Taking photos and video on mobile phones while driving should be banned in Northern Ireland, personal injury lawyers have said.
“It’s currently not an offence in Northern Ireland to take photos and videos, or scroll through music playlists on phones while driving,” said Sabrina Lawlor, the Northern Ireland representative for the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).
“We see the terrible, sometimes life-changing, consequences of road crashes caused by negligent motorists, including drivers distracted by their mobile phones,” she said.
The Northern Ireland Department of Infrastructure is considering making it an offence to take photos and videos, or scroll on phones while driving, which would bring Northern Ireland in line with the rest of the United Kingdom.
“The Government needs to take this opportunity to make the law catch up with technology, and send a strong message to motorists that it is not OK to touch your phone while driving.
“We think the legislation also needs to make it clear that anything which involves touching the phone, even when it’s in a holder, could fall with the offence. Any distractions at the wheel can have catastrophic consequences,” said Sabrina.
“Motorists should always have ‘driving mode’ activated on their phones while on the roads too. It works like ‘airplane mode’ when flying, and disables apps and notifications, other than the sat nav, limited music features and calls when handsfree, keeping distractions to a minimum.”