Unmarked 99D car with siren in bus lane - claiming to be Garda

RainyDay

I had a little disagreement with a middle-aged gent driving an unmarked 99D black Toyota Camry 2.2 along the bus lane on the N4, between Chapelizod & Palmerstown. He was driving in the bus lane and I refused to let him in to my lane. We wound down windows & he sounded a siren for couple of seconds and told me it was a Garda car and he was entitled to use the bus lane. He told me that I was lucky to get away with a warning. I was too flustered to think of asking him for ID. I did take his reg number, and say him dissappearing off into the distance of the next bus lane.

I find it very hard to believe that it was an official Garda car, given that it was 99D and he was on his own (no buddy in the car with him) - Don't they sell all their cars (including the unmarked ones) after 3-4 years? My guess is that it was his own personal car, and he's installed a leftover siren to help him navigate that pesky traffic.

Can anyone confirm;

- Do Gardai have any official 99D cars?
- Are unmarked Garda cars allowed use bus lanes in non-emergencies?
- Is there anything illegal about installing/using a siren?

I guess my options would include the Garda Complaints Board about his abuse of power, or a complaint to the Garda trafficwatch line about his abuse of the bus lane. I'd like to know where I stand legally beforehand.

junkyard

Check out the car reg on cartell.ie and see what happens.:)

Robbo

junkyard wrote:

Check out the car reg on cartell.ie and see what happens.:)

Actually, has anyone tried to run the reg of a cop car through that to see what happens?

junkyard

Robbo wrote:

Actually, has anyone tried to run the reg of a cop car through that to see what happens?

You get four penalty points and a VAT inspection for being nosey.;)

Robbo

junkyard wrote:

You get four penalty points and a VAT inspection for being nosey.;)

Better make sure the TV license is paid up as well

YeAh!

junkyard wrote:

You get four penalty points and a VAT inspection for being nosey.;)

Why? Are you being serious? Penalty points for making an inquiry?

eirlink

Notice any aerials? unmarked / branch cars have roof aerials x3,sometimes roof x2 and back quarter panel x1....i`d say it was genuine considering he approached you and stated who he was coupled with fact that he was sirened up and using it.just my opinion though

BTW i wouldnt rule out the possibility that he has your number !!

junkyard

YeAh! wrote:

Why? Are you being serious? Penalty points for making an inquiry?

Absolutely, its all got to do with the offical secrets act 1967.:rolleyes:

It was probably Jimmy Bond , the famous Irish spy.

kdouglas

i remember passing a pretty ordinary looking car one time and was very surprised to hear a siren coming out of it, no blue lights or anything or one of those dome things that they can throw on top of the roof, just a siren, was wondering at the time if it was some "chancer" who got his hands on a siren somewhere

RainyDay

eirlink wrote:

Notice any aerials? unmarked / branch cars have roof aerials x3,sometimes roof x2 and back quarter panel x1....i`d say it was genuine considering he approached you and stated who he was coupled with fact that he was sirened up and using it.just my opinion though

I've just checked the picture I took with my mobile phone after he moved in front of me, and I can't see any aeriels at all on the car.

eirlink wrote:

BTW i wouldnt rule out the possibility that he has your number !!

Maybe - all the more reason for me to get my retaliation in first.

Santa Claus

RainyDay wrote:

Can anyone confirm;

- Do Gardai have any official 99D cars?
- Are unmarked Garda cars allowed use bus lanes in non-emergencies?
- Is there anything illegal about installing/using a siren?

I guess my options would include the Garda Complaints Board about his abuse of power, or a complaint to the Garda trafficwatch line about his abuse of the bus lane. I'd like to know where I stand legally beforehand.

- The Gardai have many cars, squad cars tend to get priority over unmarked cars for replacement so it's entirely feasable that it could be a legit garda car.
- All Garda vehicles be they marked or unmarked are allowed use of bus lanes when on official business (i.e. when they're on the job, doesn't have to be responding to an emergency).
- It is illegal to modify your car to make it look/sound like an emergency vehicle but you can buy kits of eBay to do the alternate high beam flashing that unmarked cars have so it's entrely possible that some chancer somewhere is selling sirens.

To be honest, why would you complain to the Garda complaints board ? If he was a Garda and it was a garda car then he's entitled to use the bus lane.

Simply ring/call in to your local station and give them the reg of the car and say "This didn't look like it was an official car so you may want to look into it"

junkyard wrote:

Check out the car reg on cartell.ie and see what happens.:)

Any Garda cars would be registered to the Department of Justice, but seeing as cartell.ie gets it's information from some government dept (dept of envronment i suppose) they may have foreseen people looking up regs to try and identify Gatso vans and so state cars may not be in cartell's database (only 1 way to find out mind)!

Our man in Havana

junkyard wrote:

Absolutely, its all got to do with the offical secrets act 1967.:rolleyes:

It was probably Jimmy Bond , the famous Irish spy.

And you were saying

BTW the Gardai have loads of unmarked cars that you would never in a million years think were Garda cars. There is a beat up 93 D green ford escort on traffic duties in Kilkenny at the moment.

bazz26

RainyDay wrote:

I had a little disagreement with a middle-aged gent driving an unmarked 99D black Toyota Camry 2.2 along the bus lane on the N4, between Chapelizod & Palmerstown. He was driving in the bus lane and I refused to let him in to my lane. We wound down windows & he sounded a siren for couple of seconds and told me it was a Garda car and he was entitled to use the bus lane. He told me that I was lucky to get away with a warning. I was too flustered to think of asking him for ID. I did take his reg number, and say him dissappearing off into the distance of the next bus lane.

I find it very hard to believe that it was an official Garda car, given that it was 99D and he was on his own (no buddy in the car with him) - Don't they sell all their cars (including the unmarked ones) after 3-4 years? My guess is that it was his own personal car, and he's installed a leftover siren to help him navigate that pesky traffic.

Can anyone confirm;

- Do Gardai have any official 99D cars?
- Are unmarked Garda cars allowed use bus lanes in non-emergencies?
- Is there anything illegal about installing/using a siren?

I guess my options would include the Garda Complaints Board about his abuse of power, or a complaint to the Garda trafficwatch line about his abuse of the bus lane. I'd like to know where I stand legally beforehand.

Ring your local Garda station and tell them that this driver claimed to be a Garda but didn't show any id yet was using the bus lane and then tried to cut in front of you, give them the car reg and they should be able to check if it is a legit garda car.

jimmycrackcorm

The Guards are very fond of 2.2 camrys - I don't know who else would buy them in the country. the guy should have shown his id. Report it anyway just in case.

Perhaps it was Michael O'Leary after getting fed up with the taxi con.

newbie2

RainyDay wrote:

I've just checked the picture I took with my mobile phone after he moved in front of me

Thats 5 penalty points right there

Abelloid

junkyard wrote:

Absolutely, its all got to do with the offical secrets act 1967.:rolleyes:

It was probably Jimmy Bond , the famous Irish spy.

I thought that was Seamus Bond

jimmycrackcorm

newbie2 wrote:

Thats 5 penalty points right there

I don't think there is a law against using a camera that just happens to have a phone facility.

vector

>...cartell.ie...

If you're using cartell.ie the key field is tax classification, a car belonging to the gardai has a value of "exempt"

>Ring your local Garda station and tell them that this driver claimed to be a Garda...

I've found then when dealing with the Gardai over the phone they first want to know YOUR name before getting to the matter in hand, and of course given that the question could be interpreted negatively by a fellow "member" shouldthe car be legit one would not ones name associated with the query, that is how one becomes "known" to the gardai

John R

RainyDay wrote:

I had a little disagreement with a middle-aged gent driving an unmarked 99D black Toyota Camry 2.2 along the bus lane on the N4, between Chapelizod & Palmerstown. He was driving in the bus lane and I refused to let him in to my lane. We wound down windows & he sounded a siren for couple of seconds and told me it was a Garda car and he was entitled to use the bus lane. He told me that I was lucky to get away with a warning.

A warning for what? Not letting someone push into a lane in front of you is not an offence, gardai or not you had the right of way in that situation not him.

Just another in an endless stream of incidents where people who are paid to uphold the law seem to think they are entitled to break it for their own convenience.

TBH it has gotten to the point where I am very reticent about moving out of their way in any circumstance, sirens or not. I have no problem with ambulances or the fire brigade but if I am at a red light and a garda comes tearing up I will not break the light just to let them through.

Our man in Havana

vector wrote:

>...cartell.ie...

If you're using cartell.ie the key field is tax classification, a car belonging to the gardai has a value of "exempt"

>Ring your local Garda station and tell them that this driver claimed to be a Garda...

I've found then when dealing with the Gardai over the phone they first want to know YOUR name before getting to the matter in hand, and of course given that the question could be interpreted negatively by a fellow "member" shouldthe car be legit one would not ones name associated with the query, that is how one becomes "known" to the gardai

In that situation I would give them a false name. Hard for them to tell over the phone. No chance of becoming "known" then.

Exon

The guards are getting on my nerves thinking they can break the law if they like...

cargrouch

Exon wrote:

The guards are getting on my nerves thinking they can break the law if they like...

I don't see any reason why they shouldn't be using the bus lane! As a previous poster said, the very fact that it was a 2.2 D reg Camry is proof enough for me that it was a guard.

Wishbone Ash

Exon wrote:

The guards are getting on my nerves thinking they can break the law if they like...

Garda are exempt from most of the normal regulations of the Road Traffic Acts in the course of their duties. (not exempt from Section 49 and 50 AFAIK).

MOH

cargrouch wrote:

I don't see any reason why they shouldn't be using the bus lane! As a previous poster said, the very fact that it was a 2.2 D reg Camry is proof enough for me that it was a guard.

I think the OPs point was that it might have been a garda, but not in a garda car and not on duty - i.e. he was in his own car on his own time. I nwhich case he shouldn't have been in the bus lane.

Anan1

John R wrote:

I have no problem with ambulances or the fire brigade but if I am at a red light and a garda comes tearing up I will not break the light just to let them through.

Let's hope it's not your own loved ones they're rushing to help when you do that.

vector

>I have no problem with ambulances or the fire brigade but if I am at a red light and a garda comes tearing up I will not break the light just to let them through.

I think that is a view shared by many, motorists have come to see the gardai as the enemy who are there to catch them, their short term speed trap profiteering has alientated the otherwise law abiding citizenry from the force, ask anyone who has been caught doing say 85 in an 80 zone, sure its speeding but its marginal, it the gardai don't overlook such offences then the motorist will not brake a red light to leave one of their cars through, as they might give him a ticket for that, yes they might, or even if not then what if as consequence of breakibng the light the motorist had an accident

Anan1

vector wrote:

>I have no problem with ambulances or the fire brigade but if I am at a red light and a garda comes tearing up I will not break the light just to let them through.

I think that is a view shared by many, motorists have come to see the gardai as the enemy who are there to catch them, their short term speed trap profiteering has alientated the otherwise law abiding citizenry from the force, ask anyone who has been caught doing say 85 in an 80 zone, sure its speeding but its marginal, it the gardai don't overlook such offences then the motorist will not brake a red light to leave one of their cars through, as they might give him a ticket for that, yes they might, or even if not then what if as consequence of breakibng the light the motorist had an accident

In case anyone here was not aware of this, the Gardai are paid to enforce legislation introduced by a democratically elected government. If you don't like existing speed limits (and I don't either) then talk to your TD. The Gardai do a lot more than traffic duty - has it ever occurred to you that somebody somewhere might be desperately awaiting the arrival of that Garda car you're blocking? If you were a teller in a bank with a gun held to your head then you might perhaps see things differently.

Wishbone Ash

MOH wrote:

I think the OPs point was that it might have been a garda, but not in a garda car and not on duty - i.e. he was in his own car on his own time. I nwhich case he shouldn't have been in the bus lane.

Regardless of the fact that he may have been a Garda, I don't understand the logic of the argument the OP and you are making.

If the OP doesn't belive that he should have been using the bus lane, why block him when he tried to move across to across to another lane.

It's a total contradiction. If the OP is so concerned about motorists using the bus lane he should facilitate any attempts made to rectify the situation.

If you have a problem with another motorist, report the matter to the Gardaí. The enforcement of the regulations under the Road Traffic Acts are the duty of the Gardaí - not self-appointed traffic vigilantes.

thegloriousend

If the OP doesn't belive that he should have been using the bus lane, why block him when he tried to move across to across to another lane.

It's a total contradiction. If the OP is so concerned about motorists using the bus lane he should facilitate any attempts made to rectify the situation.

That's retarded, the bus lane had obviously come to an end

Wishbone Ash

thegloriousend wrote:

That's retarded, the bus lane had obviously come to an end

The bus lane may not have come to an end. A bus may have been picking up/setting down. Even so, the mature and level-headed motorist would have allowed the Camry to filter in. I've no doubt that the OP blocked any attempts that the Camry driver tried to make to filter in. As I said, if he had a problem, he should have reported it to the Gardaí.

Stark

I generally don't facilitate impatient motorists who decide to undertake a whole lane of cars. **** 'em, they can sit there and wait until someone else lets them in.