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The Daily PollA NEW SURVEY carried out by Ipsos Mori for Aviva has found that Irish drivers are among the worst in Europe when it comes to using their phones while driving.
Over a quarter of the Irish drivers polled admitted to sending texts while driving, and 15% said that they check or post to social media when behind the wheel.
A massive 45% of Irish drivers meanwhile said that take calls while driving without using a hands-free kit.
But do these figures apply to you?
We’re asking: Do you check or use your phone while driving?
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I was nearly crushed on my bike by a motorist veering into the cycle lane on the grand canal. Only that I screamed and she had her windows open, I’d have been hit. When I shouted at her “You’re actually bloody texting while driving”, her response was “I was only reading a text”!!! Minister Shane Ross needs to apply a similar automatic 6 month driving ban (that he’s introducing for drink driving) to motorists who text and drive. The proportion of people I see texting when driving (when I’m in the car or on the bike) is unbelievable. Plus we need a Garda force who will actually enforce the law.
@Kevin Farrell: Witnessed an old man being knocked down who was crossing at traffic lights even with lights in his favour, girl busy on phone and when we got him up, she just tried to drive on like she was too busy.
Driving in cork a couple of weeks ago I was second at traffic lights, The girl in front was clearly on her phone as there was a blue face reflecting in her mirror. The lights went green and she sat there. I flashed the lights to get her attention and she looked up as saw the green light. Does she drop the phone and start driving?? Does she F@~k. Finishes what she’s doing and then takes off as the light switches to amber. So only 2 cars get through a light I would say at least 15 could have. What’s worse is there was an L plate on the car too. She shouldn’t have been driving on her own in the first place.
@Rob Cahill: Light turned amber and then you took off… Pot? Kettle?
@Rob Cahill:
You still should not have gone through the light while amber
@Rob Cahill: Amber means prepare to stop, not “this is your last chance, I’m about to turn red” Pot kettle indeed. I bet you didn’t even look left or right and just plowed on through the junction. Tsk Tsk
@Rob Cahill: Two wrongs don’t make a right Rob. Her incompetence and your breaking the law are only related to each other by you not the other drivers on the road. I can understand your frustration though, I hope you reported her.
@James Dolan: no it doesn’t. The wording in the rules of the road says “Stop, unless to do so would endanger others”.
@John Hagin Meade: He was already stopped so he wouldn’t have endangered anyone
@John Hagin Meade: No, that’s what red means. Amber means prepare to stop.
@Nick Allen: you obviously don’t drive. Amber means slow down and prepare to stop. Not stop the car immediately. Read the rules of the road
Use your mobile when driving in the Isle of Man and you can get fined up to £1000 should bring it in here.
@Gus Sheridan: They can’t get people to pay a parking fine let alone a €1000 fine !
If they gave points to every driver for the next 6 months who uses a phone the roads would be empty ..
@Shane Freeney: That’d make my commute nice and handy
Anyone who thinks it’s okay to have a phone in their hands while driving has absolutely no business being on the road. Dangerous fcukers.
I’m running the latest iOS 11 beta on my iPhone so as soon as I go over 15kph the phone goes into Do Not Disturb mode and all notifications are disabled inc social media. You can still receive calls from your favourite list and text messages notifications are disabled unless the sender types “ urgent “ at the start of the text.
@Tom Harpur: Don’t be too cocky , they’ll probably get you on a manspreading charge .
@Tom Harpur: I couldn’t turn that on, I couldn’t listen to tunes on my run
@Tom Harpur: What if you are a passenger, on a bus or on a train?
@Eoin Spence Doyle: if your a passenger or on a bus you simply touch the notification on your screen “ Do Not Disturb While Driving “ underneath it’ll say “ I’m not driving “ touch that
I’ve noticed people using that feature, it’s good to have. If you ring them and they’re driving, it goes straight to voice mail with a message to let you know they’re driving.
Plenty people have HD dashcams. Give people €10 for every conclusive proof of someone using their phone, and this problem ends overnight. It frees up garda resources, gives jobs to people reviewing the footage and makes the roads safer for everyone.
Actually dashcams could be a valuable aid in stopping idiocy on the roads. Also rear facing dashcams can nail dangerous tailgaters. There many more scenarios that could be caught. It just needs a direct digital service to upload the evidence to the Gardai where progress can be traced. Technology is the key to stopping the blatant selfishness that causes the carnage. If you are on public roads then the public have a right to supply evidence of you being an a&#hole and demand that you are busted.
No…but everybody else does…
Nearly got taken off the road at high speed on the M1 a few weeks back by a lorry driver texting away and swerving into the overtake lane while myself and my other half where along side! Fortunately my other half reacted correctly and I managed to get a picture (I was the passenger obviously) of the driver laughing away looking at his phone and sent it to his employer!!!
@Tony Stanley: snitched get stitches
@Pat1979: Ah you’re right, should have done nothin and let him take another car off the road, perhaps one with a family in it, perhaps one with YOUR family in it!!!!
With an incar system or smartphone, you can just say ‘ring office’ – and you’re soon talking handsfree. Or ‘text Joan to say I’ll be 10 mins late’ – with no need even have a conversation.
So, it’s a survey carried out on behalf of an insurance company. Pinch of salt.
@Niall Sullivan: Except the poll results above agree (24% saying “yes” at the moment)
@Steve B: Yes, Journal polls. Scientific and accurate. 44% of Journal pollsters lie in the polls.
@Niall Sullivan: I would say that’s the case, I recon there is about 10% who don’t. I try not to, but may check in traffic or change music on it, that’s what I was most guilty of until got android in my car so… Is using you car touchscreen less dangerous than using a phone?
@Brown Boots: YES! Using a phone is more dangerous than using your car controls. Main thing is your phone is not fixed to a position below the windscreen. Then the sheer distraction of doing something not related to driving.
I was just going to mention that I’ve noticed at least as many if not more ladies on the mobile while driving which a number of others have noted. This bucks the trend which usually has men the worse offenders for bad driving habits.
@winston smith: You’re correct, i drive for a living and probably put up 500k per day and the ladies out number the men at least 5/1 for being on their phones, and i’ve a good view from my Scania so i can spot the texting/checking for likes on social media
Confiscate the persons phone. €1000 fine. 7 days to pay or your phone is crushed. Problem solved.
@John Cassin: na crush the car not the phone
The odd time if I’ve arranged to meet someone I’ll take a call on the hands free but most of the time I will let them suffer. Even when I’m not in the car I often leave my phone thrown somewhere while I’m outside doing other things. Some people people will literally hop up off the ground and drop all they’re doing to be a slave to this rectangular electronic thingimebob from China but I don’t feel like living that lifestyle. It isn’t like nobody ever left a call from me unanswered so why would I be hopping up like a fool to do their bidding?
Guilty. If radio is bad, I’ll connect to Spotify or a podcast instead.
@Peter Cavey: I hope you pull over to a safe spot before taking your phone in your hand.
@Maria Hickey-Fagan: For phone calls I have yes, I’ts obviously not wrong but yes ive done it. Your telling me 35% of people never have.
@Lad: I know that I never have. Because when you’re driving a car, you have no business picking up your phone for any reason. Be it checking a text message, making a phone call or connecting to Spotify.
@Lad: porkies
@Quentin Moriarty: I’m admitting to have done it?
Turn your phone off and leave it on the back seat for the duration of your journey. This will at least limit the temptation of using it while driving
@Michael Williams: Are you mad !
They will crash the car reaching back for the phone when it rings
@Shane Freeney: How will it ring if it’s turned off?
@Michael Williams: this is all jolly fine until you are a doctor on call or have a sick parent or child – now I am NOT saying to use the phone while driving but sometimes you have to be contactable and the phone or text alerts you allows you to pull in and check. Unfortunately the ideal world does not always apply but I have learned to ignore the work phone and keep the other one on silent when driving.
On Thursday I walked 3km from Letterkenny Main St to Kiltoy. In that time I counted 37 people driving and using their mobile phone. THIRTY SEVEN.
As far as im concerned using a mobile phone whilst driving should carry a life sentence. If people are so willing to take other peoples lives they should be just as willing to give up their own.
Oh, ins if those 37 was a Garda who was parking in double yellows outside of a takeaway….
I believe they are looking at tech which prevents the drivers phone from working within the radius of the drivers seat. Great idea, if it works.
@Paul Mc Manus: Not really going to work in anyway. People use phones for their sat nav, music etc… There will also be an override feature so people will need to opt to use the option. The people who want to use their phones still will.
Only one solution is policing
@Paul Mc Manus: Volvo are working on a system like that at the moment
It has been a hard habit to break since penalty ppinta ans fines came in but a worthwhile habit to break. My kids are helpful and whenever a text comes through they both yell “don’t check your phone!!!” so that is enough shaming to help break the habit.
@Seeking Truth: but you should not leave that responsibility to your kids. Your the driver you have their life and your own and countless others at your fingertips
Snapchat is the Divil
@An Ubh: The amount of people that post to Instagram and Snapchat while driving, I find absolutely unbelievable because (to me at least) it’s proof of being negligent while driving.
I never check my phone while driving, but I am not glued to messaging others on my phone anyway for the most part. It doesn’t seem to stop many others on the roads that can’t go 2 minutes without sending snapchats while driving or texting. Should be more enforcement of the laws that exist.
We need autonomous vehicles. Humans are dangerous
Anyone who checks their phone while driving is an idiot
The amount of people who upload pictures of selfies or photos of the road/countryside to social media is nuts. Anyone who does this should have their license revoked
@Thinck: to many people don’t have licenses, they got theirs in a goody bag
I see too many people using their phones while driving these, I don’t feel crossing at busy road junctions
Our office overlooks the main street in the town the number of people driving with a phone glued to there ear is ridiculous.
On an aside just back from Poland and I was amazed at the road manners. Once you stand at a crossing cars stop. Pedestrians wait for the green Man to cross. Towns are full of cyclists and cars and pedestrians managing to get along.
Maybe if we all followed the rules more it would be better for everyone.
Oh and cyclists don’t wear helmets or hi vis unless you see a tourist.
That’s from 2 weeks in 3 cities. And yes I know poland has an appalling toad safety record. It does seem that once your out in the countryside the driving standard changes significantly.
@ed w: Sounds like you spend a lot of time looking out your office window. Do you work for the council or the HSE?
@Cindy Crawford: ooh someone got out of bed the wrong side . No I work for a private software company and spend 10 plus hours a day in front of the screen. If you worked for a living you would understand the need for regular breaks ftom the screen.
@ed w: I do work for a living. Just not sitting on my a$$ looking out a window. Meow lol
@ed w: don’t be so condescending
Penalties need to b increased massively and enforced. But no chance of course.
Using your phone while driving is just stupid. Admittedly I have done it in the past when I first started driving (about 10 years ago) but I genuinely haven’t done it in a long long time and wont either. People uploading selfies, snap chatting, taking calls, texting I mean what the hell do they be thinking? I actually had an incident a few months back where a young lady walking, was trying to take a selfie and walked right out in front of me! People need to get their heads out of their phones period. Its not worth risking your life or someone elses for a perfect selfie, or a text, or a call
The problem with phone use is , the Garda can only catch people in traffic not saying that not dangerous but the real danger is someone using on a national road at 80/100. The due to the surprise of seen something over react.
We should start with people walking most people these days have cars or know someone. How many people walk into to you each day, if the Garda could catch them off guard and give them a warning hopefully it would trickle down.
the danger is everywhere there is a car being driven with people not paying attention
Its either yes or no.. the lies!
I’ll put my hand up straight away and say yes
@Lad: Why? What is so important that you put yourselves and other road users in danger? Will you miss someone posting a picture of their dinner? Put it away.
@Maria Hickey-Fagan: @Maria Hickey-Fagan: For phone calls I have yes, I’ts obviously not wrong but yes ive done it. Your telling me 35% of people never have.
If I did, I’d be mighty ashamed of it, I’d try to keep a primary road focus in my mind and it’d be mostly for trying to set up the radio/music. As it is, Tunein have an excellent Car Mode on their phone app, I just wish Apple Music did as well for when I pull in to set that going.
I’m ashamed to admit that i used to. I learned my lesson after veering across the central line while driving & texting. Thankfully no one was coming in the opposite direction. No need for anyone to tell me i was stupid. I already know i was.
I shouldn’t say but sometimes I do
Depends on the narrative, I Use it for maps directions and songs , not for texting ,I’ve blue tooth for calls , so is used but not
@Bearnáirdín Ni MacCraigh: that makes no sense…
Let’s have a beep and shame campaign when you see one of these my day is more important selfish idiots let loose on the horn let them know risking all or safety on the roads is not on and if you have onboard camera post online if you can get there reg report to the garda
I see them everywhere, people walking out in front of traffic, people coming straight out of work (and at work,) driving their vehicles, out to meet friends in the pub, they have become slaves to their little gadgets, terrified they will miss out on the latest disposable puerile update on social media from some blow hard who professes to know the “truth.” All slowly and willingly being assimilated into the great technological collective.
And………a hands free kit only cost a fraction of the blasted phone.
@: south African ad against using pH while driving.
Only if it rings or beeps for a msg
With all the handsfree tech available these days, you’d wonder why people feel the need to hold the phone in their hands while driving, but I see it all the time. Starting to see this on bikes too, last week driving through Cork city some guy broke red lights and went straight across the road while reading his phone and cycling at the same time, almost caused an accident with a few cars, and I don’t even think he knew it happened.
Have Bluetooth only take calls
Cell phones……………..they make prisoners of us.
It’s not that big a problem. As the number of mobile phones out there has increased in the last 15 years, the number of deaths on the roads have decreased. The only way to solve the problem about technology is with technology. Driverless cars, mandatory bluetooth on new vehicles, blocked text communication while connected via bluetooth, voice recognition, etc will be the only things to solve this issue given the addiction people have. Outrage brigade calling for 6 month bans and 1000 euro penalties are muppets over-reacting. You’d have people losing jobs left and right with those kind of penalties for what is a few seconds lifting the phone. Cop on.
Women are worst offenders with run around car for using phone not have Bluetooth in them and have kids in car going to spots etc
@Noel: Women are worst offenders.
Oops! Nearly crashed while answering this poll…………stupid polls anyway!
Where the hell is the enforcement of the law???? if I can see these selfish mind numbing stupid idiots then so can the cops.
There is no reason to check your phone while your driving….Bluetooth in the car for calls.. you get a text it will still be on your phone when you arrive at your destination it’s careless you can’t be focused on the road and your phone at the same time..
Hehe. Why is it not shocking that over 2000 people just admitted committing a serious offence?? #phoneskillpeople
Android Auto works for me. Can control everything by voice or large onscreen unmissable buttons
34.9% of those surveyed found to be compulsive liar as well as compulsive texters.
All the people clicking no are full of shite
Saturday I see a guy driving a huge over size machine for packing silage.. this thing is so big it could drive over a car and I’d doubt you would know… on the phone texting..
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