Brennan moves to ban motorists from using mobile phones

Political Editor

Mr Brennan told the Irish Examiner that provisions to outlaw the use of hand-held mobiles in cars will be included in the next bill on transport matters that goes before the Oireachtas.

Motorists caught using mobile phones will also face penalty points. However, the ban will not apply to the use of hands-free kits for mobile phones in cars.

It is the second time the Coalition Government has moved to outlaw motorists using hand-held mobile phones. In 2002, the then Junior Minister Robert Molloy introduced regulations restricting the use of mobile phones in cars.

However, the regulations, introduced as secondary legislation, were withdrawn amidst confusion about their enforcement. Fine Gael claimed that one section of the regulations made it illegal for a motorist to carry a mobile phone in their pocket but at the same time make it perfectly legal to have it on the seat or in the glove compartment.

The party’s transport spokesman Denis Naughten said the prohibition on a motorist to have a phone on their person would “criminalise a driver who has their mobile phone turned off in their pocket and leave them facing a sentence”.

On taking up office, Mr Brennan sought advice from the Attorney General about the proposed ban.

“The AG’s advice was that regulations were not strong enough and that primary legislation was needed.

“The next time a bill is going before the House on transport matters, it will be included ,” he said.

The National Safety Council (NSC), which has long advocated a ban, has said drivers using hand-held mobile phones are four times more likely to be involved in a crash.

A spokesman for the NSC welcomed the legislation and pointed out that its own advice was that motorists should keep mobile phones switched off while driving, irrespective of whether they are using a hands-free kit or not.