everyone speeding, no gardai around

TempestSabre

Cantab. wrote:

Was coming from Naas to Dublin last night (via Kingswood), got stopped three times and breathalysed twice.

What on earth were you doing?

Fey!

Didn't take to the roads much over the weekend (race week traffic in Galway = nightmare!), but had to head out to Craughwell this morning. Traffic was staying well below the limit, but I saw one guy pulled by an unmarked between Derrydonnell and Oranmore (100kph zone, wide road and good surface. However, long corner with iffy visibility for overtaking). Saw a different unmarked on the road on the way back in to town.

Talked to a couple of taxi driver friends earlier, who said they very little in the way of checkpoints (exactly 0, to be precise). Went across town late last night myself, and not a sign of a Garda car.

Has anyone heard the casualty number from the weekend, by any chance?

Stark

Anan1 wrote:

Given a clear road and the right conditions, I'd often drive at well over 140km/h. I've been doing it for years, and still have no points and a 19 year NCB. Sure it's illegal, but it's not dangerous IMO.

Do you also tailgate in an attempt to bully other drivers into doing 140km/h? That was my issue with the guy and why I'd love to have seen him caught. Other than that, I'm no Charlie Bird, I'm not pushed about the speeds people do on high quality roads.

And I mean what's with people who do the tailgating **** on a dual carriageway when they could easily move into the right-hand lane and overtake safely. I saw one guy doing it to someone on the M50, seemingly the reason he didn't just pull right was because his exit was coming up. If his exit was so close, you think he could have shown a little patience.

Wishbone Ash

Stark wrote:

Do you also tailgate in an attempt to bully other drivers into doing 140km/h?

He did say "on a clear road".

a clear road and the right conditions,

Stark

Fey! wrote:

Has anyone heard the casualty number from the weekend, by any chance?

I've only seen one report so far on breakingnews.ie. That was with an elderly woman who crashed into a wall.

Stark

Wishbone Ash wrote:

He did say "on a clear road".

I know. I wasn't making accusations, I was just pointing out that it wasn't calling the guy in the Golf because of the speed he was doing, rather his behaviour.

mkennedy

Anan1 wrote:

Given a clear road and the right conditions, I'd often drive at well over 140km/h. I've been doing it for years, and still have no points and a 19 year NCB. Sure it's illegal, but it's not dangerous IMO.

tbh Anan1 i feel myself that 120kph plus isn't necessarily always dangerous once that speed is appropriate to conditions and road / level of traffic. admittedly speed limits on some roads are ridiculous but that's another story.

but what really amazed me about the speeding i saw was these drivers were driving like this when there was meant to be a beefed up garda presence this weekend.
nobody seemed to think they'd get caught.

saobh_ie

Drax wrote:

There are so many dangerous sections of road on the cork road (although they are getting fewer) but they still seem to want to do people in the the easiest sections. I just dont get it. :mad:

It's down to thier equipment... I would imagine that the radar guns only work in big open clear spaces where the Gaurd can have a clear view and pick up cars in the distance easily with loads of time.

Also on the 'dangerous' sections of road its dangerous to be stopping people.

Dangerous bits of road have curves and junctions, lasers/radar don't work around corners and its dangerous to be pulling people over or even hanging around in junctions.

On narrow single lane roads where people do mad speeds, if they stop somebody there's nowhere to pull in. The only place they can safely enforce road safety is on the safe roads.

That's my take on it... which is why when I need to get somewhere fast I'll hoon out the back roads rather than take the dual carraigeway.

Sizzler

I saw ONE checkpoint this wkend, on Bolton St (Dublin city centre) at 8pm on sat night, as it happens I was heading down Capel St so needed to turn off, which I did, but I could have just as easily been locked and got away with it! What a stupid place to set up a checkpoint!

I heard of one other checkpoint around where I live last night but that was it. Did people see many this wkend? Will be interesting to see how many 'random' piss heads they caught this wkend :rolleyes:

numorouno

Drax wrote:

Drove from Dublin to Cork on Friday afternoon. Saw one speed trap and another pulling over. I thought it was good that here was some sort of presence but was annoyed at their locations - the first one was a bike cop hiding just over the crest of a hill on the Cashel bypass. A dual-carraigeway. The second was a garda car that had pulled some guy over on the dual-carraigeway at Watergrasshill. Why do they insist on doing people on the safest sections of roads?? There are so many dangerous sections of road on the cork road (although they are getting fewer) but they still seem to want to do people in the the easiest sections. I just dont get it. :mad:

this type of attitude maddens me. perhaps the lad they had stopped on the watergrasshill bypass had done something stupid before then and they were waiting to pull him in on a safe section of road so other road users wouldnt be endangered. the guards are critised if they are on the dual carrigways/motorways catching people cos its safe. then they are critised for not being on the dual carrigways when there are lunatics beeping and flashing lights to get you to move out of the way. they cannot be all things to all people. unless there is one guards for every driver on the road there will still be idiots who annoy us or drive dangerously. we all have to take responsibiltly for our own safety and welfare on journeys in the sense of anticipating what may happen and expect the worst. if this doesnt work then make a written complaint/statement of dangerous driving to your local station re the idiot you encoutered on the road. the more chance people perceive they will be caught for doing stupid things the less chance theyl do them IMO. also its up to us to educate ourselves and our children to be better, more responsible and safer drivers. i mean can we complain if we let a 17 out on the road with little more training than a run around a car park on a quiet sunday morning and expect them to be competant drivers. this is both our own and the governments responsibilty to resovle with competant driver training and better safer roads. the guards dont cause the accidents and fatalities its human error/bad judgement whatever.sorry for the rant but i feel ir we all took responsibilty for our own and our families driving and get the government to sort their end out then our roads would be safer for everyone

overdriver

Haven't the resident half-yards here already pointed out on several occassions that the reason for speed traps in these locations is the safety of the officers involved, and the public they pull over, as well as technical difficulties in speed guns locking on to cars on twisty roads?

Drove home from Cavan yesterday, with drivers overtaking on continuous white lines, blatant disregard of speed limits etc.

The closer I got to Dublin, the more beeping there was. People seem to be really put out by anyone driving at the limit, or slightly under, at times. Unreal.

A guy overtook me and a tractor pulling hay on the back roads from Lucan to Clonee, on a blind bend with a continouos white line, beeping like mad.

Idiot.

Big Balls

Well lads, two dead on the roads this weekend. Not *bad* all things considered.

And the weird bit?

One person in their 50s, the other in their 70s.

Wishbone Ash

kaizersoze1 wrote:

Speed trap on the M1 today Northbound. First time Ive ever seen one on it.

I regularly see one on it Between the Drinan and Donabate exits. It is also patrolled with unmarked cars.

Stark

Big Balls wrote:

Well lads, two dead on the roads this weekend. Not *bad* all things considered.

And the weird bit?

One person in their 50s, the other in their 70s.

There was a 3rd person killed in Ballymun, a 42 year old pedestrian.

Other than that, it's been a big drop off from your usual "10 people killed this bank holiday weekend" stories.

Fey!

Maybe the whole "we'll be out there catching you" scare tactic thing worked. If it did, fair play.

What was they figure for the August bank holiday last year?

OT - Overdriver; what's a resident half yard?

Big Balls

I was aware of the pedestrian but formed the opinion that it was a separate type of fatality.

Incidentally, there were 3 people killed last August bank holiday weekend in 2005. It would seem that people seem to think the guards are out more on bank holidays and it would seem to work because there's without doubt more people coming and going on the national routes on bank holidays but less people are killed.

unkel

Fey! wrote:

Maybe the whole "we'll be out there catching you" scare tactic thing worked. If it did, fair play

But it won't work the next time if people realise the Gardai were not "out there". Same as the penalty points, they worked for a while at the start until people found out they weren't gonna get caught

opus

Saw two guards on the road from Cork to Bandon yesterday, one was at almost at the roundabout at the end where it looked like a random breath test on cars coming into Cork, this was at 12pm in the day!

The other was a bike guard who had stopped someone on the same road but futher out, hanging out again on the good stretch of road I see. Once I got to the back roads of west Cork, no sign of the guards!

jlang

I went through three speed checkpoints over the weekend. All around Dublin - at Montrose on N11 outbound on Friday 4pm, Dundrum bypass at 2pm on Saturday and outbound on Naas Road at Newlands on Monday at 9pm. Was also breathalysed at usual speedcheck spot on N11 midday on Monday. Tester registered zero, but they were taking the guy in front down to the station because he failed (at lunchtime FFS!). So I definitely saw a Garda presence over the weekend.

TempestSabre

I'm impressed