Vodafone Ireland launches "Make Safety Your First Call" safe driving campaign

Tuesday 4th April, 2006: Six out of every ten Irish drivers have admitted to still using their handheld mobile phone while driving, according to Vodafone Ireland, the country's leading mobile operator. Vodafone Ireland revealed the statistic today at the launch of its Make Safety Your First Call campaign, the latest safe driving campaign being run by Vodafone Ireland in conjunction with AA Ireland. The survey, conducted on Friday last, revealed that, 36% of those surveyed admitted to having already used their mobile phone handset while driving that day. * Survey reveals that 66% of Irish Drivers continue to use Mobile Phone Handset while Driving

* 46% of Drivers surveyed don't believe that using a Mobile Phone Handset impairs their ability to Drive

In order to encourage drivers to stop the practice of using their mobile phone handset while driving, Vodafone Ireland has joined forces with AA Ireland to launch a comprehensive public information campaign. The campaign, which is being run in advance of the busy Easter travel period, begins today with a radio infomercial campaign voiced by AA Ireland's Conor Faughnan. This will be followed by an extensive on-street activation across Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway this weekend whereby copies of a new Vodafone Ireland and AA Ireland Top Tips guide will be distributed to members of the public. The new campaign is the latest in a series of Safe Driving corporate responsibility campaigns activated by Vodafone Ireland in recent years.

As part of the new campaign, Vodafone Ireland conducted a snapshot survey of 350 drivers in Dublin City Centre on Friday last, 31st March. The results of this survey included:

* 66% of those surveyed admitted to using their mobile phone handset while driving
* 36% of those surveyed admitted to taking or making a phone call while in the car that day
* 74% of that 36% admitted to not using a handsfree kit or a carkit
* 46% of those who used the phone did not believe this impaired their ability to drive

Vodafone Ireland, in conjunction with AA Ireland, has produced a short Top Tips guide to provide simple, straight forward advice to Irish drivers on best practice when it comes to the use of mobile phones when driving.

The Top Tips are as follows:

* Never use a hand-held phone while driving
* Don't dial and drive
* Save the call until later
* If in doubt pull over
* Never try to use text, picture or internet services while driving
* Avoid stressful calls
* Never try to take down notes or phone number

Speaking at the launch of the Make Safety Your First Call campaign Carolan Lennon, Marketing Director, Vodafone Ireland said: "As a responsible business, and Ireland's largest mobile operator, we want our customers to stay safe and we hope that this campaign will go some way to achieving this. We want our customers to think about their actions and simply put their safety first when travelling in their car.

"Together with AA Ireland, we hope our latest campaign will help make drivers think twice before they reach for their mobile handset. Our message is simple - make safety your first call," she concluded.

Mr. Conor Faughnan, Public Affairs Manager, AA Ireland, added: "Good driving means full concentration. Mobile phones are a marvellous piece of technology and a great help to motorists, but using one while driving is a bad habit and can be dangerous. Using a mobile phone is a distraction and as such, with Vodafone Ireland, we are asking Irish drivers to think before reaching for their mobile phone handset".

200,000 copies of the Top Tips guide are being made available to the general public free of charge. In addition to proactively distributing copies of the guide in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway on Friday 7th and Saturday 8th April, the guide is also being posted to all AA Ireland members. Additionally, copies of the Top Tips guide are being made available through the following facilities nationwide:

* Vodafone Stores
* NCT Centres
* Driving Test Centres

The guide will also be available to download from the Vodafone Ireland website: www.vodafone.ie .

Source: Vodafone