'The dark side of human nature': Call to update laws after graphic images of fatal M50 crash shared online

Ireland needs to update its laws to catch up with technology, according to the AA's Conor Faughnan.

He was responding to the phenomenon of people taking pictures of accidents and sharing them on social media, describing it as 'the dark side of human nature'.

Mr Faughnan was speaking in the wake of a fatal accident on the M50 in Dublin on Thursday. Members of the public slowed down to take pictures of the accident, many of which were shared widely on social media.

Three people died in accidents on Thursday. There were also fatal accidents in Loughrea, Co Galway and Monasterevin, Co Kildare.

Mr Faughnan said that current laws are outdated and need to be re-examined in the context of advancing technology as "a line had been crossed" in this instance.

“We can’t be blind to this and say these things aren’t happening. We need to look at the laws about decent behaviour. We need the law to catch up with technology,” he told RTÉ’s Today with Sean O’Rourke show.

“There should be some sanctions against that behaviour. Any reasonable person would say that they shouldn’t be allowed to do that. With a bit of concentration reasonable laws could be drafted to deal with this situation."

"People should be held accountable," he said.

Noel Gibbons, road safety officer at Mayo County Council, urged people to be more mindful when it comes to posting images of accidents. He said that, often, images on social media could be the first notification that family members have of an accident.

"Social media is an easy outlet for people to get information to a vast number of people instantly," said Mr Gibbons.

"When someone finds out about a death of a loved one in a message, where it's such a broad spectrum it's very impersonal and obviously a shock to the person when they find out.

"Sometimes it’s enough to know that horrible things happen without having to see them."

Gardai say drivers using mobile phones to take photos at collision scenes can be charged with distracted driving.

In June 2018, the driver of an articulated truck in Cork was convicted of careless driving when it was determined that he had used both hands to take photos of an accident on the South Ring Road. He was fined €600 and given five penalty points.