'People are texting and browsing social media whilst driving,' says Laois head of hauliers group

President of the Irish Road Hauliers Association Laois man, Ger Hyland, says people are texting and browsing social media while driving. 

He is calling for early driver education and more garda enforcement to tackle what he called an ‘epidemic’ of bad driver behaviour.  

Irish hauliers say driver behaviour has deteriorated in Ireland since the pandemic with people running red lights, dangerously overtaking, using their mobile phones while driving, speeding and not knowing how to use a roundabout. They have also criticised the conditions of our rural roads in parts of the country.

The IRHA President branded Irish roads as dangerous and called for more Garda enforcement on the country's roads as his members say they are concerned at the increasing number of accidents they are witnessing.

Mr Hyland said his members have raised serious concerns about a visible decline in driving standards witnessed by his members and has mooted the possibility that driver education should become a bigger part of the schools curriculum.

The road hauliers said that tailgating, dangerous overtaking on country roads and people not knowing how to go through a roundabout are all issues which are putting their drivers lives at risk every day on our roads.

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According to Mr Hyland, use of mobile phones whilst driving is widespread.

“People are texting and browsing social media whilst driving. We can see it from our position in the cab. It is an epidemic that is causing accidents and road deaths and there doesn’t seem to be any consistent Garda enforcement to stamp it out,” said Mr Hyland. 

He said there has been an increase in aggressive behaviour and poor etiquette towards other drivers on our roads since the pandemic.

The IRHA is calling for focused investment in road infrastructure at high-risk accident black spots, more garda enforcement, a reformed driver testing regime and more driver education in our schools.