waited a few seconds for him to disappear through the door, and with a barely perceptible nod to her legal team and the judge, followed him out”. 

Cases of this type are not uncommon in Ireland either.

One such case came before Limerick District Court in March 2023 where a motorist who had given sworn evidence of not having received the fixed penalty notice in the post, was later prosecuted for perjury and jailed.

How was he discovered?

By accident.

The Gardai had been investigating another matter when text messages from the motorist were discovered.

The Irish reality

In Ireland, asking someone to take your penalty points when they were not the driver is a false declaration.

If it is uncovered, you face criminal prosecution, a criminal conviction and in serious cases, imprisonment.

This is not me scaring you. It is how courts see it.

The justice system relies on truthful records.

Point-swapping is treated as an attack on that system.

“But what if nobody finds out?”

People say that, but can you take that chance?

The Huhne case shows what really happens when the truth emerges later.

Relationships end.

People talk.

Journalists investigate.

Paper trails do not forget.

Years can pass.

Then everything unravels in weeks.

And if you’re caught?

Jail.

If you ask someone to take your points or if you give sworn evidence of having not received the notice, you’ll run an extremely high risk of being sent to jail.

You’ll certainly get a criminal conviction.

The oath that people take in court is not itself a guarantee that someone will tell the truth. That is why swearing on the Bible, Koran -or swearing an affirmation- that the evidence that you will give is truthful, is so symbolically important.

If you tell deliberate lies in the witness box you’ll very likely face jail because without a stiff sanction like that, what will stop other people from causally telling lies?

Our system of justice is based on taking some things at face value.

One of them is that people will tell the truth once they have taken an oath.

If that is taken away, our system of justice collapses.

Risk/Reward

Imagine you’re heading towards 12 points.

You pay the last notice and you go off the road for 6 months.

It’s a huge inconvenience.

But it’s not a conviction. After 6 months you can go back driving with a clean points slate and record.

Now contrast that with asking someone (often an elderly parent) to take your points so you escape a ban.

If that is found out, not only will you face jail, but the person who falsely declared that they were driving will also run the risk of jail.

And that’s only part of it.

The media will camp out in court to cover every bit of both your humiliation.

Your relationship will never be the same again.

"Relationships end.

People talk.

Journalists investigate.

Paper trails do not forget.

Years can pass.

Then everything unravels in week"

Quick answers

Can someone take my penalty points in Ireland?

No, not if they were not the driver. That is a false declaration. It can become a criminal case and, in serious situations, lead to prison.

Can you nominate someone to take penalty points?

Only if they actually drove. Otherwise you are creating a false record that can come back to you later.

I’m close to a ban. What should I do?

Get legal advice now. You may have options you do not know about.

Do not gamble your future on a lie.