should disqualifications be world wide?

Disqualified drivers face international ban

From today, UK drivers disqualified for serious motoring offences in Ireland will no longer escape punishment when they return home, under a new law. The ban also extends to Irish drivers disqualified while in the UK, who will find the ban enforced when they return to Ireland.

International action on disqualified drivers

The new law means that if you are banned from driving in the UK, you will be banned in Ireland, and vice versa.

The measures are the result of a deal agreed between British, Irish and Northern Ireland ministers.

The new law is the first practical step to recognise driving disqualifications in Europe under the terms of the 1998 European Convention on driving disqualifications.

Road Safety Minister Paul Clark said: "We've cut the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads by 40 per cent since the mid-1990s – that's more than 19,000 fewer deaths or serious injuries in a year. This means we now have some of the safest roads in the world.

"But we need to continue to work to make our roads even safer and if a UK driver commits a serious offence while in Ireland it is right that their ban should still apply when they return home.

"From today this new law will ensure that disqualified drivers are not able to escape their punishment and so keep dangerous drivers off the roads."

Find out more about driving disqualifications