Mobile phone drivers should receive one-month ban - Mayo councillor

MOBILE phone use while driving should incur a one-month spell off the road.

Phone use is the most serious offence on the road, Councillor Richard Finn told a Mayo Roads Strategic Policy Committee meeting.

The penalty isn't near enough, he said, suggesting: “There should be an automatic one-month suspension for anyone caught using a mobile phone.”

Councillor Finn made the comment during a briefing from Frances Mitchell, road safety officer for Mayo, on the Mayo Road Safety Plan 2025 - 2030.

Ms. Mitchell had welcome news - the AXA Road Safety Show is returning to Mayo.

The hard-hitting safety event for transition year students will take place at the TF Royal Hotel on April 2.

Last year nearly 1,600 students from schools around the county attended the roadshow, delivering important messages to the young adult drivers of tomorrow.

Other various road safety promotions are ongoing or in planning, from digital screen advertising in retailers, talks in secondary schools and also primary and pre-schools, to the recent Check It Fits car seat check, availed of by 78 people.

Councillors welcomed the plan, highlighting the need for educating young people while in school, with Councillor Damien Ryan saying transition year is the ideal time to include a semester on road safety and driver behaviour.

He also said signage in the county needs to be upgraded to address road safety, with signs obscured, with faded illumination.

The maintenance budget needed to reflect a greater allocation for additional signs, maintenance and cutting back vegetation.