The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has highlighted the urgent need for drivers to cut-out distractions while behind the wheel at its Annual International Road Safety Conference.
The event, held in October, had the theme ‘Driver Distraction’ and featured national and international experts on mobile phone usage and its impact on road safety.
Delegates heard from Dr Kiran Sarma, Forensic Psychologist Associate Professor, School of Psychology at University of Galway who outlined attitudes and addictive behaviour towards smart phone use which indicated that the ‘fear of missing out (FOMO)’ on messages, calls and notifications while driving is a significant motivation behind this dangerous behaviour.
A 2023 observational study commissioned by the RSA found that nine per cent of drivers observed on Irish roads were using a mobile device while driving. This figure was at six per cent when the same study was conducted in 2022.
Professor Michael Regan from the University of New South Wales discussed the latest developments in Australia, including new legislation on driver distraction and the roll-out of new mobile phone detection cameras.
Professor John Lee from the University of Wisconsin-Madison highlighted that, while technology has the potential to improve road safety, its success can depend on how people choose to interact with it.
An emerging theme from the conference was the key role of enforcement in deterring distracted driving.
Liz O’Donnell, Chairperson of the Road Safety Authority said the insights shared at the conference drove home the importance of reducing distractions when driving.
“It’s unacceptable to put lives at risk for something as unimportant as reading a text or email,” she said.
“We have a shared responsibility to stop and call out this dangerous behaviour which has become far too common on our roads We must as a society stigmatize mobile phone usage while driving and make it utterly unacceptable, rather than normalising it.”
