Gardaí in Co. Mayo have issued a fixed notice penalty to a man who was caught driving a tractor through Westport town while using his mobile phone.

In a video posted on social media, members of An Garda Síochána's roads policing unit based in Westport, shared how they had observed a tractor driver "with a fully laden twin-axle trailer, to the rear" using a mobile phone.

In the video Garda Tony McCabe said that they "passed a man and he's driving a tractor and pulling a trailer and he was texting on a mobile phone" while driving through Westport town.

Garda McCabe added: "Our purpose is to keep people safe - that's what our job is and we continue to do this on a daily basis, not just today but ongoing until motorists realise it is unsafe to hold your mobile phone."

In the same social media post Garda McCabe highlighted that they had also stopped a motorist speeding at 126km/hr.

The social media post by gardaí in Westport comes against the backdrop of a nationwide campaign to crack down on motorists using mobile phones while they are behind the wheel.

The penalty for using your phone while driving is a fixed charge of €120 and three penalty points which remain on your licence for three years.

This increases to a fixed charge of €180 after 28 days, and five penalty points. A more significant fine of up to €2,000 can be imposed if it goes to court because of non-payment.

Last year over 21,500 drivers received fixed penalty notices for using their phones behind the wheel.

According to gardaí more than 762 motorists in 2025 have received fixed penalty notices for this road traffic offence.

Meanwhile the penalty for driving over the speed limit is three penalty points and a fixed charge fine of €160. If you do not pay the fine within 28 days, it increases to €240.

Non-payment of this will result in a court summons where you could be fined up to €1,000 and receive up to five penalty points.

If you accumulate 12 points in a three-year period you are disqualified from driving for six months.