| Mobile Phone Use It’s official; we are a nation more than slightly obsessed with our phones. Official data from ComReg (The Commission for Communications Regulation) shows that there were 5,432,182 active mobile phone subscriptions at the end of March 2013. Traditionally we have been seen as a nation of talkers but now according to other research from ComReg, we are a nation of texters too with the average Irish person sending 5.85 text messages a day. |
| Dangers of Texting While Driving The temptation to use a mobile phone while operating a vehicle definitely exists. The phone beeps beside you; it is difficult to resist taking a look.However, research from road safety experts show that drivers are four times more likely to crash while on the phone and that driver distraction plays a role in up to 30% of all road collisions. |  |
| Research in the USA by the Harvard Centre for Risk Analysis estimates that 330,000 Americans are injured annually as a direct result of texting while driving. |
 | Law Enforcement The Irish government has decided to act to ensure that road safety directly affected by texting while driving will now come under law enforcement. In 2014 we will see the enactment of the Road Traffic Bill 2013 – these regulations will specifically ban texting while driving, whether or not the phone is actually being held. |
| There will be a fine of €60 if paid within 28 days, rising to €90, and three penalty points. The changes result from concerns that drivers who use hands-free devices access the keypad of their phones to text or access information while driving. Voice-activated texting will not be subject to the new rules. If the fine remains unpaid, the motorist can be taken to court, where a maximum penalty of €1,000 for a first offence can be imposed, rising to a maximum €2,000 and/or three months in prison for a third or subsequent offence within a 12-month period. Five penalty points can also be added to a driver's licence. |
Posted By: Eoin O'Donnell 27th January 2014