THE GARDAÍ ARE carrying out checkpoints today and tomorrow in an effort to crack down on mobile phone use while driving.
Today, they issued in excess of 100 fixed penalty notices.
The gardaí had taken to the streets as part of Operation Artery, with gardaí from Dublin Metropolitan Region traffic division, along with divisional traffic units around the city, carrying out checkpoints.
Their aim was to ensure legislation governing the use of mobile phones is being followed.
They also wanted to “ensure that all road users are protected, and to assist in the continuing efforts to reduce fatal and serious road traffic collisions”.
They tweeted a photograph of one man caught using his mobile phone:
“You can’t see his face but he’s laughing. He won’t be when he gets his 2pts & fine”, tweeted the Garda Traffic account.
Assistant Commissioner John Twomey, Garda National Traffic Bureau said that the two central pillars that assist in the Garda Siochána’s campaign to drive down road traffic collisions and fatal injuries “are enforcement and education”.
“It is through checkpoints such as these that we can carry out both functions simultaneously,” he said.
It is vital that all road users are aware of their surroundings, and have optimum reaction times – using a mobile phone while driving is a barrier to both of these. Every road user must be responsible for their behaviour on the road, and mobile phone usage is a serious barrier to safe driving.
The checkpoints will also be in place tomorrow.
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