The use of cameras that can catch drivers using mobile phones would be welcome in Ireland, according to one road safety officer.
It comes as gardaí look at whether the technology could be used here.
Garda Chief Superintendent Michael Hennebry - the new head of the Garda National Roads Policing Bureau - confirmed to The Irish Times that the tech is under consideration.
There’s no immediate timeline for the tech’s use, but Chief Supt Hennebry suggested it could ultimately be used to collect evidence of an offence in the future.
Noel Gibbons, road safety officer at Mayo Country Council, told Newstalk Breakfast he’d welcome any technology that would make Irish roads safer.
He said: “This would be a new venture on Irish roads - it’s already being used in Queensland in Australia, where they have a trial period for three months.
“They use this technology to detect drivers who are on their mobiles phones, and drivers who are not wearing their seatbelts.”
Queensland now plans to make the cameras permanent, while they're already widely used in New South Wales.
Mr Gibbons said any such technology should be used alongside driver education.
However, he noted that latest figures show there were 13,000 offences around the use of mobile phones while driving in the first six months of this year - an increase compared to last year.
He observed: “There is no way pedestrians, cyclists or motorcyclists are safe while other motorists are using mobile phones.
“We need to highlight the dangers, and welcome any technology that improves road safety.”
He noted that the cameras in question would be placed in locations that can focus on the driver, and the images could then later be used in court.
