Dr. Leo Varadkar, TD
Image Credit: Twitter/Leo Varadkar
Following up on a commitment made during a recent distracted driving conference attended by MAG Ireland, Minister for Transport Dr. Leo Varadkar has announced that he has just signed a law formally banning texting while driving effective from May 1st.
Although many people assumed texting was already banned, the existing law referred to hand held devices and had a legal grey area where the driver was using the device to text while it was in a cradle.
Announcing the change on Twitter, Dr. Varadkar wrote:
Just signed a law formally banning texting while driving. Removes legal grey area on SMS. Effective from May 1st.
This anomaly has now been addressed, and we in MAG Ireland welcome this decision as a positive step in eliminating the lethal practice of drivers texting while driving.