Single vehicle accidents in Kildare caused by mobile phone 'scourge'

People using mobile phones while driving are involved in a disproportionately high number of single vehicle accidents.

Politician Brendan Wyse described the practice as a “scourge” and wants Kildare County Council to launch a county wide campaign that “highlights the dangers of interacting with mobile phones  for texting, social media use or any other reason while driving.”

Cllr Brendan Wyse

He likened this to  drink driving and not using a seat belt - issues which were tackled on the back of publicity campaigns.

“The amount of people you see doing this….two or three out of ten cars are not watching the road,” he told a KCC meeting.

He also said that this explained many of the accidents involving bollards, trees and bridges in the county - pointing out that many of these incidents happen on straight roads where there is little apparent risk of a collision.

“We need to get on top of it.”

Cllr Padraig McEvoy said he has seen pedestrians using phones walk into trees.

He said up to a third of drivers are not paying attention while behind the wheel.

Cllr Mark Stafford said that the use of phones by motorists is proven by the number of collisions with trees and walls and the prevalence of crashes involving one vehicle.

“The gardaí say these are not increasing, but maybe they are not being reported,” added Cllr Stafford.

In a report KCC official Evelyn Wright said the Road Safety Authority is planning a radio, digital and social media campaign to go live on the October bank holiday weekend. The campaign aims to highlight the changes in fines for some offences and it is expected that use of a mobile phone while driving will be one.

“With the support of our road safety officer, we will actively engage with the RSA to assist in amplifying this campaign via our communications department to ensure that the message is disseminated widely throughout the county.

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