FESTIVE drivers are being warned about a little-known rule that could land them a €2,500 fine this Christmas.
A serious enough violation could even lead to a prison sentence.
Drivers could be hit with a major fine for overloading their car with a tree[/caption]
As Christmas draws near, thousands of people across the country are busy preparing for the holiday season.
One of the key tasks on the list is securing a Christmas tree to decorate the living room and provide a place for all those treasured presents.
But when it comes to getting it home, motorists must be careful they don’t overload their car.
The law in Ireland requires you to ensure that your vehicle is not carrying more weight than it is designed to carry, as overloading can affect your car’s performance and safety.
For cars, the maximum weight limit typically ranges between 1,500 kg to 3,500 kg, depending on the make and model of your vehicle.
If you are caught driving an overloaded vehicle, you could face a fixed fine of €80 for not adhering to weight regulations.
Additionally, you could receive penalty points on your driving licence, with three points added on the spot for breaching load limits.
The RSA states on its website: “It is an offence to carry a load on a vehicle which is overloaded.
“We have been advised by An Garda Síochána that in practice, the driver of an overweight vehicle will receive penalty points and a fixed charge, while the owner of the vehicle will receive a summons to court for the offence.”
In more severe cases, if the load is deemed dangerous or you are driving recklessly with an overloaded vehicle, you could face even higher fines and further legal consequences.
On conviction, the courts can then impose on the owner of the vehicle a Class C fine of up to €2,500, a prison sentence, or even both.
If you’re transporting a Christmas tree or other large items this season, it’s always best to check your car’s load capacity and secure the items safely.
This follows an urgent warning issued to thousands of Irish drivers, as the NCT advises giving notice before changing bookings.
Major NCT warning
Taking to social media, the NCT services revealed a problem that many Irish drivers seem to be making when it comes to their NCT test booking.
They revealed that once an Irish driver books their NCT, they can change their booking dates, get an earlier slot, or switch test centres.
This provides drivers with peace of mind if they cannot attend their original booking time, as they can change to a different time free of charge.
This means that if you were unable to fix a problem with the car that needs to be fixed before the NCT test, they can change it to a later date until the problem is solved.
However, they warned drivers that they must give the NCT five full working days’ notice to change their test to verify the booking change.
Failure to do so will hurt the motorists‘ wallet as they would be required to pay for the test again.
Late notice or failure to attend will incur a fee of €22 for a periodic inspection or €11.50 for a retest inspection.
To amend the booking, this can be done via the NCT website, telephone, email or postal bookings.
