Road Traffic Act Question/Emergency Service Worker

AmboMan

Road Traffic Act:

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a member of the Garda Síochána, an ambulance service or a fire brigade of a fire authority (within the meaning of the Fire Services Act 1981 ) who is acting in the course of his or her duties and holding a mobile phone in relation to the performance of his or her duties.

(3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence.

(4) The Minister may, to avoid the impairment or interference with the driving capacity or capabilities of the driver of a mechanically propelled vehicle, make regulations in relation to the restriction or prohibition in mechanically propelled vehicles in public places of the use of—

(a) a mobile phone (other than in the circumstances referred to in subsection (1)),

(b) an in-vehicle communication device,

(c) information equipment, or

(d) entertainment equipment.

I find the above unclear, I understand I can use a mobile phone if on duty and the call is work related. My question is are my exempt from using a communication device/information equipment receiving information from the control room in relation to a call whilst operating as a paramedic. These text messages appear on a screen MDT (mobile data terminal mounted on the dashboard) which are distracting and requires reading of the message, acknowledging the message is read and understood after scrolling through the initial information and finding the new information among the original text which is often irrelevant and difficult to find. As there is only one screen in National Ambulance Service vehicles these messages turn the sat nav off until it is confirmed the message was read and understood. Is this a grey area as it appears to me that we are only exempt from mobile phone devices and should not be subjected to reading text messages whilst driving in the course of duty. Thanks in advance for anyone that can interpret this section of the road traffic act.

Peregrinus

You're quoting from section 3 of Road Traffic Act 2006.

Subsection (1), which you don't quote, is a ban on holding a mobile phone while driving. Subsection (2) give you an exemption from that ban while you are acting in the course of your duties (by, in your case, driving an ambulance and using the phone for work-related purposes).

Subsection (4) doesn't itself create any further ban or prohibition. It's what's called an "enabling provision"; it allows (but does not require) the Minister to make regulations restricting or prohibiting other uses of mobile phones (not covered by the sub (1) ban on holding mobile phones), or restricting or prohibiting uses of other communication, information or entertainment equipment.

The Minister has in fact made regulations under sub (4) - the Road Traffic Act 2006 (Restriction on Use of Mobile Phones) Regulations 2014. They're very short; all they do is prohibit the sending or reading of text messages on mobile phones while driving, even if you can manage this without holding the phone. Those regulations do not contain any carve-out or exemption for ambulance drivers etc, and sub (2), which you quote, only gives an exemption from the sub (1) prohibition on holding a mobile phone, not from any prohibition arising under regulations made under sub (4). So, ambulance drivers have no exemption from the ban on texting. You can hold your mobile phone, and therefore make and receive calls, for work purposes, but you cannot send or read texts, even for work purposes.

Your "mobile data terminal mounted on the dashboard" looks to me like an in-vehicle communication device. Under sub (4) the Minister could make regulations restricting or prohibiting the use of these and, if he did, then those regulations might or might not include some exemption for ambulance drivers. But so far as I can see he hasn't made any regulations, so there is no prohibition, so there is nothing for you to be exempted from.

AmboMan

Many thanks for your reply, so in short paramedics are exempt from using mobile phones if work related but there is no exemption from using communication devices to read and send text messages ?

Lenar3556

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119844027#Comment_119844027

It’s not an offence in the first instance, so the question of an exemption doesn’t arise.

I would be more concerned about a prosecution for dangerous driving if you are engaged in an activity (be it this screen or otherwise) which distracts your driving to a material extent.

Victor

I would raise it internally as a work safety, road safety and patient safety issue. Mention that it may be legally precarious.

There may be ways to do a workaround, e.g. the message doesn't go to the driver, but to the other paramedic.

AmboMan

Thanks for the reply’s, we’re dealing with the HSE here so no point in raising any concerns, I could anticipate the reply being this is the best system in the world and cost millions every year !