Speeding Gardai

jayok

Ok bit of a rant here

I was on my way home last night and going up the Whitworth Road in Dublin 9. As usual the traffic was backed-up waiting for the lights to clear and I was sitting in the car waiting with everyone else. Now for people who don't know the Whitworth Rd it is in a real built-up area with a 50 km/hr speed limit. On this road the National Council for the Blind is based and there would be a higher percentage of visually impared people training in the area (with dogs, etc).

Anyhow, last night while waiting I could see a Garda car turn onto the road in the distance, blue lights and noises going. From this turn he accelerated hard and I reckon passed me doing 120 - 130 km/hr my whole car shook badly from the wind shear he was generating. Now I understand the need to respond to an emergency, but surely, this is taking the proverbial p1ss! I mean if he had to perform an emergency stop, it was gonna take him at the very least 100 metres.

I appreciate that Gardai drivers are trained beyond your average driver, but they law of momentum and physics still apply.

I am not a Garda basher by any means I think they do a good job (given the resources and typical dead wood in the organization) - but this really shocked me.

Would it be worth complaining? Probably not as it will just be ignored.

Time to re-install video cameras in my car I think.

/end rant

John R

jayok wrote:

I appreciate that Gardai drivers are trained beyond your average driver, but they law of momentum and physics still apply.

A great deal of them have no extra training at all.

jayok wrote:

Would it be worth complaining? Probably not as it will just be ignored.

You will get some pathetic fob-off excuse at best, total waste of time.


Don't know if you saw this in the UK news yesterday:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/shropshire/4669594.stm

You try doing 160mph and you'll probably end up in jail, this mouth-breather does and he is labeled "the creme de la creme" by some tw*t of a judge.

stevenmu

Presumably blind people being trained how to cross a road would be taught to listen for sirens first ?

Is it not a bit unreasonable to expect Gardaí to be aware that since they were driving past the NCB offices there was an increased chance of visually impaired people in the area ?

Were there actually any visually impaired people crossing the road, and is it possible the Garda driver was watching where he was going and could see that there wasn't ?

What if he was racing to get ahead of a drunken driver or a joyrider who would be an even bigger danger to pedestrians or other road users ?

jayok

stevenmu wrote:

Presumably blind people being trained how to cross a road would be taught to listen for sirens first ?

The fact that the National Council for the Blind is on this road is not my point. My point is he was driving at excessive speed in a built-up area. I understand that Gardai can push it but surely if they themselves endanger other people's lives they have failed in the course of the duty.

stevenemn wrote:

What if he was racing to get ahead of a drunken driver or a joyrider who would be an even bigger danger to pedestrians or other road users ?

Do two wrongs make a right?

lomb

http://www.channel4.com/news/content/news-storypage.jsp?id=1075153
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=349387&in_page_id=1770
if they are going to do it they should do it right:D

stevenmu

jayok wrote:

The fact that the National Council for the Blind is on this road is not my point. My point is he was driving at excessive speed in a built-up area. I understand that Gardai can push it but surely if they themselves endanger other people's lives they have failed in the course of the duty.

So who actually was endangered by their driving ?

jayok wrote:

Do two wrongs make a right?

As far as cliches go I think "Lesser of two evils" is more appropriate

jayok

So who actually was endangered bye their driving ?

Everyone who was present on the road. When speeding it's not always possible to predict what can go wrong. But suffice to say at 120 km/hr or 33 metres per second (approx) with the driver taking 0.75 seconds to re-act to an emergency, the car will travel 25 metres BEFORE any breaking is applied - and they there's the stopping distance of the car.

If *I* went down the road at 120 km/hr who's life would I be endangering?

Garda or not - it was dangerous driving.

Jumpy

jayok wrote:

Everyone who was present on the road. When speeding it's not always possible to predict what can go wrong. But suffice to say at 120 km/hr or 33 metres per second (approx) with the driver taking 0.75 seconds to re-act to an emergency, the car will travel 25 metres BEFORE any breaking is applied - and they there's the stopping distance of the car.

If *I* went down the road at 120 km/hr who's life would I be endangering?

Garda or not - it was dangerous driving.

Maybe so if it was a garda car without the siren or lights. But I think they are exempt from your normal road rules while the lights and siren are activated.

whippet

Jumpy wrote:

Maybe so if it was a garda car without the siren or lights. But I think they are exempt from your normal road rules while the lights and siren are activated.

I think you may be wrong there, nobody is exempt from the rules of the road. A blind eye may be turned to certian manoveurs when responding to an emergency but regardless of the flashing lights I don't think there are any exceptions to the Road Traffic Act.

jayok

Jumpy wrote:

Maybe so if it was a garda car without the siren or lights. But I think they are exempt from your normal road rules while the lights and siren are activated.

It also doesn't exclude them from the law of physics, i.e. F=mass x acceleration (as in the case of hitting someone walking)

stevieg_irl

does it say anywhere what car that english cop was driving at get 160mph?

declanoneill

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/shropshire/4669594.stm

Headline says "159mph Pc's acquittal overturned"

jayok

Apprently it was a new Vectra GSi / GXi or something like that. He was to "test" it out and "hone" his skills on it. It was on the BBC news last night, they also predicted it would take him 1/4 of a mile to do an emergency stop!! :eek: :eek:

stevie06

whippet wrote:

I think you may be wrong there, nobody is exempt from the rules of the road. A blind eye may be turned to certian manoveurs when responding to an emergency but regardless of the flashing lights I don't think there are any exceptions to the Road Traffic Act.

the gaurds are the only people exempt from certain rules of the road!
and they don't need to be using their "Blues and Twos". once that they are doing so to respond to a "crime" all the other Emergency vechicles are bound by the same rules as regular drivers. such as running red lights etc.
and all gaurds do an advanced driving course during their training in templemore

Sherman

I saw something similar a while ago. I was on Glasnevin Avenue when a garda car with lights flashing broke through the red lights and continued on up through Ballymun causing buses to move on to the construction lane filled with pot holes etc. I went past the Police station shortly after them to see them getting out of the car with bags of chips and pizza boxes.

I guess your chips going cold is now considered an emergency!

Seth Brundle

stevie06 wrote:

and all gaurds do an advanced driving course during their training in templemore

I don't think its an advanced driving course. they recieve driving training but I don't think is is advanced and certainly not to the standard of say the UKs road traffic corps.


actually, I think most of the traffic corps here haven't even recieved advanced training!

WizZard

stevie06 wrote:

and all gaurds do an advanced driving course during their training in templemore

No they don't. This has been covered plenty of times here.

They are given lessons, but not to advanced standard.


Until they have passed an advanced test they are not allowed to drive the Garda cars (or give chase - I can't remember). However they can get permission from their Chief SuperIntendent (SuperNintendo ) to drive without the advanced test, where they are known as being on their "Chiefs".