Call for harsher penalties for phone use while driving

Penalties for drivers caught using mobile phones should be beefed up to discourage the practice, which has become "normalised", according to the Chair of the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

Liz O'Donnell said that RSA observational studies show the percentage of drivers seen using handheld mobile phones while driving stands at 9%.

However, Ms O'Donnell believes their use is "much more widespread".

She said the offence currently incurs three penalty points here, but in Northern Ireland it incurs six.

"You'd wonder whether the penalty points need to be increased to increase the fear of being caught and penalised," Ms O'Donnell said.

She described using a mobile phone while driving as "one of the killer behaviours" and a "contributory factor to crashes".

Ms O'Donnell said despite the fact that there were penalty points for driving while using a mobile phone "it has become normalised".

"Our view is that it should become stigmatised because it is a very, very dangerous activity," she said.

"164 pedestrians in the last five years have been killed in Ireland, mostly in urban areas, and I believe some of that is down to distracted driving," the RSA chair added.

She spoke about the research, which included focus groups, and said: "We are getting to a stage where people are admitting to using their mobile phones, they see it as normal (and) they justify it."

"We have got that message across that drink driving is socially unacceptable, we need to do the same with mobile phone use," Ms O'Donnell added.

She welcomed the introduction of the gardaí's new garda lorry cab, which is being used as part of efforts to detect mobile phone use while driving.