Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 June 2014
126. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will clarify for taxi drivers who enter their destination to their satellite navigation software on their smart phones whether the automatic data updates for route information received during their journeys is prohibited as being data access while driving under the new legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24013/14]
View answerThe Road Traffic Act 2006 (restriction on Use of Mobile Phones) Regulations 2014, which came into effect on 1 May 2014, make it an offence to send or read a text message from a mobile phone while driving a mechanically propelled vehicle. These regulations apply to mobile phones which are not being held, i.e. to hands-free devices. A text message in these regulations includes an SMS or MMS message, or an email.
The automatic data updates from satellite navigation software operates over the internet, therefore it is neither SMS- nor MMS-based. Email operates over the internet. As the Regulation specify email, which does operate over the internet, this implies that non-email communication received via the internet is not covered by the regulations.
