Ahead of the forthcoming bank holiday in August, drivers are being entreated to set their mobile devices aside and adopt lower driving speeds. The call comes from Minister of State tasked with road safety issues, James Lawless, who has also underscored the issues surrounding driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Road fatalities in Ireland this year, as indicated on Tuesday morning, stand at 113; a spike of 16 from last year’s figures.
In reference to the previous weekend, which witnessed the tragic demise of five people in road accidents, Taoiseach Simon Harris earlier this week sought drivers’ input to curtail the rising trend in deadly collisions. As preparations for the upcoming weekend getaway ramp up, Mr. Lawless accentuated data that points to distracted driving owing to mobile device usage, as he pushed his appeal for safe driving.
According to the Road Safety Authority’s Mobile Device Usage Observational Survey 2023, there was a visible uptick in mobile device usage while driving; 9 per cent compared to 6 per cent from the 2022 study. Another revealing research from the RSA, dated last year, disclosed that nearly 40 per cent of individuals under 35 years occasionally check mobile apps while operating a vehicle.
“I implore drivers to keep their phones aside and reduce speed this coming bank holiday,” Mr. Lawless stated. “The surge in road casualties we’ve seen this year is heartbreaking. The number of deaths and severe injuries is exorbitantly high and our mission is to prevent more families from undergoing such emotional turmoil. We all have a role in halting the escalation in road accidents.”
He drew attention to the menacing prospects of distracted driving triggered by mobile phone usage, adding, “The quality of driving has precipitously declined over the past three years since the onset of the pandemic. Along with over-speeding and distraction, alcohol and drug-driven driving pose significant challenges which the RSA, the gardaí, and the Medical Bureau of Road Safety are deeply alarmed by.”
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