Recently the Irish Minister for Transport Martin Cullen TD announced the introduction of a further 30 offences to the existing 4(!) Penalty Points that have been hidden away gathering dust for the last three years. Motorists are seemingly unaware of the tsunami about to be unleashed!
On the first of April 2006, (an appropriate date!), these additional offences will become live and Irish Motorists need to be alert and aware especially since there has also been promised a much greater Garda (Police) presence on the side of the road or in the middle, as the case may be (you know the annual ritual of hauling in speeding drivers to line the coffers!)
One of the omissions during the announcement, much to the dismay of sensible Motorists and indeed The Driving Tuition Profession and Road Safety Groups, was the absence of any Mobile or Cell Phone clause.
The continued use of Mobile phones while driving, especially amongst the Younger and Learner Driver sector is a cause for alarm. Most drivers accept that this is a dangerous hobby yet still it appears to be outweighing the other favourite participant sports in Ireland such as Golf and a visit to the local Pub, not to mention those thousands of Anglers who line the Banks every weekend!
Hell it's difficult enough for an experienced Driver to deal adequately and safely with all the situations that he or she comes across during a driving trip without being distracted by cell phone use. For Learner and Inexperienced Drivers cell phone use while driving is not only insane but a great danger to all other road users.
Mature (!) Drivers are not setting a good example in this arena by constantly exhibiting one-handed techniques while cornering in their daily motoring journeys. We see cell phone use many times a day in our quest to teach basic survival skills on the road to a new generation and clearly the longer you get away with a dangerous (and stupid!) habit, the closer you are getting to that day when all hell breaks loose and your conversation about last nights' party, meeting, or the next door neighbours cat, will turn in to an Expensive Nightmare for both you and the other third party (!)
Several days after the above mentioned announcements, we were invited to participate in a Live Radio Broadcast from Limerick 95FM our local number one radio station. The Morning Show under the guidance of Ed Myers always provides a good forum on Motoring Matters and we are grateful to be able to put our point of view across.
Thankfully, during the debate no mention was made of the Real cause of all our Motoring and Driving Test problems, which as we all know rests entirely with the Driving Tuition Profession which as this article goes to press is still unregulated four years after the law was scheduled to be rolled out! The incredible growth of the Irish Economy over the last ten years has benefited the whole community as well as sending highly qualified graduates to all corners of the Globe to spread the news that Ireland is no longer a banana republic but a force to be reckoned with! Unfortunately with this exponential growth has come a virtual tidal wave of additional vehicles, piloted mostly by learner drivers who are still not getting the message that a moving vehicle at high speed is a bit like an ICBM(remember those?).In other words when it comes to a sudden stop there is not much of anything left! It's the same old story...when enough people have been killed, and families devastated, eventually the Government have to stop talking and take some really serious action.
Hopefully this will be soon. Watch this space... |
