Sir, - A letter in your edition of August 7th made several references to the Garda not enforcing the law in relation to the "illegal" use of mobile phones by drivers.
In order to clear up any ambiguity, the advice to the Garda from the law officers is that there is no specific legislation prohibiting the use of mobile phones by any individual while driving a vehicle.
Therefore there is no legal basis for the Garda to prosecute an individual using a mobile phone while driving.
That is not to say that An Garda S∅ochβna cannot prosecute drivers who use a mobile phone while driving if their driving is affected in a way that would or could contribute to dangerous driving, careless driving or driving without due care and attention. Many prosecutions and convictions have happened in this way. There is no doubt that, when a person is using a mobile phone while driving, their concentration is not 100 per cent, as the conversation on the phone naturally distracts. An Garda S∅ochβna advises that when your phone rings in the car you should pull over to the hard shoulder to take the call and continue your journey only when the call is completed.
Driving is a discipline which requires total concentration and anything which distracts from that concentration is dangerous for all other road users. Drivers should be responsible at all times. Our lives as drivers depend on each other on the roads, so please take care and be safe. - Yours, etc.,
John T. Farrelly, Garda Press Office, Dublin 8.