Garda Following you.

Revelation Joe

alfie wrote:

Revelation Joe they asked him if he had been drinkin to find out if he was, its part of the process of forming their opinion.

Yes, but they would surely have had *some* supsicion to ask in the first place?
It's like asking someone wearing a Lyon soccer shirt if they're French. You think they might be, you have some evidence that they might be, so you ask to confirm.
Having said that... when I lived in England and drove a Golf GTi I got tugged.
When they asked if I'd been drinking and I said No, the copper said, 'Ah...it's just you were being very careful, making sure you signalled and staying well under the speed limit, we thought you must beovercompensating!'


Del

TempestSabre

John R wrote:

If Dublin Bus can afford to put 6 cameras in all of their 1100 buses and justify it through a reduction in false insurance claims there is FA reason why the police cannot justify cameras in every car on traffic duty if not their entire fleet. The money saved on court cases alone would pay for it, people faced with video evidence will be far less likely to contest a case.

Excellent point.

gibbon75

sutty wrote:

At no time was I doing anything wrong before the gard came up behind me. But in the end, he pulled me over for speeding.

Was there any evidence of your speeding?In most countries the police has to prove it that your were speeding with a photo or video footage.

The nicest policemen I ever met was in the USA.They were always fair,and they've tried to avoid the give a ticket.If I was nice they just warned me to slow down next time etc.And they never pulled you over without any reason.

jayok

If you feel you are being harassed, then why not install your own camera. I used to have this (front and rear) in a previous car - not for the gardai but for a little exercise I was doing regarding dangerous drivers. Not difficult to install and you only need it if something goes wrong.

I've never had any problems with the Gardai* and I drive a Civic (and pretty much always have). I've been stopped a number of times just to check for DD or tax and road insurance. I agree it's not an easy job and there's nothing more frustrating that anyone power tripping and this lends a bad name to others. So either just accept it or deal with it.

*Actually I was lifted out of it by a cop 4-5 years ago who must have been having a bad day. I decided to ignore him and he just went away as I wasn't doing anything wrong. As far as I was concerned let him vent he's probably seen enough sh1te today and I certainly wasn't going to humour him.

peckerhead

Wise words...

Guy:Incognito

layke wrote:

Now 2 seconds later I have FOG LIGHTS blinding me and they are 2 inches from my back bumper.

If he was as close as you say you wouldnt be able to see his lights. Assuming he wasnt driving a jeep. Personally when a car behind me gets to within 5 or 6 feet of the back of me the closest part of his car to me I can see is the windscreen. For you to be able to read a number plate on a car behond(lights generally arnt a huge distance above, the car would have to be about 12-15 feet behind you.

sutty wrote:

Chief, I think you need to make clear that, that lad was on a motorbike and from what he has said. The traffic was stopped at the time. He also never put in if there was on coming traffic.

Are motorbikes immune from the law? A white line is there to let you know that you are not allowed to cross it. It's not a do not cross unless you are on a bike line.

Guy:Incognito

gibbon75 wrote:

The nicest policemen I ever met was in the USA.They were always fair,and they've tried to avoid the give a ticket.If I was nice they just warned me to slow down next time etc.And they never pulled you over without any reason.

The fact that you were stopped and warned on numerous occasions shows the flaws in not blanketly ticketing everyone caught speeding.

cast_iron

John R wrote:

If Dublin Bus can afford to put 6 cameras in all of their 1100 buses and justify it through a reduction in false insurance claims there is FA reason why the police cannot justify cameras in every car on traffic duty if not their entire fleet. The money saved on court cases alone would pay for it, people faced with video evidence will be far less likely to contest a case.

I would say few people contest a case of this type (where the garda sees someone doing something and wishes to prosecute). Most take a fixed penalty.
Dublin Bus's reason isn't the same as why you say the gardai should employ it. The Gardai wouldn't actually save anything!

WizZard

kbannon wrote:

Given that many members of the force have to use their own mobile phones and supply their own batteries for their torches, I reckon some more* in car cameras are not high up on the list of priorities.

* I say more because some unmarked cars already have these.

Strange. I remember seeing cameras in garda cars way back in the very late 80's/early 90's. I would have thought that even if that were a trial run for some cars (this was a marked car), that all Garda cars would have them by now :eek:

_Kaiser_

WizZard wrote:

Strange. I remember seeing cameras in garda cars way back in the very late 80's/early 90's. I would have thought that even if that were a trial run for some cars (this was a marked car), that all Garda cars would have them by now :eek:

You're forgetting that this is Ireland tho! :rolleyes:

Gary ITR

Tallaght Guards = bollixes

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054910232&highlight=gardai+searched+me

_Kaiser_

[OT] Coolock are no better - post #51 [/OT]

Didn't I read a while ago though that they were fittng the new unmarked cars with cameras though?

numorouno

why rant and rave about coppers being bolloxes? why not just meet with the local superintendant and make your complaint known in a forum that something maybe done about it. all you do here is rant/rave about the bad cops and tarnish, imo, the majority of good ones who try and do their best in bad conditions. this applies to a lot of posts, not only for guards but i suppose for priests/solicitors/(whatever flavour of the month the media have this month). i understand that there are bad ones but thats the reason for the these tribunals/enquries into morris and the church sexual abuse claims etc etc. nothing can be rectified or made better by people not goin to the relevant persons that can or try to make a difference eg superintendents/bishops/law society etc. sorry if this rambles but it easy to target one specific incident and for everybody to jump on the bandwagon. if you've a complaint to make by all means talk about it here but make it known to the relevant authority so that something can be done about it

dahamsta

The OP should do both, not one or the other. The Gardaí are not exactly well known for dealing with complaints in a transparent, satisfactory manner.

adam

gibbon75

Stekelly wrote:

The fact that you were stopped and warned on numerous occasions shows the flaws in not blanketly ticketing everyone caught speeding.

Well,it happened only 3 times in 3 years.We were driving hotel guests to airport,hospital etc.The city applied stupid speed limits on very safe roads.The cops knew this too,and we broke the limit with only 10 mph max,if the guest was late etc.But only at daylight,in dry weather.This place is in a remote place in the Rockies,so traffic isn't busy up there.
Trust me,the cops were very strict with serious speeding,DUI etc.

So you never broke any rules in your life?

parsi

Kaiser2000 wrote:

After all, they've no problem paying for Charlie's state funeral on Friday, right - which incidentially is also being organised in record time having seen the plans on their website.

In fairness they knew he was dying so they've had time to plan - just dust off the old plans for Dev and put in a new name. And funerals are usually organised fairly quickly for everyone - especially in warm weather..

Stark

gibbon75 wrote:

Stekelly wrote:

The fact that you were stopped and warned on numerous occasions shows the flaws in not blanketly ticketing everyone caught speeding.

Well,it happened only 3 times in 3 years.We were driving hotel guests to airport,hospital etc.The city applied stupid speed limits on very safe roads.The cops knew this too,and we broke the limit with only 10 mph max,if the guest was late etc.But only at daylight,in dry weather.This place is in a remote place in the Rockies,so traffic isn't busy up there.
Trust me,the cops were very strict with serious speeding,DUI etc.

So you never broke any rules in your life?

Yeah in America they have 55mph speed limits on four lane motorways. It's crazy. Noone sticks to the speed limit. Some college students did a video before where they stuck to 55mph and hogged all 4 lanes. The result was absolute chaos and they came very close to causing a **** load of accidents. All by obeying the law to the letter.

Seth Brundle

@ parsi - erm, what? Wrong thread?

Seth Brundle

Stark wrote:

Yeah in America they have 55mph speed limits on four lane motorways. It's crazy. Noone sticks to the speed limit. Some college students did a video before where they stuck to 55mph and hogged all 4 lanes. The result was absolute chaos and they came very close to causing a **** load of accidents. All by obeying the law to the letter.

if they obeyed the law to the letter then they would not be hogging all 4 lanes!

mike65

@ parsi - erm, what? Wrong thread?

Ooops! There may be non-sequitur post in a Haughey thread about now.

Mike.

sutty

Stekelly wrote:

Are motorbikes immune from the law? A white line is there to let you know that you are not allowed to cross it. It's not a do not cross unless you are on a bike line.

No they are not, but the law is "gray" on sifting through traffic. It is done at the risk of the biker. IE: if he/she is in a crash while doing so, then it is his insurance will not over him. The person who posted that post that chef quoted is from New Ross. I'm just after driving through there my-self not 2 hours ago to get work in dublin. If the person done it on that road (N25) then there are pleanty of places in the two to safely over take non moving traffic (which there seems to be a bit of) on a bike. Most gards will turn a blind eye to a biker doing that. However Gards on foot tend to be the ones that will say something. Normaly its just that, a stern word from them. Anyway, not much I can say to defend a biker here, I'm sure he's already condemed in your eyes :rolleyes:

As for the other post about proof of speed. Not that I am aware of. But gards not need evadance. The courts will take there word for the speed you where caught at. Its a bit crazy and can lead to badness if the cop is truely "power tripping" . In my case he wasn't on a power trip. He just drove very unsafely. He could have easly tried to see what speed I was doing 20meters away. I had to slow down or make a sudden stop. He would of hit my back wheel, locking it up and thus trowing me off the bike and under the car more than likely. In a crash like this, its pretty much a given that the biker will die.

ToxicPaddy

I used to get pulled over frequently by the Gardai simply because I was driving late at night, used to work in the bar trade. I never had any problems with them and it was always just routine to see if I had been drink driving, they check the car, check my licence and insurance and off I go on my way.

Granted, I dont agree with what those Gardai did to you and you will always get some guy somewhere on a power trip and likes to pick on guys with modified cars or young drivers as he has formed an opinion on them as no matter what anyone does thats not gonna change.

But as Chief said, its better that they go out and do random checks on drivers than sit in the station playing pool all night. If they get one drunk driver off the road a night, its a job well done.

I do agree with the others here about making a complaint. If it happens again, then simply make note of the details, time, date, location, request the Gardai's badge no. They are obliged to provide them if requested. If they refuse, then also make note of this.

The gardai in question will probably not get disciplined, but words will be had. I know of 2 gardai who were moved to different locations, both involving desk duties and taken off the street because there were a number of offical complaints made against them by members of the public. If an official complaint is made, it has to be acted on, but this doesnt always mean parading them in front of a disciplinary committee, it usually means a chat with their sargent or super.

The Gardai are getting a lot of bad press lately and from what I believe they are being told by the top brass to cut out the messing in the lower ranks and get on with the job.

If you feel you've been harrassed or unfairly treated, then complain. You're perfectly entitled to do it and if it continues, you keep complaining.

Tox

RiderOnTheStorm

its my understanding also, that the guards have to form an opinion before they stop you. Random stop and search / breathtest were not allowed until very recently (actually, they may not be 'in' yet). Random stops would be good idea outside a pub carpark, imho. If guards stop a car because they think you were drinking (or whatever excuse they give at the time) can they then search the car for any and every possible fault? ie can they stop you for one reason and then search for more if the first one is invalid?

I would not advise slamming on your brakes if they are ever behind you again, as this is an offence. But if you were to ease off the accelerator (maybe cause you were going to change gear, or thought you saw a dog about to cross the road, etc) then a car that close would close the gap REAL quick and give the driver a fright..... remember, the cars behind have to be at a distance that allows them to stop safely, if not, they are at fault! ;-)

Big Nelly

Why everyone spends half there time on here insulting the Garda is beyond me. I have never had a problem with any Garda and they always seem geniune and nice to me. Never got pulled over in my car and I drive ALOT of miles a year, was over 20k last year but now working on road more so your talking 40k and I have never once been pulled over. I think alot of the problem is the person that is talking to the Garda and not the Garda him/herself.

If I never get pulled over even when driving all over the country at all times of the night I think you will find there is a reason why your getting pulled over, they aint doing it for the crack. If they where then I would have been pulled over at some stage with the amount of milage.

C_Breeze

you know whats funny to do when they follow you like that right up your rear bumper ...at every intersection or every time you pull off from a light or roundabout , just put the foot down and keep flooring it until you reach the speed limit and the drive exactly at the speed limit and repeat .

Big Nelly

C_Breeze wrote:

you know whats funny to do when they follow you like that right up your rear bumper ...at every intersection or every time you pull off from a light or roundabout , just put the foot down and keep flooring it until you reach the speed limit and the drive exactly at the speed limit and repeat .

And people wonder why they get stopped. If you done this they could do you for dangerous driving.

Seth Brundle

C_Breeze wrote:

you know whats funny to do when they follow you like that right up your rear bumper ...at every intersection or every time you pull off from a light or roundabout , just put the foot down and keep flooring it until you reach the speed limit and the drive exactly at the speed limit and repeat .

Provoking into pulling you over them is silly!
In the end they can have you hauled in front of a court for dangerous driving and there is sweet fa that you can say against it as the judge will tend to believe them over the motorist!
I had an instance before when I pulled into a petrol station on the dublin side of the N4/M50 interchange. As I was leaving she was coming in and she said "You were doing about 80 [mph] going over the roundabout. Only for the fact that Im out of uniform Id do you*"
I reminded her that I was driving behind a double decker bus and told her to go F. herself.
However, had the bus not been there and I was dragged into court I would have no defence!


* no smutty remarks please

C_Breeze

"id do u too if i wasdrunk and a lil bit horny" ..sorry , i had to throw it in

andrew_ireland

I'd tend to agree with BigNelly, although I've only been driving for 2 years, all my experienceswith the Gardai have been positive (well not negative anyway). A few tips when stopped would be wind down the window before you approach a checkpoint, lower or turn off the ICE, greet the cop politely and make sure to remove sunglasses. I've never been pulled over though but it wouldn't bother me much if I was as I've nothing to hide. I had a bit of a scarecoming onto a roundabout where the N11 joins the M50, there was a checkpoint and I was asked to produce my licence by one cop and the other one had a speeding gun:eek: I asked him if surely I wasn't speeding(which I wasn't) at which point the cop with the speeding gun started laughing and asked was I feeling guilty about something:D ! This was harmless though, give them a break most of them are only trying to do their job, we'd probably be bitching if we never saw a cop doing speedchecks or stopping for random DUI tests. There are a few bad eggs but thankfully I haven't seen any yet...............................

Stark

Big Nelly wrote:

Why everyone spends half there time on here insulting the Garda is beyond me. I have never had a problem with any Garda and they always seem geniune and nice to me.

I have a lot of respect for most gardaí and the work they do. The vast majority that I come into contact with are genuine and nice as you say. But there are some bad eggs in the force and meeting one can be a highly demoralising experience. (I've had the misfortune of coming across 2 in my life, both times when out walking).