Gardai Stopping you for no reason

Mod_Man

Mightyone wrote:

Does anyone else have this problem. The last time was at about half 3 in the morning and an unmarked car was tailgating me so I pulled into the margin to let him off next thing I know a siren going off and made stop. Also stopped and told me back tire was faulty took it to a garage the next day nothing was wrong. Does this kinda think happen to many young ppl? I only drive a 1L car so its not like i've a sham car or that.

Yes, this used to happen to me quite a bit when I was younger. I drove an old starlet (It was in excellent condition). Always happened on the way out of town in the early hours of the morning. Usually collecting a family member from town. Got the usual questions: Is this your car, where are you going, where did you come from, who are your passengers etc etc.. Bought a new car and haven't been stopped since. I believe they do target young drivers in old cars. Easy prey, they think if you can't afford a 'decent' car that you can't afford tax, insurance, good tyres etc.. so they are more likely to be justified in stopping you. I know some of them can have a bad attitude and its not nice when they start the conversation talking to you like your something they just stepped in. The only advice I can give you is, be courteous ,answer their questions politly and you'll quickly see them transform back into a nice courteous Guard and send you on your way.

I believe the Gardai are trained to perform an 'attitude' test, and by being obnoxious to you, they can quickly ascertain form your answers what kind of charactor you are and if they need to do any further checking.

I know this seems completly unfair to you, and as a young driver you're already being descriminated against by insurance companies etc.. and every other older driving scapegoating you for all the problems on the road.. but I guess its just one of those things that the guards do and probobly gets results for them a lot of the time. The trouble is the more times your stopped, the more its logged so the Guard stopping you makes assumtions that your an undesirable from the start. I don't think it can be avoided unless you change the times you drive at or change your car.

Mod_Man

One other piece of Advise I can give you, keep your insurance cert and License in your wallet to avoid time consuming trips to the Garda station to produce them.

iregk

I have been driving for 10 years and I have never once been stopped or pulled over or anything.

vasch_ro

Mod_Man wrote:

One other piece of Advise I can give you, keep your insurance cert and License in your wallet to avoid time consuming trips to the Garda station to produce them.

you are required by law to have your licence with you anyway while in your car in a public place

MarkR

Big Balls wrote:

Mark I think you'll find your certificate of competency and the pink receipt you have entitles you to drive while waiting for your licence.

I'm aware of that, but he made no mention of passing a test, so i assumed - possibly wrongly - that he was on a provisional.

Big Nelly

Savman wrote:

What attitude? If you actually read my posts instead of marvelling over your own you will see that I clearly stated I have never been anything other than Mr. Helpful anytime an officer asked me for information. Even in circumstances where that officer may have been an arrogant prick I've kept my cool when a lot of people would've got irritable.

I'll show them the very same respect they show me, no more, no less. Same goes for anyone else, I have no problem with individual gardai, my issues lie with the organisation itself which you seem to think is a shining example of perfection. Maybe when the karmic wheel comes round it'll be your turn to be stopped a few times and perhaps your opinion will change then, when you've had to listen to a power-trippy copper or two. Until that day I guess it's fruitless continuing this discussion with you 'cos it's kinda run its course.

Toodles

Issues? read back thru your own posts. From what you have typed since the start you do seem to have an atitude that its the Garda problem and not your owns. My point is still(read back thru mine) why do they stop your car but not pick on anyone else? what is your milage a year on average? how many times you get stopped?

Fey!

I'm 30, I've been driving 13 years, and have had my full license for 12 of them. I live in a decent area in Galway, and I've always kept my cars well. I don't act the maggot on the public road, and tend to obey speed limits
(at least since they introduced points, anyway!!!). I also strictly adhere to a no drinking and driving rule.

I've been stopped several times. 9 years ago I got stopped for speeding twice in two weeks, both times in work cars (35 in a 30, 65 in a 60). My fault entirely. Gardai were very courteous.

I was driving a black '95 civic coupe; tinted and with big wheels. I thought I was being flagged by a Garda at a speed trap one night (there was 1 on the camera, and another flagging cars 20 metres past him). I pulled in beside the camera operator, who pointed out that it wasn't me getting waved in, checked my tax as a matter of course, asked if we were heading out for the night, then said he hoped we'd enjoy ourselves and waved us off. Couldn't have been sounder. That was about 11pm.

Next car was a '95 Accord Coupe, standard. Came into a junction one night at about 3am, and stopped at it. A Garda car was coming from my right, and stopped to let me out, but I stayed where I was. They then blocked the junction and a female Garda got out and stated that I was (going a bit quick) coming into the junction. I said that I wasn't, and she started to get thick with me (from where they were travelling, they couldn't have seen me approach the junction). She went through my tax, insurance, NCT, license, tyres, lights, and damn near dipped it for oil! Literally stormed off in a huff.

Last New Years was the last time I got stopped. Again, it was about 3am, and I hadn't been out (was picking up friends who couldn't get a taxi). Was driving my black '98 BMW 520 with bodykit, tint and nice alloys. Was stopped at a set of traffic lights when I saw blue lights start up behind me on an unmarked Mondeo. There was a space to my left just the far side of the red light which I could enter without interfering with any other traffic, so I pulled through the red into it, thinking that the Garda had to get to an emergency. Mondeo pulled in behind me, and it's passenger got out and read me the rite act for breaking the red light. I pointed out that I was safely making the way clear for an emergency service vehiclt to get through, to which he replied that I was to NEVER pass a red to clear a path for services. I ate him. Not the smartest thing to do, but he really goaded me. He eventually asked for my license, which I had been trying to hand him from the outset (I had gotten out of my car when they stopped me). He eventually gave up trying to chastise me and pulled off, ignoring the 2 taxis that barrelled through the same red light.

I know a lot of Gardai, and I deal with the Gardai quite a bit, and 99.9% of the time find them extremely polite and courteous and (70% of the time!) efficient! But every barrel has a bad apple.

Sorry about the long post.