Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

The UK introduced a ban on the use of hand-held mobile telephones in 2003. Their use while driving was banned in New York in 2002, and they were also banned in the Netherlands in that year. Belgium, France and Germany have bans of one kind or other. If that is possible in other countries, why has it not been possible in this country?

There is a growing body of evidence that suggests the effect of mobile telephone use while driving is dangerous and presents a significant risk factor in collisions. A lot of the research suggests a correlation between high risk road user groups and mobile telephone use. For instance, a Finnish study which has been tracking mobile telephone use by motorists since the late 1990s found that young male drivers, the category that shows up most frequently in our road fatality statistics, are more likely to use telephones than older or female drivers. In general, just under one half of mobile telephone-using drivers admitted having experienced hazardous situations while using a mobile telephone in the previous six months. The study also shows a growing trend in mobile telephone use suggesting that 81% of drivers now use their telephone in their car at least sometimes. Indeed, a recent survey carried out in Navan, County Meath, and published in the Irish Medical Times showed that 3.6% of motorists driving through the town over a one-hour period were using their mobiles, figures that are consistent with similar surveys.

A Japanese study in 1996 assessed the frequency of mobile telephone use prior to a car crash and found that, of the 129 crashes studied, 79% related to handling the telephone before the crash, with the greatest category reaching over to answer the call while driving. Again, most of the drivers were in their 20s and most were men.

Probably the best study was carried out in Canada where the researchers tested the effect of mobile telephone use on the driving of nearly 700 Canadian drivers. The authors found that drivers who used their telephones, whether hand held or hands free, were four times more at risk of a collision than those who did not. This risk factor was similarly found in an Australian study last year where the authors concluded that drivers using a mobile telephone when driving were four times more at risk of having a road crash resulting in hospitalisation. All the data are there, begging the question as to why it has taken us so long to take action.

A change in the law is useless without enforcement. As we saw with the introduction of penalty points in 2003, people will change their behaviour but only if they think there is a strong chance that they will be caught. I mention this because we are very weak in many areas of enforcement on road safety. A Europe-wide survey, reported in January, indicated that apart from Italy we have the worst record of breathalyser tests of the 25 EU countries. One must ask why in two Garda divisions last year not a single breathalyser was used. One of the Garda divisions, Dublin south, covers part of the Minister's constituency. The other was the Dublin north-central division.

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