Kildare driver asked incredible question when stopped by gardaí for holding mobile phone

Naas Roads Policing Unit said they stopped a vehicle in South Kildare on Friday morning. 

The driver was holding a mobile phone while driving.

A Kildare Garda Division spokesperson said: "To their surprise, the motorist asked for 'a break' as they had been stopped two hours earlier for ... driving whilst holding a mobile phone!"

These offences are lifesaver offences which carry €120 fine and 3 penalty points.

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Gardaí added that statistics show that making a call makes a driver four times more likely to be involved in a collision and texting makes a driver 23 times more likely to be involved in a collision.

You can only use your mobile when you’re driving if you are phoning 999 or 112, or it is another type of emergency.

It is an offence to hold a mobile phone in your hand or support it with another part of your body, for example between your head and shoulder, when you are driving.

According to the Road Safety Authority: "Using your mobile phone this way means that you are not concentrating fully on driving, so you’re putting yourself and the lives of other people in danger.

"Even if you’re a careful driver, you can easily get distracted by a phone call or text message and you could have a crash.

"Remember, a car moving at 50 km per hour will travel 14 metres (around four car lengths) in just one second."