ShiteDrivers.com - Bad driving on Irish roads exposed! » RSA http://shitedrivers.com Promoting good driving by exposing bad driving in Ireland Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:45:43 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 “You’re 4 times more likely to crash when on the phone” – RSA http://shitedrivers.com/2008/05/15/youre-4-times-more-likely-to-crash-when-on-the-phone-rsa/ http://shitedrivers.com/2008/05/15/youre-4-times-more-likely-to-crash-when-on-the-phone-rsa/#comments Thu, 15 May 2008 13:11:58 +0000 niallok http://shitedrivers.com/?p=363 People who use a mobile phone while driving are 4 TIMES more likely to have a crash, putting themselves and other road-users at an increased risk of death or serious injury, the Road Safety Authority said today.

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?

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