Minister tells drivers to put phones in glove box

THE MINISTER RESPONSIBLE for road safety has said there is no acceptable form of phone usage for drivers and drivers should put their phone in the glove box.

Seán Canney said today: “There is no acceptable use of a phone in the car.”

“I would advise drivers to put their phone into the glove compartment. Just get rid of it. Out of sight, out of mind.”

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Asked whether it was acceptable to use Google Maps to navigate while driving, as is commonplace, the minister did not give a clear answer.

He said that when using a maps programme “you look at it”, adding that he personally believes “there’s too much technology around now and people cannot do anything without having screens on in cars.” 

It is an offence to hold a mobile phone in your hand or support it between your head and shoulder while driving unless you are calling 999. It is legal to talk on a hands-free system.

There has been a 17% increase in garda detections of people using a phone while driving this year compared with last. The penalty is a fixed charge of €120 and three penalty points.

High-vis

Speaking at a road safety appeal at garda headquarters in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, the minister also called on pedestrians and cyclists to wear high-visibility clothing, a request also made by Denis Ferry, an assistant garda commissioner.

Asked which pedestrians he was talking about and whether it would include pedestrians in, for example, suburban areas, Ferry said: “All pedestrians.”

Asked whether pedestrians should wear high-vis to walk on, for example, the nearby North Circular Road, Ferry said: “I think you should do everything you can to ensure you’re visible.”

“Even though you’re in an urban setting, quite often what we find is that when you go to cross the road, you assume that the traffic coming towards you can see you. Quite often in an urban setting, with lighting, it’s actually more difficult.

“We’d recommend, where possible, some sort of high-visibility, an armband if not even a jacket.”

Canney said he agreed with the deputy commissioner that wearing armbands gives pedestrians additional protection if a vehicle comes along and if there’s a “shadow in the public lighting”, adding that the advice was even more important for rural areas.

Recently enacted regulations require e-scooter users to wear high-visibility clothes. This is widely flouted.

Active travel campaigners such as the Irish Cycling Campaign and the Dublin Commuter Coalition have argued against high-vis mandates, making a case that only safer roads, lower speeds and better driver behaviour can prevent crashes.

The government and gardaí launched a road safety appeal this afternoon ahead of the bank holiday weekend.

The number of people dying on Irish roads is increasing, with 151 people having lost their lives this year so far, up 9% on the same period of last year. Of these, 29 were pedestrians, particularly in Dublin and Cork.

Road Safety Authority’s future

Canney said he is working with the beleaguered Road Safety Authority (RSA) to make it more effective and expects to see an implementation plan for reform of the agency within weeks.

The minister said he wanted to ensure an additional €2 million in funding to the agency was “effective”.

Assistant garda commissioner Denis Ferry, Seán Canney, the junior minister for road safety, and RSA chief executive Sam Waide. Source: The Journal

This week, the RSA pulled a plan to install breathalyser terminals in hotels and pubs at a cost of €1.5 million, after it was criticised for undermining the zero tolerance message on drink-driving. 

Asked this afternoon how the plan had gone as far as tendering before being scrapped, Sam Waide, chief executive of the RSA, said there was a business case for the proposal but the RSA respected the minister’s decision to axe it.

The RSA also came in for criticism from Canney in August for its lack of visibility in the aftermath of the M9 motorway collision caused by teens travelling into oncoming traffic, and quietly published advice on how to react to wrong-way driving having initially said it could not do so.

Asked this afternoon if he has a good relationship with the RSA, Canney said he did and had recently met with both Waide and the board.

He added: “This is not about relationships, it’s about saving lives.”

“That’s what we’re doing, and we have a good attitude towards doing that, every one of us – the RSA, the Department [of Transport] and myself,” Canney said.

Sam Waide of the RSA appealed to drivers today to slow down this winter and look out for pedestrians and vulnerable road users such as cyclists, particularly on darker evenings and mornings.