I recently had the good fortune of having my last penalty points removed from my license. At the most, I’d accumulated 6 – all for speeding, but now I’m back to zero.

How about you?…

Making no distinction between hand-held and hands-free usage of mobile phones, Noel Brett of the RSA said that “using a mobile phone while driving distracts the driver, impairs their control of the vehicle and reduces their awareness of what is happening around them.”

Motorists caught holding a mobile phone to their heads while driving face fines of up to €2,000 and 4 penalty points on their license. The organisation is now running a new campaign, including a 30 second radio advertisement, encouraging people not to use their mobile phones AT ALL (including via bluetooth headsets and speakers) while driving suggesting you “switch off before you drive off” – and if you really need to make a call, pull over and switch it back on.

The full press release can be seen via the RSA web site, here – and their leaflet “Mobile Phones & Driving” can be obtained (in PDF format) here.

Just a thought though – aren’t sat navs (GPS systems) just as distracting as phones with bluetooth – or perhaps even more so, as you actually have to LOOK away from the windscreen and the road ahead to use it?

The programme, “Late & Live” will have, among the topics tackled, the issue of young drivers and “boy racers” in Northern Ireland.

I’ve also been asked to find out if there are any ShiteDrivers.com contributors or readers who feel they could add something to this debate and would like to take part in it. If there are, please send an email to me at Admin@ShiteDrivers.com (as soon as possible) letting me know and I’ll put you in touch with the programme producers.

See comments for more info on this.

Niall O’Keeffe

A new Road Safety Programme targeted at Transition Year students was launched today.

The new programme, sponsored by Minister for Education Mary Hanafin (pictured, right) and Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey, will be available for schools from this coming September.

It is currently being piloted in some 50 schools.

The programme covers issues such as seatbelts and airbags, driver fatigue, drink/drug driving, enforcement, basic first aid at road crashes, emergency services and rehabilitation.

The programme provides for visiting speakers, trips out of school, projects and case studies.

The programme does not include driving lessons.

Minister Hanafin noted that ‘while 2007 was one of the safest years on Irish roads in over 40 years, the stark fact is that 338 people lost their lives last year’.

She said education is key to reducing road casualties.

It’s expected that the programme will now be rolled out to 500 schools. Maybe this will improve Minister Dempsey’s "approval rating"…

More specific information on the programme itself can be found on the Department of Education web site, here.

Click for larger image

Driving into Swords this morning, this van was blocking the left-hand lane going onto the Fingallians roundabout causing a slow-down in traffic trying to get onto the roundabout (coming south) which had to go around it. The van didn’t appear to be in any trouble and it’s occupant didn’t seem too bothered by the annoyed motorists around him who were forced to overtake him awkwardly right at the roundabout itself, slowing down traffic by forcing two lanes into one at a junction.

When I was coming back out of Swords a full hour later (at 12.45pm), it was still there, so I took a picture. It had actually moved forward a bit in the picture since I’d first encountered it (from behind).

It’s alright though, it had its hazard lights flashing… that makes everything ok!

Pity the first picture came out so badly, because it showed the kid with the helmet on standing at the side of the road watching while his helmet-less friend sped around at what seemed to be about 30mph.

What are the laws governing these things? Is a license required for them? (I seem to remember the Sinclair C5 needing a driving license in Ireland, but not in the UK – would the speed and power of these quad bikes not mean that they should be licensed too?).

I remember driving around on them when I was around 18 (at a scout jamboree, no less…) and even though they were speed restricted and we were driving on a proper track under supervision, I thought they were potentially dangerous enough machines even then. Surely a 13 or 14 year old child shouldn’t be able to whizz around a housing estate unsupervised at 20 to 30mph?

1 space just isn’t enough for some people


Northern driver – perfectly able-bodied, no disabled sticker (no tax or insurance either for that matter), parked in a disabled space.

There will be a discussion on motoring, including topics on foreign drivers, the penalty points system and this very web site on the Moncrieff programme on Newstalk 106-108 today at 2pm.

I should be on it talking to Seán about ShiteDrivers.com at about 2.20pm. You can tune in live via the Web here or between 106 and 108FM (Ireland only).

EDIT: I won’t now be on the show. They’re talking to someone from AA roadwatch instead.