Am i a lucky bastard?

D!ve^Bomb!

Hi,

Picked the girlfriend up last night, was heading up the Navan road towards Blanch, as you all know the limit is 60 there… after coming around a slight bend in the road I noticed a Garda car parked on the hard shoulder and Garda standing by the car…

So the first thing I do Is look at my speedomitor and I see I’m doing around 61mph, now this isn’t a lot but you know garda these days, they’ll give you a ticket for ANYTHIN!!.. so I was ****tin myself, the last thing I want, being a provision driver, only 6 months into drivin, is getting points on my licence..

so he starts walking out into the road motioning me to stop with his flash light(no cars were around, road was empty).. so I was getting ready to stop, but then he started a different ‘motion’.. he started using his flash light in a ‘come hither’ sort of way, now any experience I have had with the garda is that ‘come hither’ means to carry on… sooo,, I carried on…

my girlfriend told me he wanted me to stop.. but she wasn’t sure either.. so I pull on to the hard shoulder and reverse towards his car.. my heart is racing at this time!! I let the window down and just explained to hime that I thought he was telling me to carry on… all he did was ask me my name and where I was from.. then told me to carry on…

OH THE RELIEF:D..

As I pulled off I noticed that he had stop nearly all cars behind me… I thought he was checking for tax and insurance.. but it was weird cos he didn’t check mine….

Anyway I am damn lucky, first of all, I’m a provisionl driver, second of all, I was breaking the speed limit(if only slightly) and thirdly I had no L plates on the car…

I heard on the radio this morning that they have set up randon check points in blanch because of gangland killings and the huge amount of firearms.. this garda was on his own ffs, whats he gonna do if he comes across two lads in a van with a couple of ‘firearms’??

Zombienosh

newband wrote:

I heard on the radio this morning that they have set up randon check points in blanch because of gangland killings and the huge amount of firearms.. this garda was on his own ffs, whats he gonna do if he comes across two lads in a van with a couple of ‘firearms’??

lmao gotta love the garda

and in answer to ur question , yes u are a lucky bastard!

D!ve^Bomb!

he seemed like i was a nice guy.. i reckin if it had been any other garda i would have been ****ed!!

eth0_

There's a van full of armed police floating around the D15 area, if he was suspicious i'd imagine he'd call for backup, or wave them on and inform the armed unit.

D!ve^Bomb!

jesus,,, imagine what would have happened if i didn't stop.. i'd have S.W.A.T chasing me in my little 97 punto.. ha ha..

branners69

do they give points or a fine for not having your L plates up??

Fionn101

put L plates on your car tbh (for safety if anything) , at least if you start braking erratically on the N3 and then reversing towards a Garda we'll know that your a beginner and will give you due caution and room to manoeuvre

D!ve^Bomb!

well i thought he would have a go at me for reversing up the hard shoulder... but i didn't see what else i could do.. make him walk to me.. i doubt he would have appreciated that:)

Seth Brundle

They are hovering around these areas to cut down on joyriding and organised crime!

Praetorian

I nearly got in trouble myself recently. I saw the garda checkpoint, it looked like the garda had waved me on like he waved the other cars on. One minute later I saw the blue flashing lights coming after me. I pulled over and explained that I didn't realise he had wanted me to stop.

The gardai don't want to try and tackle tough crime, they prefer to pick on the easy targets.

E@gle.

newband wrote:

As Anyway I am damn lucky, first of all, I’m a provisionl driver, second of all, I was breaking the speed limit(if only slightly) and thirdly I had no L plates on the car…

Man Guards Dont really Care about the provisional license thing as long as you have l plates displayed correctly. They only really go hard on you if you have your car modified.

impr0v

61 in a 60 is hardly a hangable offense. The guard would had to have been passed over for promotion earlier that day, and the job given to his sworn enemy who he just found out was sleeping with his wife and had fathered all his kids in order to book you for that.

Seth Brundle

@improv - that must happen to quite a lot of gardai!
On a similar note, I believe that the polis in the UK are now adopting an absolute zero tolerance policy on speeding whereby if you are over by any amount then you are over and subsequently punished. No leniency at all!

De Hipster

kbannon wrote:

@improv - that must happen to quite a lot of gardai!
On a similar note, I believe that the polis in the UK are now adopting an absolute zero tolerance policy on speeding whereby if you are over by any amount then you are over and subsequently punished. No leniency at all!

That takes us back to the age old problem of the accuracy of the calibration of the speed detectors & manufacturers speedos...100% accuracy on either part is highly unlikely.

uberwolf

kbannon wrote:

@improv - that must happen to quite a lot of gardai!
On a similar note, I believe that the polis in the UK are now adopting an absolute zero tolerance policy on speeding whereby if you are over by any amount then you are over and subsequently punished. No leniency at all!

how does that align with the sufficent progress catogery in the driving test. I got punished for only doing 25 in a 30 zone.

Instructor said in a 30 zone keep itt between 28 and 33

Seth Brundle

I don't have the article with me - will get details tonight.
Anyway, speedo tolerance isn't an issue - isn't it up to the owner to ensure that they are driving within the limits!

impr0v

Of course it's an issue, if I buy a new car it's hardly my responsibility to bring it somewhere and have the speedometer independently checked in order to find a 1.016% inaccuracy. It would be impossible to secure a conviction in an Irish, or indeed any other court for driving at 61 miles an hour in a 60 zone. Issues like the speedometer accuracy, radar gun accuracy, even a change in gradient or a gusting wind could easily account for the 1mph. The majority of judges would throw the case out.

From your statement that 'it must happen to a lot of Gardaí' you must have heard of a lot of people getting a ticket for 61mph in a 60 zone. Anyone who doesn't refuse to pay this and go to court is a fool.

WhiteWashMan

branners69 wrote:

do they give points or a fine for not having your L plates up??

it used to be that if you were a provisional driver, and you crashed, if you didnt have your L-plate on, then they wouldnt pay out. technically, you must tell other road users you are a learner.

you are also not allowed on a motorway, so i guess you could be done for that

D!ve^Bomb!

unfortunately.. i am guilty of using the M50 on a daily basis.. hence i don't have any L plates.. but it's not my fault that i have to wait a year to get a damn driving test.. and i sure as hell AM NOT IN ANY WAY goin to drive from tallaght to blanch on a daily basis via Town.. no way hosay kimo sabi(SP?)

rymus

ppfff 61 in a 60 zone... sorry to harp on but ya know...

I went by a checkpoint at around 65/66 today while all the punitons behind and in front of me duly slamed on their brakes as soon as they caught sight of the patrol car. Thankfully my gps tells me what speed I'm really doing

Seth Brundle

re my post earlier:-
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pns/displaypn.cgi?pn_id=2004_0119 and
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/?f=2&t=25614 which quotes...

From today's telegraph:

new speed trap legislation will soon make driving one mph over the limit a statutory offence, adds Michael Kemp.

The move, threatening millions more motorists with fines and licence endorsement, was hidden in changes announced by Transport Secretary Alistair Darling on September 1. Mr Darling is preparing to make legal history by setting in law that 21, 31, 41, 51 and 71mph are illegal speeds.

Dr Peter Russell, professor of road safety and director of the Driver Education Research Foundation, said: "Some police forces are going to give drivers a hammering for being just a fraction over the limit. It is very worrying that drivers will not know what tolerance, if any, is being applied. They will be for ever taking their eyes off the road.

Best we all stop looking at the road so much and keep concentrating on our speedometers at all times to make sure we are always within the law.

Or perhaps should every single driver turn themselves into their local police station to confess and have 49,490,303 other speeding offences taken into consideration?
teabelly

DublinWriter

It's really easy. Here's what you do.

Firstly, a Garda has a certain amount of discretion when he/she stops a car for speeding.

When you get pulled over, the first thing that will be said to you is "You were doing X in a Y zone" and there will be a wee bit of a pause.

The pause at this point is to allow you to plead mitigating circumstances.

If you just say "yes, I was very silly, won't do it again" whatever, you'll be penalty-pointed.

However!...

Get a hold of a used-up inhalor and keep it at home. We all know at least one asmathic. When the Garda says to you that you were doing X in a Y zone, appear frantic and out of breath and say that you're an asmathic and were racing home to get a whiff.

Your average member of AGS really doesn't want to have a death on his/her hands at this stage. Just imagine the paperwork! He/she will either let you go or offer to escort you home.

When you get home, make a great display of getting the inhalor, using it, and feigning relief.

Obviously this only works when caught within a 30-mile radius of your home.

E@gle.

newband wrote:

i don't have any L plates.. but it's not my fault that i have to wait a year to get a damn driving test)

The driving test in ireland is ridicous. You have to wait ages for it and if your under 21 they go really hard on you.

Ireland must be the onlycountry in the world that you can fail your driving test then drive home after.

bp_me

De Hipster wrote:

That takes us back to the age old problem of the accuracy of the calibration of the speed detectors & manufacturers speedos...100% accuracy on either part is highly unlikely.

Not only is accuracy a problem, but on a car with analog dials, you can't trust your eyes all the time, as you may not be looking at the dials at exactly the right angle, and so parallax comes into play. Obviously this problem is eliminated by the use of digital dials such as in the Toyota Yaris, Citroen C2(i think), Citroen Picasso and many more.

While digital "dials" have sufficient resolution, there is no guarantee they were calibrated any more correctly than a traditional anaolg setup.

Blisterman

Isn't there a certain leeway to the speed limits, like 65 mph or something?

De Hipster

Blisterman wrote:

Isn't there a certain leeway to the speed limits, like 65 mph or something?

I was always led to believe 10% plus 3 (from the lips of a squaddie himself)...
Therefore 47 in a 40mph etc, BUT it's always safer to assume that you'll end up being pulled by the uncompromising git, therefore best to keep within 10% & always try NOT to cross the halfway mark :

33 in a 30 zone
44 in a 40 "
55 in a 50 "
65 in a 60 "

twin cam girl

newband wrote:

Hi,

Picked the girlfriend up last night, was heading up the Navan road towards Blanch, as you all know the limit is 60 there… after coming around a slight bend in the road I noticed a Garda car parked on the hard shoulder and Garda standing by the car…

now now now.... always have them lovely big "L" plates up you are only a PROVISIONAL driver remember.....

D!ve^Bomb!

talk about stating the obvious :rolleyes:

now run along

twin cam girl

newband wrote:

talk about stating the obvious :rolleyes:

now run along

I just cant have you forgetting about your driving status... LEARNER...
Moterways are great some day you might even get to drive on one...

D!ve^Bomb!

you mean MOTORWAYS yeah?? thought so

i drive on one everyday actually, twice in fact.. i even have an eazypass.. ain't i great

twin cam girl

newband wrote:

i drive on one everyday actually, twice in fact.. i even have an eazypass.. ain't i great

what a rebel you are