Garda at checkpoint

event

Skyuser wrote:

Can't believe some Garda are that stupid.

why not?

there are stupid people in every occupation in the world

zuutroy

Spitfire666 wrote:

the point about cars should all need a test was good.

It's not his job to make good points about sensible legislation. It's his job to enforce the current legislation. He has the power to do his own visual inspection of the car and if he thinks it's unroadworthy he can act accordingly.

UrbanFox

zuutroy wrote:

It's not his job to make good points about sensible legislation. It's his job to enforce the current legislation. He has the power to do his own visual inspection of the car and if he thinks it's unroadworthy he can act accordingly.

My thoughts too.

I cannot identify the specific RTA provision but I think that Gardai have power to seize a vehicle where there is a suspicion in relation to roadworthiness and to have it subjected to a technical examination by a PSV inspector.

Also, if the gardai are not satisfied about identity of the owner and or driver can they not seize on those grounds also ?

ninty9er

This is the equivalent of a computer programmer not knowing how to use Microsoft Windows!!

FFS...was he youngish and thick...got to Templemore because the local Super back home trains his rugby team??

overdriver

Hey niner! Long time no see!

He was youngish - late 20's. Very thick and very beligerent.

Rabies

I stopped at a check point last summer on my way back from work. The guard asked why I didn't have my NCT disk displayed. I needed to explain to him that I was in a company van (with sign writing) and we don't do the NCT, it goes for a DOE once a year. He still asked for the NCT disk, the company name, my name, checked my license. After a min he went to a collegue talked for a min and I was told I could move on.

Looks like he didn't what should and shouldn't be displayed.

Spitfire666

@Rabies : he could well have been out a very short time and considering that alot of what they learn is on the job learning that wouldnt suprise me.

@zuutroy : I know its not his job, i never said it was. in my first post i said "im not saying anything about the rigmarole" as what i was going to say ("he had a good point") was ment in a general way, not a good point from a garda perspective or anything else, just a good point that in life in general, ALL cars should be subject to safty checks such as an NCT.

@UrbanFox : Yes

Savman

Santa Claus wrote:

I once got stopped in a bus lane while listening to the 7pm news on the radio.

AFAIK you can't drive reindeer in a bus lane

Rabies

Spitfire666, I would almost expect that from someone new to the job. But this guy was in his late 40s at least.

Esel

Skyuser wrote:

Can't believe some Garda are that stupid.

I can't believe you can't believe that. :eek:

astraboy

The cop clearly did not know the law, I'm not saying he needs to know the entire statute book but having basic knowledge of the NCT etc is a given(i would have thought) if your manning a checkpoint.

Of course, there are the usual rants from people going "your car had no tax is should not have been on the road." Go easy, the guy just go the car and when he taxes it, it will be back taxed so hes not screwing anyone. If the cop tried to do him for this he could fight it in court, its unreasonable to expect someone to have the car taxed when he does not yet have the documents to do so!

Finally, Re vintage cars, there are so few on the roads and they are usually driven as weekend cars and miticlously looked after, therefore an NCT system is not really needed. Also, in most countries vintage status is set at 20 or 25 years old, here the Gov have it set at 30 so any car up to 29 years old still has to undergo an NCT.

@OP what kind of car is it? Any pics?:)

zuutroy

astraboy wrote:

Of course, there are the usual rants from people going "your car had no tax is should not have been on the road." Go easy, the guy just go the car and when he taxes it, it will be back taxed so hes not screwing anyone. If the cop tried to do him for this he could fight it in court, its unreasonable to expect someone to have the car taxed when he does not yet have the documents to do so!

He'd have no hope of fighting it in court. There's no grey area with tax. If it aint taxed, you cant drive, or even park it on the road. I'm not being 'holier than thou' I've driven without tax plenty of times, and I agree that it is a bit strict. I'm just saying that the copper was right on that count.

Shiva

zuutroy wrote:

I'm just saying that the copper was right on that count.

You get some leeway with a newly purchased car though, no ?

You can't tax a newly purchased car without the registration cert in your name, so how can you tax it ?

zuutroy

The leeway is up to the Garda's discretion. Not sure about the new car thing, you could have a point.

astraboy

They can only confiscate the car if the tax is out over 1 month I thought? Obviously, if the car was recently registered then it would be impossible to tax it without all the documentation, in this case an insurance cert. The cop would want to have a large chip on his shoulder to do someone without tax on a newly registered car through no fault of their own, I'd say in most cases a little common sense is applied and some lee way is given

Esel

astraboy wrote:

They can only confiscate the car if the tax is out over 1 month I thought?

Over 3 months.

overdriver

I can't imagine every judge would be sympathetic to a Garda bringing a case like that to court. He'd run the risk of a bollocking, I would say.


If this guy had been able to comfortably, I have no doubt he'd have done me!


Astraboy, it's a 1970 Triumph 2000 saloon. I'll have pics tomorrow!

bo-bo

esel wrote:

Over 3 months.

its 2 months now, sorry for being pedantic

Rudolph Claus

bo-bo wrote:

its 2 months now, sorry for being pedantic

Is that definite? I always thought it was 3months, then other folk said 1month and now i hear 2months. Why did they change it, have they nothing better to be doing, with all the crap leinent laws for murderers/joyriders and general scumbags but they decide to change the law that affects genuine law abiding people in general. :mad:

Spitfire666

@ rabies : Fair enough. just thought it might have been a younger guy.


aout the tax thing, it used to be 3months before a car would be seized, it has been changed in the last few months to 2months. It was never 1 month.

And im 100% certain about that, well about the 2 and 3 month side of it. it may have been 1 months years and years and years ago, but you know what i mean.

overdriver

Ta Spit. Nice as always to get correct info from the horse's mouth, so to speak.
What about the situation where a car has not yet been taxed in the state, as opposed to the tax being expired?

Mr.Diagnostic

Nuttzy wrote:

Is that definite? I always thought it was 3months, then other folk said 1month and now i hear 2months. Why did they change it, :

I know someone who tows siezed cars away for the Guards. He told me recently that it had changed to 2 months.


In general I think that most Guards behave in a professional manner but there will always be a few, human nature I guess. They do a job that I would not want to do.
I had an experience like this a few years ago. In my case the Guard seemed to know the law but for some reason he decieded to be unreasonable.
He stopped me at 8AM on the 1st of the month and asked why both my insurance and tax were out of date, thats 8 hours out of date! I had my cheque book with the stub showing the payment to renew the insurance, the recepit from the broker and the tax renewal form with the cheque in the envelope to go to the tax office that day.
The Guard (who looked about 12 yrs old) kept asking where was my insurance. No matter what way I answered he kept saying this car is not insured, show me the insurance, over and over!
So the upshot was he made me late, delayed me for about 15 mins and I had to go to the station to produce later.
I wonder how many people drove past the checkpoint that day who were not legal.

overdriver

I was stopped by a Garda in Wicklow who demanded I produce my insurance, but refused to look at the cert then and there, as I had it in the car.

Presumably so it would be on the computer, but his attitude stank. He could have just told me that was why he wouldn't look at it.

Esel

overdriver wrote:

I was stopped by a Garda in Wicklow who demanded I produce my insurance, but refused to look at the cert then and there, as I had it in the car.

That can't be appropriate? I always carry licence and insurance cert, and have had gardai look at them after they started to require me to produce them within ten days etc.

If a garda refused to inspect my documents on the spot when I had proffered them, I would certainly ask why.
Of course, that would make you a troublemaker in their squinty eyes.

overdriver

The exact words: " No, I'm NOT looking at that now - I've told you to produce them, produce them".


He was an asshole, that guy.

_Kaiser_

That was my point earlier. It's the aggressive, confrontational attitude of many of these cops - especially when they're caught in the wrong themselves - that's one of their biggest problems. These clowns seem to think that a badge somehow places them above the public, but they forget who's paying their wages!

One of these muppets was tailgating me (in presumably his own car on his way home out west) one Saturday afternoon to where I couldn't see his bonnet in the rearview mirror. I was in the overtaking lane in heaving but flowing traffic doing about 70/80 in an 80 zone passing heavy but slower moving traffic in the inside lane.

After watching him for about 2 minutes I slowed smoothly but right down to about 40, all the while watching this clown in the mirror. This got me a flash of the headlights and at the next lights, out he hops and produces a badge.

He then tries to give out to me for "hogging" the fast lane (fast lane?), so I replies that firstly I'm driving at the limit and overtaking slower traffic so I've every right to be there, and ask him what HE was doing tailgating me, and asked if he realised this is illegal?

Clearly this took the muppet aback as he starts to walk off and muttered something about if he was on duty I'd be getting points and should go read the rules of the road, to which I reply that he should go check up the section about leaving a gap between himself and the car in front, roll up the window and drive on.

And then they wonder why many people have such a low opinion of them! :rolleyes:

Wishbone Ash

overdriver - you were very patient. I wouldn't have put up with that crap from a stupid Garda. I would have requested him to go ahead and prosecute me and see what part of the Statute Book he based it on.

I used to have a 1989 car with the plain white plates. Regularly at checkpoints I was told that they were illegal as they didn't have the Euro logo, county label etc. I used to quote the relevant part of the SI to whatever ignoramus was wasting my time.

Last Christmas I was stopped by a motorcycle cop while shooting down the inbound bus lane in Drumcondra. I explained that it is open between 10 and 12 but he asks "Why then, are all these other drivers queued up in the right hand lane?". I say "maybe the can't read".

He strolls back to read the sign while many of the muppets in the queue are sounding their horns thinking I've been caught. PC plod comes back and just waves me on - no apology or any chance for anyone to see his big red face inside the helmet.

And he was a traffic cop. :rolleyes: and the other muppets continued to queue on the right oblivious to the rule about staying to the left! :rolleyes:

_Kaiser_

I think we've established at this stage that a lot of the cops have no more clue about the laws of the road (or their jobs in general) than most citizens.

Of course in their defence, a lot of the laws contradict themselves, are vague, and ultimately come down to the judgement of the cop you get on the scene. And it's not just the motoring regulations - for example, take a look at the debate raging on AH about the 17 year old girl and the abortion laws.

What is it about Ireland and the Irish that we're incapable of governing ourselves and legislating appropriately without it all hinging on the individual opinion of who you get on the day? :mad:

UrbanFox

Maybe we should subcontract traffic policing in Ireland to one of the UK traffic police outfits on a trial basis !

Those guys are seriously not funny when it comes to enforcement and they can be highly professionally intimidating.........:)

This would free up more of our brave boys and girls to protect McDowell's house for the next and last three weeks of his tenure as a Minister.....

LostinBlanch

zuutroy wrote:

Any car over 30. OP, strictly speaking he could've done you for no tax. If you dont have a valid tax disk, the car can't be on a public road, with no exceptions.

Not strictly true. Years ago my father bought a car in a private sale from car for sale ad in the herald. It belonged to the Swiss ambassador and the tax office wouldn't tax it as it still had diplomatic immunity!

I'm sure that kind of thing still applies! Don't know though.