Carry your licence.

Emboss

Originally posted by BogoBot
So I'm driving down the road and happen across a Garda checkpoint.

Guard stops me, checks tax, insurance, NCT, reg, my face, tax, NCT, face
(and so on).
Finally, gestures for me to roll down the window and asks if I have my
licence with me. I say its in the boot and I'll get it right away, popping
seat belt in the process. Guard then informs me that I'm committing an
offence for not carrying my licence.

Discuss.

How do they define carrying it ?

surley holding it in your hand while driving would be under dangerous driving ?

Our man in Havana

Does anyone know how frequently they are calibrated?

Depends on the device used,

Radar Speed Guns are calibrated every day.
Laser Speed Guns are calibrated every 6 months. There is a tag on them to indicate the date and place of calibration.

Seth Brundle

Originally posted by Bond-James Bond
Depends on the device used,

Radar Speed Guns are calibrated every day.
Laser Speed Guns are calibrated every 6 months. There is a tag on them to indicate the date and place of calibration.

Are these figures the manufacturers recommendations or the Garda implementation of them?
How do they calibrate them? Is it the garda that does it or are they left in with qualified technicians?

Our man in Havana

Originally posted by kbannon
Are these figures the manufacturers recommendations or the Garda implementation of them?
How do they calibrate them? Is it the garda that does it or are they left in with qualified technicians?

Radar guns are done by tuning forks daily by the patrol. There are specialy made tuning forks for eg 40mph and the device is tested against these.

Lasers and Cameras have to be tested by the manufactuer every 6 months. See links below for calibration certs for the South Africa police.

Laser
Camera

NETKING

I am a garda and well can offer what the garda position is. The law states that you must carry your D/L at all times but sure this is not always the case. If a person has not got it on them they have 10 days to produce it at a station they pick. If they don't the summones they get are failing to produce a d/l, failing to produce an insurance cert, no D/L no insurance and failing to carry on them a valid D/L thay are nasty ones to get but we never would do a person for not having it on them as long as they produce within the 10 days. As for the speeding you may ask to check to see if the speed gun is calibrated but thats only if you contest it in Court and its not wise they are always calibrated lol. So if your done best smile and admit cos in court its an extra 2 points

jamesd

So if you get caught for speeding you may ask to see the speed you done on the camera/radar and hopefully then they may might not be able to show you the speed and let you off ?

Our man in Havana

Yes that is the case. But how many Gardai actually take the certs to court is another thing.

Sleipnir

it looks pretty clear to me.

if the person refuses or fails so to produce the licence

The point here is that you only have to be able to PRODUCE it when stopped and asked by a member of the Gardai.
It does not state that you have to produce it from a particular place (which would be just plain stupid)
So the Garda in question was wrong in saying that you have to be carrying it on your person.

the evil belly

Originally posted by Victor
Amendment of section 40 of Principal Act.

18.—Section 40 of the Principal Act (as inserted by the Act of 1994) is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (1) of the following subsections:

"(1A) (a) A member of the Garda Síochána may demand of a person who is driving in a public place a mechanically propelled vehicle and is not the holder of a driving licence the production to him or her of a provisional licence then having effect and licensing the person to drive the vehicle, and if the person refuses or fails so to produce the licence and is a person falling within section 35(1) of this Act, he or she shall be guilty of an offence.

(b) References in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of subsection (1), and in the subsequent subsections of this section to a driving licence shall be construed, in relation to a person specified in subsection (1) who is a person falling within the said section 35(1), as references to a provisional licence.

(1B) Where a person who is driving in a public place a mechanically propelled vehicle and of whom the production of a driving licence is demanded under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section or is required under paragraph (b) of that subsection produces, in accordance with the demand or request, a provisional licence then having effect and licensing the person to drive the vehicle concerned—

(a) the person shall not be guilty of an offence under the said paragraph (a) or, as the case may be, the said paragraph (b), and

(b) paragraph (d) of that subsection shall be construed, in relation to any production of the provisional licence in accordance with the said paragraph (b), as if the references in the said paragraph (d) to a driving licence were references to a provisional licence."
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZA12Y2002S18.html

The option to have 10 days grace is removed.

Originally posted by NETKING
I am a garda and well can offer what the garda position is. The law states that you must carry your D/L at all times but sure this is not always the case. If a person has not got it on them they have 10 days to produce it at a station they pick. If they don't the summones they get are failing to produce a d/l, failing to produce an insurance cert, no D/L no insurance and failing to carry on them a valid D/L thay are nasty ones to get but we never would do a person for not having it on them as long as they produce within the 10 days.

from what i see here we have the statute book telling us we no longer have a ten day period to hand in our licence and a garda telling us we do.

explanation, theories anything? anyone? some explain this to me

BrianD3

from what i see here we have the statute book telling us we no longer have a ten day period to hand in our licence and a garda telling us we do.

On one side, you have some anonymous guy posting on an internet forum who claims to be a Garda.

On the other side, you have a government website which gives details of Irish legislation.

Work it out

BrianD3

MadsL

And what is the penalty for failing to produce (or forgetting to bring!!) - another money-making scheme perhaps??

Imposter

Originally posted by MadsL
And what is the penalty for failing to produce (or forgetting to bring!!) - another money-making scheme perhaps??

Why is it a money making scheme. All drivers (should) know that that if they want to drive, they carry their licence. It seems quite simple to me.

sceptre

Originally posted by MadsL
another money-making scheme perhaps??

Ah I wouldn't say that (and as you well know I'd be one of the first on that complaining bandwagon if I thought it was so). We've all known since the start of the year that carrying licences was compulsory (all the news bulletins carried it and lots of people seemed to be talking about it (having said that a straightforward advertising campaign might have been good too))

I like the idea that the cops can check quickly that the person driving a vehicle is in fact licensed to drive that vehicle in the location it's in and a few other advantages to making licence carrying compulsory. With the Irish lax attitude towards any kind of rules there are plenty of people driving around in vehicles they aren't allowed to drive (and I'm not implying that it's even a significant minority but it is a large enough minority to cause problems)