Health gem

If you do one thing this week . . . be smart in the car with your phone

A recent survey for the Road Safety Authority put numbers on what open-eyed road users here often witness: that many people in Ireland use their hand-held mobile phones while driving, even though it greatly increases the risk of crashing.

From more than 30,000 observations around the country, the survey found that about one in 20 drivers was holding a mobile phone.

In some areas, that figure was higher than one in 10 drivers.

Another sobering study has just been published in the American Journal of Public Health.

It estimates that drivers being distracted by talking or texting on their mobiles cost the lives of 16,000 people in the US between 2001 and 2007.

So be smart with your phone, and make sure you switch it off before you drive.