Ireland | Driving and mobile phone
use
It is now illegal to use a mobile
phone while driving in Ireland, unless it is a loudspeaking
handsfree device. Motorists who use hand-held mobile phones
face an EUR 435 fine, three months' jail and a six-month
driving ban. The ban also applies to truck and other heavy
vehicle drivers.
Not permitted while driving
 | Portable hands free kits (i.e.
earpiece connected by wire to handheld phone). The
position of wireless Bluetooth headsets is unclear.
|
| Having a phone switched on in
your pocket.
|
| Use of other radio devices - eg
CB, other 2 way radio systems, etc. |
Permitted
| Passenger use of phones.
|
| Handheld phones switched on in
the glove compartment or on a passenger seat - however
if you use the phone before parking safely you are
committing an offence. |
Recommendations
If you are driving alone, decide your
call handling strategy before setting off. The options
include
- Diverting all calls to voicemail
and dealing with them when you park during a break in
the journey or when you arrive at your destination.
- Divert on no answer* to voicemail
- allowing you say 30 seconds to pull over and if
necessary return the call using the missed caller CLI.
- Switch off divert on no answer
and let the phone ring until you have time to park the
car. Again if the caller hangs up before you get a
chance to answer you can always call them back from
their CLI.
- Get a proper car telephone or car
kit fitted to your car.
*Note that divert on no answer does
not work if you are roaming AND your home network has not
provided you with your own exclusive voicemail number. On
some foreign networks all subscribers share a common
voicemail box number which is useless to the roamed in
network for routing purposes. If you find yourself in this
situation consider using option 1 or change your network.
(Note the above is provided for
information purposes only and should not be construed as
legal advice). |
