35,000 drivers fined for mobile phone offences

ALMOST 35,000 people were last year fined for using a mobile phone while driving, while 20,000 motorists were penalised for failing to wear a seatbelt.

In a separate figure in the latest Garda Síochána Annual Report, it emerged 300 marriages of convenience are being investigated.

Meanwhile, last year was the safest year for road safety since records began, as 241 people lost their lives. One in 200 people tested for drink driving tested positive, according to the report, while 53,969 checkpoints were held, leading to 507,604 roadside breath tests and 2,472 positive tests. In all, 16% of suspected drink driving incidents were detected by mandatory alcohol testing checkpoints, with the total number of suspected drink driving incidents coming in at 15,151 last year.