Armagh driver Darren Gass claimed his first international rally victory by the narrowest of margins on Sunday’s Galway International Rally, with a number of Mayo competitors also recording strong results on the opening round of the 2012 Tarmac Rally Championship. The top Mayo finisher was David Carney from Aughagower who, with co-driver Ray Fitzpatrick, finished 15th overall in the International Rally, and the leading competitor in a Citroen C2 R2.

The 2012 rally season is about to move into gear and Westport’s David Carney looks set for an another exciting season as he prepares for the 2012 Galway International Rally. Last year, David, and co-driver Ray Fitzpatrick from Portarlington, took part in the Citroen Racing Trophy Ireland, finishing an amazing 3rd overall in the the Championship.

How often do you see someone on the road texting while driving? We live in a constantly connected world where multitasking is second nature and communicating is instant. Coupled with this compulsion, young drivers and mature drivers are overly confident in their ability to 'safely' text while driving.

There was a huge entry for the annual Mayo Mayo Road Safety Art Competition with primary schools throughout the county taking part. A notable feature of the 2011 competition, which ran throughout the year, was the high standard of entries and the involvement of teachers and parents in helping the students connect and understand the importance of road safety.

With recent changes to the drink driving legislation the Mayo Road Safety Working Group are appealing to people to give a simple gift of a lift to friends and family this Christmas. The campaign asks people to commit to giving a family member or friend one lift home over the festive period using the specially designed quirky gift card.

Taxi drivers in Mayo are being urged to take part in a Christmas campaign to make the county's roads safer over the festive period. Mayo Road Safety Officer, Noel Gibbons, says he is appealing to taxi and hackney drivers throughout Co. Mayo, to email their contact details such as name phone number and the town/county area they cover to the road safety office so that their contact details can be made available to those out socialising over the Christmas.

No less a figure than Santa Claus has thrown his considerable weight behind the campaign to make Ireland’s roads safer. All primary schools students in Co. Mayo are to receive Christmas cards featuring the man himself taking due care and attention before setting on his epic annual voyage.

Renault Trucks penetration of the Irish heavy-to-light duty commercial vehicle market will continue to increase with the appointment of new dealers in strategic locations across the country.  New to the Renault Trucks Dealer Network is Shaw Commercials, Castlebar, County Mayo, which will cover the North West region for the renowned French brand.