One in 20 drivers still use hand-held mobile phones while driving, a Road Safety Authority survey has revealed.
The observational study found that Cork motorists were most likely to call and drive, with 12 per cent of the city’s drivers using handheld phones.
The research by Amarach was based on observations of drivers using a hand-held phone of more than 30,000 vehicles at 45 locations in seven counties.
Of 33,949 drivers, 1,964 – or 6 per cent - were observed using a mobile phone while driving.
At one of the Cork city centre locations, MacCurtin Street, 16 per cent of drivers were seen using handheld phones.
Drivers observed in Co Kildare were the next biggest offenders, with 9 per cent using their phones in Maynooth.
The highest observation in the area was the entrance to NUI Maynooth where 16 per cent of drivers were seen using phones.
Dublin drivers were more compliant than most, with just 4 per cent of city centre drivers using mobile phones.
Athlone motorists were least likely to use their phone, with an average of 2 per cent being observed. They were followed by motorists in Dundalk and Drogheda at 3 per cent and Galway at four percent.
The results of the survey were described as “extremely worrying” by the authority’s chief executive Noel Brett .
He said drivers are four times more likely to crash if they use a hand held mobile phone while driving.
“By continuing to use your mobile phone while driving, you are risking your life, the lives of your passengers and the lives of others. And no phone call is worth that risk,” he said.
The authority also noted that the results were an underestimate of the true extent of the problem because they do not capture those who are textingwhile driving nor those using hands-free kits.
Using a hands-free mobile phone has shown to be no safer than a hand-held phone while driving, Mr Brett said.
Mobile phone use while driving is the second highest penalty points offence in Ireland after speeding. More than 16,000 drivers have been given penalty points for the offence in the past year.
Garda Assistant Commissioner John Twomey said it is unsafe and illegal to use a hand-held mobile phone while driving. “If caught, a driver must pay a fixed charge notice of €60 and will incur two penalty points. If a driver does not pay the fixed charge and is convicted in court, four penalty points and a fine of up to €2,000 will be applied,” he warned.
The RSA study showed:
- Over 1 in 10 drivers (12 per cent) were observed using a phone in Cork, followed by 9 per cent in Maynooth.
- In two separate sites in Maynooth and Cork, almost one in five (16 per cent) drivers were spotted.The lowest levels of phone use while driving were in Drogheda and Dundalk at 3 per cent and Athlone, just 2 per cent.
- The rate of mobile phone use in Limerick was 7 per cent, and was 4 per cent in both in Galway and Dublin.
