"I'm reporting you"

Blut

This afternoon as I was driving home when pulling out of a small road onto a proper one an oldish lady came speeding around a corner and had to break hard to avoid hitting me. She then proceeded to get out of the car, stop a line of traffic, come up to my window and shout at me and tell me she was going to report me. Me being a fool I accidently gave her my proper name.

I'm pretty sure I was in the right as Id say she was a decent bit over the speed limit and on top of that coming around a corner and hadnt bothered to slow down. I also had 2 other people in the car with me who can back me up on this. The only problem I can see is that I'm on L plates..Is there anything likely to come of this, that is if she goes through with her threat? Neither her nor I talked to any other pedestrians/drivers in the area so I can only presume its her word against mine?

I did a quick search on the forum and didnt come across any thread quite the same, sorry if this was answered in the distant past. I'm sure a few of the users here have been reported falsely in the past though so thought Id ask.

Vegeta

Report you for what exactly. it'll be your word plus your 2 witnesses against hers.

She doesn't have a leg to stand on as you didn't really do any thing wrong.

"Today a young man pulled out in front of me, he must have been doing at least 10 mph, arrest him"

bringoutthegimp

Fear not, nothing will come of this.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Your word against her's so realistically, nothing's going to happen, unless you're an excessively honest person.

I wouldn't worry about it if i were you

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

colincarnate

you should have told her to shove it right up and twist it round.

Interceptor

Hmmm. I'd say she is talking guff, but if I read it right, you pulled out of a side road into her path and forced her to make an emergency stop? You neglect to say what the speed limit on her road was - could it have been 100kph and she was doing 90kph? Were you stopped, dawdling or moving at an appropriate speed? Was it a blind bend and from how far away could she have seen you?

I'm not sure you were in the right, but the absolute worst that can happen is a cop will want to talk to you to see if you were high on heroin or something. Explain the facts, don't try to estimate the speed you think she was doing - you can't possibly know.

What if she hadn't stopped in time? Be more careful next time.

'cptr

Blut

I was stopped on the side road and when I went to pull out there were no cars within view. She came flying around the corner as I was just out onto the road(I didnt move at 2 inches an hour here either I have to stress, was going at a proper speed). It was a blind bend so she would have had about 20metres maybe to see me - this is why I think she was going too fast, I've always been taught that if its a blind bend you should be going slow enough to cope with anything that comes around the corner. It was a 50kmh zone. Both of my passengers drive and one of them is a Gardas daughter and both said I was in the right, if that makes any difference. Everyone saying 'you'll be grand' is helping to calm the oul nerves though.

Cerdito

If you were pulling out of the side road on to a main road then she had right of way. It's your responsibility to ensure no traffic is coming before pulling out.

I accept that she may have been going very fast, but that would be impossible to prove. If you were reported, the guards could only go on the facts as above.

In general, if you are pulling out from a minor road onto a major road and your visibility along the main road is obstructed (i.e. by a bend), you should ensure that the road is clear as far as you can see and then pull out very smartly.

Blut

Thats why I think I'm in the right though - the road WAS clear when I pulled out, which is why I can only assume she was going too fast for the situation.

Alun

Cerdito wrote:

I accept that she may have been going very fast, but that would be impossible to prove. If you were reported, the guards could only go on the facts as above.

If an accident had actually occurred, and we had a proper accident investigation branch here they could quite easily measure the skid marks and deduce her speed from that, but then we don't, so they wouldn't. Doesn't make it 'impossible" though.

maidhc

You can't get prosecuted, full stop. There is no evidence.

Neighbour of mine got reported for driving around with no lights The Gardaí actually called to his door and said there were reports and it might be an idea to get them fixed before a Garda caught him.

Supercell

The Gardai have better things to be doing that chasing up stuff like this, they will tell biddy , thank you for bringing this to our attention etc etc.

As soon as she leaves the station, that will be the end of it, they will go back to researching real crime or tea drinking, whichever is more important at the time!

Turner

Longfield wrote:

The Gardai have better things to be doing that chasing up stuff like this, they will tell biddy , thank you for bringing this to our attention etc etc.

As soon as she leaves the station, that will be the end of it, they will go back to researching real crime or tea drinking, whichever is more important at the time!

If she makes a report the gardai have to act on it. It might come to nothing in court but once she makes the report they have to act on it.

The original poster will be asked if he/she would like to make a statement, then its up to a Superintendent within the Gardai where the incident happened to decide if charges are to be brought.

Skyuser

You should ave said you'd report her for speeding.

Anan1

Blut wrote:

Both of my passengers drive and one of them is a Gardas daughter and both said I was in the right, if that makes any difference.

Brilliant!

Seriously though, as the others have said, you'll be fine. That said, if I were pulling out from a side road in the situation you describe, I'd be sure to do it sharply and accelerate hard until I was up to speed. After all, people come flying around corners all the time.

unkel

Blut wrote:

Thats why I think I'm in the right though

Fair or unfair, you were NOT in the right. My sentiments are the same as interceptor's there ^^^

Don't worry though, nothing will come of this. And if it will, it'll only be a Garda calling to your door to have a wee chat and that'll be the end of it

delly

unkel wrote:

Fair or unfair, you were NOT in the right. My sentiments are the same as interceptor's there ^^^

Don't worry though, nothing will come of this. And if it will, it'll only be a Garda calling to your door to have a wee chat and that'll be the end of it

I was going to to say something like the above, but unkel has saved me the bother......

Head The Wall

They wouldn't have this exit onto the road unless the powers that be deemed the speed limit was appropriate for a car to pull onto said road safely. Secondly the law also says that you have to drive with due care towards all other road users i.e coming around a blind corner

endplate

If in the unlikely event the Gardai tried to prosecute for this offence your 2 witness statements would not be submissible as they will be biased towards the op. Only somebody outside your car watching the event could stand up as a witness

maidhc

Head The Wall wrote:

They wouldn't have this exit onto the road unless the powers that be deemed the speed limit was appropriate for a car to pull onto said road safely. Secondly the law also says that you have to drive with due care towards all other road users i.e coming around a blind corner

You must be joking, right?

We have hundreds, if not thousands, of blind junctions in the state. They may not be in dublin, but there sure as hell is is one down the road from me. I would go sa far as to say they are a feature of rural roads, the layout of which has not really changed dramatically since the famine.


Secondly, it isn't possible to avoid having an accident if you pull out onto a what appears to be a clear road and then get T-boned by a nutter. Here the courts have discretion to decide on negligence, or can apportion it between both parties. There is no hard and fast rule the person on the main road is right, even if driving below the limit, if their speed ultimately meant they were unable to brake to avoid an obstacle.

Idleater

unkel wrote:

Fair or unfair, you were NOT in the right....

Don't worry though, nothing will come of this. And if it will, it'll only be a Garda calling to your door to have a wee chat and that'll be the end of it

Agreed, however upon almost being involved in a hit and run a couple of years ago, I reported the reg no to the local Gardai and asked what (if anything) would be done.

I was told that they would trace the reg no, call around and have a "chat". Basically though no charges would be brought, the incident is noted against the reg no. and if the same reg no. is cited a couple of times, then a the driver can be investigated further.

Now that is what I was told and have no reason to believe otherwise. However, a hit and run is slightly more serious than someone complaining that a car pulled out in front of the while they were speeding around a blind corner...

L.

HashSlinging

Well after reading that its straight to spike island with you, in fairness you need to be a bit more careful where you pull in and always over compensate for yourself and other road users, be 100% sure you can see distant traffic on both sides of the road, the fact that you couldn’t see her tells me you were parked just after a blind bend, this is due to inexperiance but put it behind you and learn.

That poor old woman you should have apologised.

Alun

HashSlinging wrote:

Well after reading that its straight to spike island with you, in fairness you need to be a bit more careful where you pull in and always over compensate for yourself and other road users, be 100% sure you can see distant traffic on both sides of the road, the fact that you couldn’t see her tells me you were parked just after a blind bend, this is due to inexperiance but put it behind you and learn.

That poor old woman you should have apologised.

Where did it say anything about her pulling in anywhere? She was pulling out of a side road, that just happened to be just after a blind bend. Not a lot she can do about that except maybe buy a pair of X-ray specs There's a burden of responsibility on the "poor old woman" too to do everything in her power to avoid things like this, by slowing down on blind bends, for example. or actually taking notice of road signage indicating a side road ahead.

prospect

unkel wrote:

Fair or unfair, you were NOT in the right.

I don't entirely agree.

Is the fault not always with the person behind, as they should be travelling at a speed and a distance that allows them to stop safely?

Also, once the OP's car was moved partially on the road (after yielding right of way, or in this case there was no car visible to yield to), they are 'Committed to the road' which then affords them right of way.

If the lady had been 2 seconds behind, and resultingly rear-ended the OP, then she would have been 100% at fault. The only difference here is that there was no collission.

ferdi

the guards will tell her to **** off

HashSlinging

Alun wrote:

Where did it say anything about her pulling in anywhere? She was pulling out of a side road.QUOTE]

*I was stopped on the side road* I read it worng. :rolleyes: Still pool old dear, hope her ticker is ok.

NUTLEY BOY

endplate wrote:

If in the unlikely event the Gardai tried to prosecute for this offence your 2 witness statements would not be submissible as they will be biased towards the op. Only somebody outside your car watching the event could stand up as a witness

How so ?

The passengers are not truly independent witness. However, they are witnesses of fact. Their evidence should be admissable. Whether it is accepted is another question.

If OP sees that delightful old lady again he should ask her if she is aware that it is negligent to fail to drive within the limits of her vision (night or day). Even though she was on the main road she does not have an unfettered right to drive regardless of the geography of the road !! Use of the highway rarely involves the possession of absolute rights.

I reckon that OP will hear no more of this.

However, lesson learned OP. No matter how long you drive you can never have enough anticipation.

Also, remember the old adage about a fool at every corner. Well , you seem to have met one and survived. Well done........

jimmycrackcorm

Cerdito wrote:

If you were pulling out of the side road on to a main road then she had right of way. It's your responsibility to ensure no traffic is coming before pulling out.

I accept that she may have been going very fast, but that would be impossible to prove. If you were reported, the guards could only go on the facts as above.

In general, if you are pulling out from a minor road onto a major road and your visibility along the main road is obstructed (i.e. by a bend), you should ensure that the road is clear as far as you can see and then pull out very smartly.

There are plenty of side roads in this country where it doesn't matter how clear the main road is you can't drive out quick enough to avoid at least a scare from someone coming round at speed.