The Road Safety Authority (RSA) is advising all road users who may be travelling in border counties this weekend to be aware of a new UK Emergency Alert system. The system will send a test 'alert' message to all mobile phones and devices across Britain and Northern Ireland on Sunday afternoon the 23 April.
As part of the test messaging alert, phones will sound a loud alarm and may vibrate and flash to flag the incoming emergency message. The alert will issue between 3pm and 4pm on Sunday and is for testing purposes only. Members of the public do not need to take any action.
Meanwhile, the RSA says that mobile phone customers near border areas in Ireland who roam onto a UK mobile phone network between 3pm and 4pm on Sunday will receive the alert. Mobile phone customers on networks based in Ireland will not receive the message.
Road users are being advised not to be alarmed by a loud sounding alarm on the phone and not to read or respond to an emergency alert while driving or riding a motorcycle. Drivers are also being reminded to never use their mobile phones while driving and to put it out of sight.
"In a real-time emergency, you should find somewhere safe and legal to pull over and read the message. If that is not possible, drivers can tune into live radio and wait for bulletins until they can pull over safely.
"However, this alert across Britain and Northern Ireland on Sunday is simply for testing purposes so road users should ignore the message and carry on with their journey," a spokesperson added.
