In front of us were two cars. The reason for the caps above, is that first the lights go green for cars to go straight ahead to go to Glamire/Glounthaune and then, after a few minutes, the filter comes on for cars to head to the dual-carriageway. Very often cars dont wait for the filter or assume as nothing is coming they are allowed to go. I have seen some very near misses there with cars turning right and other cars coming from the other direction and have the green light, and I have often been beeped by cars behind who are wondering why I havent moved…reason? Its because its a filter light you tool and until I get a green I cant move as per the rules of the road (or until a flashing amber light comes on which it doesnt here).

The first car didnt wait on the filter and just headed down the road. The second car? Well, it waited for the green but the driver was on his mobile. This was a rental car (it had the little ‘i’ sticker on the back window. It was a Seat Leon and the reg started with “07 C”. I hope you are reading this you ignoramous. This guy was on his mobile through the lights, joining the road, up the dual-carriageway, off the slip road to Cobh (and switching mobile between hands to steer and change gears), through the roundabout for Cobh (its the fourth exit so you can imagine the driving), taking a right at the next roundabout and almost the whole way to Bevelly bridge which is the entrance to Fota Island. Total distance is around 4 miles. He went into a housing estate just after the bridge.

I didnt have my camera with me and as my mobile was low on battery it wouldnt let me take a picture unfortunately as I tried.

Its this stupidity that really annoys me as it puts me in danger. I couldnt give a toss about you if you are going to do these stupid things.

Also on Tuesday I saw a women on her mobile. I saw a child seat in the back but not sure if there was a child there and a dog on the front seat of the car moving around. Really, folks, what the hell are ye doing?

1) On the Motorway between Portlaoise and Dublin I saw a lorry overtaking another. The overtaking driver was on his mobile.

2) Approaching the Crumlin roundabout from the long-mile road, a lady in a SUV (those Merc jeepy things) was driving and texting.

3) A car yesterday went the wrong way around the Cashel roundabout and was about to go up the Cashel by-pass on the wrong side of the dual carriageway. Luckily two cars coming down the road blocked them but I’m not sure what happened then.

4) As I was taking a back road in Cork home between Glanmire and Glounthaune, a truck came along the road over on my side. I had to brake to a stop and then he just took down the road behind me without indicating.

5) A rubbish truck and another lorry overtaking a lorry. It took them over 2 miles to do this and slowing down both motorway lanes to under 80KM.

6) A car sat in the overtaking lane on the road after Kilbeheny ant didn’t allow anyone to overtake them even though they were driving well under the speed limit.

There were numerous other people on mobiles and I find this unbelieveable and very stupid.

Over the last 2 days I have seen some really stupid people driving and on their mobiles.

Yesterday, while outside Merchants Quay shopping Centre, I saw a women pull out of the car park. Those that know this car park know that you are moving into 3 lanes of traffic. She was on her mobile, using the other free hand to both steer and change gear and had 3 little children in the back of the car. Sometimes you just feel like knocking on the window and saying something to them. I just wish I had my camera to record it.

Today I was driving on the roads on the Great Island heading from Cobh into the city. On the back roads of the island I saw two trucks – one was a white delivery truck and the other a construction truck – driving very slowly up hill and keeping a line of traffic behind them. This is not unusual on this hill but both drivers where on their mobiles and therefore not able to change gear and move faster.

Then this afternoon I saw someone else on their mobile driving uphill behind a driver in an area where there are roadworks and a driver may have to brake at any time.

I do feel that this is an area where the Garda need to put a bit more focus as mobiles really cause problems. A few months back, while driving to work one morning, I witnessed a driver move along at around the 100KM speed limit. Without warning he suddenly braked down to around 50KM and when I passed him I noticed that he was looking down at his mobile phone. Luckily there was no one behind him.

As I was heading into Cobh town, I was using the back road past Cobh Ramblers ground. As I was approaching the Spar shop, a young girl no more than 14 or 15 suddenly stepped onto the road and proceeded to walk very slowly across the road. Had I been doing the speed limit I would have hit her. No questions there. Instead I had to brake hard and stop the car while she walked across the road.

As I was stopped I stared to see if there would be any reaction and all I got was a shrug of the shoulders and a “I couldn’t care less attitude” from her and then she walked slowly across the rest of the road to meet her an older woman.

Had I hit her then it would have been assumed that it was speed and not plain and simple stupidity that caused this situation. Pedestrians as well as cyclists, joggers, runners and drivers all need to just think a bit more and respect the road and people who use it.

All I can say is thank some deity that my driving instructor taught me to watch ahead, assess everything around you and take caution when driving as you never know what is around the next corner.

A van in front of us overtook a truck, while going up a small hill, on a white line (not dotted) with a hidden dip at the other side. Oh, and there was a bend on the small hill.

Such stupidity.

1) The ad is based on a ordinary 2-way road on which most people learn how to drive and know how to overtake. If you don’t, then you shouldn’t be on the roads. We need to have ad’s on overtaking on motorway’s and dual carriageways. People in this country don’t know that the right-hand lane on these roads is an overtaking lane and not a sit-there-at-speed-limit lane.
2) It is boring. It is very hard to continue to listen to the man talking with his drawn out, departmental speak.
3) The actual recording of the ad is, presumably, the departments idea of being “new age” and “out there”. It really shows nothing and in my own experience how the man in the ad is overtaking takes way too long and you don’t get that amount of time to overtake. I think that it should be much more real to life.

For me the ad just does not get the point across.

Maybe we need to review why accidents are happening and target these issues for ad’s. And for God’s sakes lets ask people what they want or check which are the ad’s people remember the most.

Now, what was the ad about again?