NI Motorists Breaking the Speed Limit

andyr

No one seems to be tackling the problem of a lot of Northern Ireland reg cars breaking the speed limits down here on the roads. I travel on the N4 Collooney to Sligo Dual carriageway on a daily basis and normally stick to the speed limit but I am always constantly being overtaken by mainly Northern Ireland vehicles and UK Vehicles and then of course some local cars and some cars from other counties.

But even if the NI cars and UK cars were to be caught what can the authorities do with them as far as I know it the Gardai cannot fine them or give them points on their licence am i correct in that?

If that is true then what is deterring them people to not speed down here on the roads?

muffler

Im not 100% sure what the story is in relation to N.I. drivers breaking the speed limit. I do recall a court case some time ago where a driver from N.I. was in court in Letterkenny. Speeding was one of the offences but there may have been others.

I wouldnt say that N.I. registered cars speed any more than local cars, its just that we tend to notice the number plates more than DL or SO plates.

I travel a fair bit around the Finn Valley area where you would probably find that 1 in 3 or 1 in 4 cars are from the north and at the weekends you may find that there could be as many NI cars as local ones.

I have no hesitation in saying that in this area the majority of the speeding is done by the little boy racers from this county.

andyr

muffler wrote:

Im not 100% sure what the story is in relation to N.I. drivers breaking the speed limit. I do recall a court case some time ago where a driver from N.I. was in court in Letterkenny. Speeding was one of the offences but there may have been others.

I wouldnt say that N.I. registered cars speed any more than local cars, its just that we tend to notice the number plates more than DL or SO plates.

I travel a fair bit around the Finn Valley area where you would probably find that 1 in 3 or 1 in 4 cars are from the north and at the weekends you may find that there could be as many NI cars as local ones.

I have no hesitation in saying that in this area the majority of the speeding is done by the little boy racers from this county.

I have come to the conclusion that little boy racers are exempt from all rules because they can seem to break the law all the time on a daily basis and not get pulled up on it - they are free to do what they want on the roads it seems - strange thing is that I think if I souped up my car tomorrow with illegal off road parts and raced down the road breaking the speed limit I would more than likely get pulled over by the Gard's and have the book thrown at me! :rolleyes:

retalivity

I wouldnt even limit it to boy racers, try driving on any main road in this county and youd be hard pressed to find anyone observing the speed limit. (unless theyre stuck in traffic)

andyr

retalivity wrote:

I wouldnt even limit it to boy racers, try driving on any main road in this county and youd be hard pressed to find anyone observing the speed limit. (unless theyre stuck in traffic)

There must be some underlining psychological reason why people regularly want to be always breaking the speed limit. Maybe its installed into people to some kind of people just get from A-B as quick as possible and has become a certain lifestyle for them and its the norm.

I cant help thinking what it would be like if when cars and other road vehicles were invented that the maximum top speed was 60mph and that there was no possible way they could ever go faster than that! - what would people do then? - they would have just have to put up with it.

People may moan about how congested traffic and crowded roads especially in the UK but I tell you this whilst people are stuck in traffic at least they are not speeding and causing near accidents or wiping out other road users!

Johnny_the_fox

andyr wrote:

But even if the NI cars and UK cars were to be caught what can the authorities do with them as far as I know it the Gardai cannot fine them or give them points on their licence am i correct in that?

i nearly sure the gardai can give penalty points to northerns

andyr

Johnny_the_fox wrote:

i nearly sure the gardai can give penalty points to northerns

really?, I don't think they can because its different country, different licence and different laws and different courts.

But I think they might be sorting out something by the end of this year though. Cant come soon enough. mind you if there is very rarely Garda cars on the roads catching them and no fixed cameras then how are they going to catch them and enforce it?

byte

In that case, can PSNI give ROI drivers penalty points for speeding in NI? I was under the impression that they could.

il gatto

A couple of years ago, I heard that the Guards around Letterkenny had started impounding cars owned ny Northerners which were caught speeding until such time that they paid the fine. It might not be an ongoing thing.

I think alot of people speed because the majority of roads which are not on a National Primary Route are so awful, that they seem to want to take advantage of the good stretches and make some time or enjoy the sensation of moving at over thirty miles an hour without having themselves or their car being shook to pieces on cart-tracks.

andyr

il gatto wrote:

A couple of years ago, I heard that the Guards around Letterkenny had started impounding cars owned ny Northerners which were caught speeding until such time that they paid the fine. It might not be an ongoing thing.

What a good Idea and would have been an effective one at that.

ddea

NI drivers can be fined for speeding in Eire but don't receive penalty points and vice versa for Irish drivers in the UK

andyr

ddea wrote:

NI drivers can be fined for speeding in Eire but don't receive penalty points and vice versa for Irish drivers in the UK

so an 80.00 euro fine *if they get caught* its not a big amount to most people and not a good enough deterrent - no wonder they do it regularly.

jimmycrackcorm

The problem is not the fine but that there are so few checkpoints. I;ve taken it easy over the last few years because every time I drove the N2 via Monaghan, I inevitably came across the Garda speed traps. Seemingly they are a thing of the past now but I've gotten into the habitof slowing down.

yeshi

ddea wrote:

NI drivers can be fined for speeding in Eire but don't receive penalty points and vice versa for Irish drivers in the UK

Wasnt there talk of a cross border points scheme that it would matter if you were given points on either side of the border? I remember something about this a few years back and actually thought it was brought in.


il gatto - I remember when the Guards started impounding cars along the Derry/Dongeal border and they caught a good few with this.

donegalman1

Gardai will issue Northern Drivers with a 80 Euro Fine. If they do not pay they may be arraested next time in the South, they rarely do. The Gardai allocate Penalty points but at this stage they are not effective on the Northern License. An agreement has been reached and recipricol points shall apply north and south. I am not sure if they will be backdated. If you are disqualified in the south, it doesn't matter where your license was issued, you, the driver are disqualified to drive on southern roads.

Wishbone Ash

jimmycrackcorm wrote:

I;ve taken it easy over the last few years because every time I drove the N2 via Monaghan, I inevitably came across the Garda speed traps.

Yes, in the late 1990s the N2 between Monaghan Town and Carrickmacross was awash with speed traps, especially on a Sunday morning. Haven't seen any for a long time now though.