TEENAGE GIRLS and young women texting on phones while driving is becoming an increasing road hazard, a senior member of the Garda has said.
Assistant Commissioner Kieran Kenny, who is in charge of the northern region, was speaking at the launch of a new safe driving initiative in Donegal, one of the counties most affected by road deaths.
The county was the scene in July last year of the worst road crash in the history of the State when eight men died in a two-car crash in Inishowen.
Details released at the launch of the initiative by gardaí and the Road Safety Authority in Letterkenny revealed that Donegal has only 3.5 per cent of the population, but it accounted for 6 per cent of road fatalities in the Republic over a 15-year period between 1996 and 2009.
Excessive speed was the biggest killer on Donegal roads, accounting for two in five deaths. Nearly 28 per cent of road fatalities in the county were males aged between 17 and 24.
Where speed was a factor, that increased to 40 per cent.
Almost 80 per cent of all road deaths happened between Friday and Sunday.
Mr Kenny emphasised the new danger of young women drivers texting on mobile phones. He said prosecutions for mobile phone use by drivers was up 126 per cent in Donegal in the past year.
Mr Kenny drew attention to advert campaigns against texting. He said that while young men were involved in more crashes, texting was a particular problem among some young women.
“Any distraction while driving is disturbing, including calls on mobile phones but texting is really taking it to a much more serious level,” he said.
Speakers at the launch of the initiative believed an operation in the past year called Face, aimed at targeting specific hazard areas and developing a database of suspect drivers, played a significant part in keeping road deaths in the county to three so far this year. Last year’s figure was eight, before the eight fatalities in the Inishowen incident were added.
The operation, specifically designed to bring gardaí and other road authorities “in your face” for suspect drivers, has been extended to all Border counties and gardaí plan to make it national.
Road Safety Authority chief executive Noel Brett acknowledged that Donegal paid a heavy price on its roads with countless members of the community killed or maimed over the years.
“But it doesn’t have to be this way. We must take a stand against unsafe behaviour on Donegal roads,” he added.
He said drivers, pedestrians and cyclists had the power to make a positive change on Donegal roads.
Donegal South West coroner John Cannon urged authorities to beware of describing the battle against road deaths in the county as a success.
“We are making progress but I don’t think it is a great success. We have a serious problem. The majority of the accidents seem to happen when there is the least number of cars on the road,” the coroner said.
The initiative goes next to Cork and later to other counties.
Donegal was chosen as the main launch because, apart from its road fatality figures, organisers wanted to highlight road safety in advance of next week’s three-day Donegal International Rally.
Professional rally driver Toni Kelly (22), a road safety authority ambassador, urged more care among young drivers.
“What I would say to rallying enthusiasts is look to a professional school or track to fulfil that ambition and not risk the lives and safety of others by taking to the public roads with what can be potentially fatal consequences. Simply put, keep the race in its place,” she said.