The Department of Infrastructure’s Road Safety Team and the Isle of Man Constabulary have launched their joint mobile phone initiative ‘Smart Phone Idiot Driver’ to deter the use of hand held mobile phones whilst driving.
About 70% of accidents are caused by driver error and approximately 25% of those are caused because the driver was distracted.
David Cretney MHK Minster for Infrastructure said, “Due to the potentially disastrous consequences, it is important for motorists to remember that it is an offence to use a hand held mobile phone whilst driving, whether making a call or texting. The penalties can include a fine of up to ?2,500 and 4 penalty points on your licence. There is no excuse for using a hand held mobile when driving, as there are many bluetooth devices on the market. If you cannot divert your calls to voice mail whilst driving, ensure your bluetooth hands free device is enabled. I would also like to remind drivers that if their phone rings and they wish to take a call, they should pull over in a safe place where they will not be a danger to other motorists or pedestrians.”
The Road Safety Team will be running an awareness campaign by radio adverts and notice board publicity. The publicity and the enforcement campaigns will be intelligence led so temporary publicity could be appearing at a mobile phone usage hot spot near you.
Members of the public can download the poster images from the Department’s Website for displaying on their work place notice board.
Sergeant Allan Thompson of the Roads Policing Unit said, “The Constabulary will be proactively supporting this campaign with officers being briefed to pay particular attention to the act of mobile use whilst driving. For the first time, an overt recording vehicle will be deployed around the Island’s high volume traffic routes, with a view to identifying offenders and supporting the education side of this campaign.”
The mobile billboards will be placed at key locations throughout the campaign.
Don’t be an idiot Driver be a Smart Driver, not a court statistic!
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