Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD, Luas operator, Transdev and the Railway Procurement Agency combined forces today to publicise a worrying trend regarding pedestrian behaviour around trams.  

CCTV footage taken from the Luas Drivers’ Cab shows pedestrians walking out in front of trams because they are engrossed in conversation on their phone, deafened by their music or quite simply blinded by their hoodie and don’t look left or right before they cross the road. The outcome is a near miss or worse hitting a tram. 

Brian Brennan, Managing Director of Transdev welcomed the launch of the video and said: “This year alone Luas drivers have had 71 near misses with pedestrians, these could all have been tragedies and most, if not all, of the incidents were caused by pedestrians being distracted by their phone.

"Whilst I know, and Luas drivers know, mobile phones keep us all connected, our message is stay focused - think safety. Being distracted is dangerous and can be fatal. Listen out, the phone can wait, watch out for trams," he added. 

Minister Donohoe stated: "The advent of the Luas has made a phenomenal difference to our public transport system and to how we get around Dublin. Unfortunately, however, many do not view the dangers associated with the trams in the same way they do a bus or a car, with people regularly seen absent-mindedly stepping out onto the tracks at the last minute or with their attention diverted to mobile devices."