THE number of people getting penalty points has fallen by over 20%, official figures from the Road Safety Authority have confirmed.

The fall has been so pronounced that the number of drivers with points on their licences has actually begun to drop for the first time. From a high of 260,315 notices issued between September 2006 and August 2007, the numbers have fallen by 22%.

The amount of penalty point notices issued dropped to 203,164 in the most recent 12-month period and the volume of recorded offences has been dropping steadily. A major fall-off in enforcement, rather than any improvement in driver behaviour, is being blamed for the decline in numbers.

The fall in penalty point notices has continued throughout the year despite a series of high-profile accidents at traffic blackspots. In July, eight men lost their lives after a two-vehicle crash in Co Donegal. The following month, four more people died in a collision in Co Kerry.

The Road Safety Authority said: "The obvious problem with these figures is to identify why it has happened and it is difficult for us to make an informed comment on it. It is a matter for the gardaí."

Official RSA figures also show that the number of people with points on their licences has dropped for the first time since the system was introduced.

In August 2009, there were a total of 449,645 Irish drivers who currently had at least two points on their licence. However by the end of August this year, the number of motorists with points had fallen to 430,097 as 19,000 found theirs had now elapsed and their licences were now clear.

The number of people in receipt of penalty points had been rising until 2006, the Road Safety Authority figures showed. However, since then the trend has reversed and if current projections continue, the number of people getting points will fall below 200,000 this year for the first time since 2005.

According to the latest figures, a total of 809,127 penalty point notices are currently in force. However, almost a third of offences recorded – or a total of 253,803 people – are logged as "no driver number" meaning the culprit was driving a foreign-registered or UK car.