Gardai Speed Traps 'Hiding in Ditches' -Caught Today.

TheNog

ytareh wrote: »

Around 815/830am this morning on Prosperous - Kilmeague(Kildare) road well after the Prosperous GAA club junction I had a motor bike Garda (in the black leathers with not a hint of high viz yellow and this in the barely post dawn darkness on a foggy enough morning ) jump out in front of me waving me to halt .I assumed there was a crash up ahead or something serious like an escaped prisoner on the loose or something ,seriously!He informed me that he had caught me on his hand held speed camera doing well over the 50kmh limit 'back the road' .Now I admit I WAS doing well over 50kmh but NOT well over the 80kmh limit that is in place on every 'secondary' country road in Ireland and was in place at the point he was hiding (but not 'back the road' obviously) .

at 8.15am it is bright. There is no need to pretend that there was any inkling of darkness. You admit you were doing well over the 50kph but yet you complain you were caught speeding. Tbh I cannot see the sense in your arguement. You cannot say do were not well behind a 80kph limit cos you were not driving in a 80 zone.

ytareh wrote: »

I felt aggrieved because :
1 I reckon there is a VERY good chance the 'gun' was showing at least 5 kmh more than I was actually doing .I am VERY atuned to the speed Im driving as far as is humanly possible -you have to be nowadays -your attention is as much on the potential hiding spots of the 'Traps' as other hazards..And I am aware that the cars speedo usually over reads by at least a few kmh .

Why do you reckon the gun gave a false reading. These lazer guns are calibrated every 2-3 months to ensure accuracy. If you feel you have a case then let the 56 days run out and go to court. You will need more than the assumptions you have posted above.

ytareh wrote: »

2 This must be one of the horrible towns where there is no (or a very short) 60 kmh 'transition' zone and an interminably long 50kmh zone -is Kildavin /Kildangan the name of a town near Athy with a similar limit that goes on FOREVER?) .There were no houses for hundreds of yards or more behind me .He claimed he had recorded me 140 yards (yes he actually claimed that level of accuracy!) behind the 'town limits' at the point he recorded my speed.I knew Kilmeague was a former fave spot for the Traffic Corps but never saw a Garda in prosperous in my life....

If you are driving from a 80 to a 60 to 50 in a very short distance then use your brakes. Thats what they are there for. You didn't set the speed limit and neither did the guard.

ytareh wrote: »

3 I was going more than 60% over the posted limit "allegedly'(!)...as such wasnt I at risk of a court appearance and likely severe penalty...?I reckon hed have to have some neck to summons someone under the circumstances he 'caught' me .There was no hard shoulder, the road I was on is practically, if not literally 'out in the countryside'.He told me to pull in to the left as much as possible but I was still stopping all the traffic coming behind me .

The guard can summons you if he wishes and is well entitled to under traffic law.

There is no hard shoulder on the majority of roads in Ireland. If a man was stopped for drunk driving where did ye think they were asked to pull over?

ytareh wrote: »

4 I have been trying to get a form stamped in a Garda station for the last fortnight and every one I go to is shut whenever I visit !!!Its like they are becoming a secret society or something!All hiding in ditches ???

Then go to a big station that is open 24hrs a day. Smaller stations actually need their guards to be out and about.

ytareh wrote: »

5 Quite a few people I spoke to at work today had stories of being caught by 'hidden' police recently.They obviously are on a serious revenue increasing exercise .The days of scanning ahead to see the yellow jackets are obviously gone ...youre wasting your time now at that .Visual deterent how are ya !?

It has nothing to do with revenue but has everything to do with reducing deaths and serious injury on our roads.

ytareh wrote: »

6 So I now have two points on my licence ,so what ?Am I now meant to drive like a nun having got my slap on the wrists .I have a 2 hour daily commute which would be 30 mins longer if I stopped driving 'a bit over the limit '-say 10-15 kmh (less than 10mph in old money !!!)I would need the guts of an an extra hour I reckon if I were to drive comletely UNDER the limit .Lifes too short .Thats five hours a week less with my babies ,maybe 50% less time Mon -Fri!!!

2 hrs is a long time to travel every day so I suggest moving house or get a new job nearer to home. That way you will not have to speed to see your babies.

ytareh wrote: »

I wouldnt mind but theyve already sucked all the pleasure out of driving in the last 5 -10 years .Happy, distant memories the days when you could do well over 100 mph on a daily basis unmolested .They would lock you up now and probably have you on the Nine O Clock news as well if they caught you nowadays. Its depressing ...Ah well ....CAUGHT after 15 years ,ironically the last of which I have been driving the slowest ever .
Sorry for the rant ...oldest story in the book I suppose ,caught right at the town limits ...Beware !

In the last 5-10 yrs fatalites have been reduced and are continuing to reduce. If that removes your pleasure of driving then so be it. As for anyone doing 100mph I say arrest the eejit and let a judge decide/

eringobragh

TheNog wrote: »

Why do you reckon the gun gave a false reading. These lazer guns are calibrated every 2-3 months to ensure accuracy. If you feel you have a case then let the 56 days run out and go to court. You will need more than the assumptions you have posted above.

:pac: Your having a Laugh right?...Accuracy...You jest!! I suggest you read up on 'the slip effect' ...Because it would even sent a person doing the actual speed limit well over. http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/southwest/series7/speed-cameras.shtml


I know for a fact that our LIDARs not calibrated every year let alone every 2 - 3 months.

Anyways all the LIDAR here is Self-Calibrated it will fail is Power On Self test otherwise...(Only scope alignment is really checked on service/"Calibration)

NinjaTruncs

Aren't these posts getting a bit old? they all follow the same format,

• User complains about getting a speeding ticket.
• Other posts attack him for breaking the law.
• Different set of uses tell attackers to get off high horses
• Thread descends into nit picking of what each and every poster says.

IMO these threads have very little to do with motoring, only because these offences happened in a car. These threads are just a way for the OP to vent his/her anger at getting caught doing something that probably 90%+ of drivers do on a daily basis.

How about we have a mega-thread for these kind of posts rather than clogging up the forum with speeding fine venting threads which seem to appear every couple of days. Just my thoughts.

kippy

NinjaTruncs wrote: »

Aren't these posts getting a bit old? they all follow the same format,

• User complains about getting a speeding ticket.
• Other posts attack him for breaking the law.
• Different set of uses tell attackers to get off high horses
• Thread descends into nit picking of what each and every poster says.

IMO these threads have very little to do with motoring, only because these offences happened in a car. These threads are just a way for the OP to vent his/her anger at getting caught doing something that probably 90%+ of drivers do on a daily basis.

How about we have a mega-thread for these kind of posts rather than clogging up the forum with speeding fine venting threads which seem to appear every couple of days. Just my thoughts.

Agree.
Galwaytt, I think we agree in the most with each other.
Kippy

E92

NinjaTruncs wrote: »

IMO these threads have very little to do with motoring, only because these offences happened in a car. These threads are just a way for the OP to vent his/her anger at getting caught doing something that probably 90%+ of drivers do on a daily basis.

How about we have a mega-thread for these kind of posts rather than clogging up the forum with speeding fine venting threads which seem to appear every couple of days. Just my thoughts.

+1.

Although the moderating in this forum has improved dramatically in recent weeks, and let's keep it that way please, we devote far too much space in motors for things that are motoring related but not really car related.

I think threads like these should really be in Commuting and Transport anyway, but that's just my opinion.

superjosh9

For all those that commented on how great it was the OP got done or 'nailed' for speeding, how's that back-bone working out?

Nerds.

Try running a business that gets robbed blind everyday and then tell me the gardai are in the right place.

And just in case you didn't know, there *are* people out there that drive above the speed-limit every single day - and manage to do so safely - and who indeed also have never have - and never will - have any major accidents. It's down to the person. If you can't drive fast or feel uncomfortable doing so - then don't. If you can drive fast safely - then do.

5-10 years ago, you could drive fast - indeed you could drive *normally* and not feel bad or even worried. Now you have to drive with more concentration on the speedo than on the road. And what's happened? People are still dying on the roads...

mick.fr

ytareh wrote: »

"Speeding in this country costs you less than throwing a gun in the street.
Try to understand..."

No I dont understand ...Throwing a GUN???!!!


As for the sarcastic 'mod' ...Did you not read the post ...?I was 'caught' well past any place a human might be likely to appear -even a child carrying a watering can as in your informative video.By the way that particular advertising and enforcement campaign-Dont Drive the Extra 5 (mph) was scuppered by both the soul destroying ,mind numbing boredom of having to drive for long stretches at under 30mph and by the hypocrisy of UK police chiefs being caught at well over these limits and 'squashing ' their own summonses/tickets .Obviously INSIDE the town -this one in particular,Prosperous- you could be driving at 30-40 kmh for safety and common sense reasons...but well beyond the last house/shop/club etc its pointless (except for avoiding the revenue generators...)

Sorry I meant to write Gum, not Gun...
Meaning that speeding is a minor offense in Ireland.
Only 2 points and 80 quids.
While throwing a Gum away costs you 130 euro.

kippy

superjosh9 wrote: »

For all those that commented on how great it was the OP got done or 'nailed' for speeding, how's that back-bone working out?

Nerds.

Try running a business that gets robbed blind everyday and then tell me the gardai are in the right place.

And just in case you didn't know, there *are* people out there that drive above the speed-limit every single day - and manage to do so safely - and who indeed also have never have - and never will - have any major accidents. It's down to the person. If you can't drive fast or feel uncomfortable doing so - then don't. If you can drive fast safely - then do.

5-10 years ago, you could drive fast - indeed you could drive *normally* and not feel bad or even worried. Now you have to drive with more concentration on the speedo than on the road. And what's happened? People are still dying on the roads...

Have you read any of the preceeding posts?
I dont give a fiddling fcuk that there are people on the roads that drive over the speed limits, have never had an accident are are never likely to do so. It's the clowns who drive at dangerous speeds when the conditions are not suitable for it that piss me off.
Sadly, ALL of us need to follow the rules of the road in order to make it a safer lace for us all.
I am sick and tired of these topics.
Kippy

geoff29

superjosh9 wrote: »

For all those that commented on how great it was the OP got done or 'nailed' for speeding, how's that back-bone working out?

Nerds...

Tis the Irish psyche.

ytareh

Im the OP of this thread and sure I was just venting ...I expected a few negative posts but was surprised by the amount ...Its a sad reality that a lot of the 'youth' coming through today have been 'brainwashed 'by the authorities to feel that driving over the speed limit is actually on a par with drink driving or even smoking cigarettes (!)Its amazing the number of fast lane hoggers who turn out to be young guys in their 20s not grey haired grannies...
Ive managed to drive for the last 15 odd years without accident doubtless much to the surprise of all the 'negative'posters here while speeding every time I went out on the road (it even sounds dirty LOL).Of course Im bitter I was 'caught'.
I dont know what sort of statistics these people have in their heads with their Speed Kills mantra but when does it all end ?When there is a blanket 30kmh limit (and man with a red flag in front of every car?)Much as I hate to admit it the 'guards'have done a VERY good job of putting the fear of God into most people and Im sure average speeds have plumetted in the last decade..Days of boasting of doing Dublin-Galway /Cork etc in X hours are well gone ...But its well past the point (no pun intended) where the public are onside .If you make 80% of the population (Seriously if you were to stand on the side of the Naas Rd and measure the people doing UNDER 100kmh it would have to be a TINY minority ...maybe as little as 5-10%-just amazing so many of THEM in here!!!))criminals and even compell them to go to court to stand beside REAL criminals you are only undermining the respect the population have for the Gardai which I feel is falling fairly steadily .
I dont know whether it will give heart to the petrolheads (who will see the hypocrisy also)
or sicken the 'goody goodies'(so a win win all round) but there are actually lots of Gardai(probably including plenty of 'revenue collectors) who drive /ride seriously fast machinery well in excess of the posted limits -and not while ón the job'...
For me the days of motoring being a passion are gone .I never thought Id say it but a car is really as exciting to me now as a microwave or cutlery .High costs and especially draconian rules of the road enforcement have made owning a (performance) car a fraction of the fun it once was.

Finally....

As for this poster

"Glad the OP got caught


But i do have to say most limits in this country are total balls"

Get help for that schizophrenia -you cant be a 'boy racer'AND a 'goody goody'!!!

kippy

OP,
I can see what you are saying but the bottom line, despite all else you say, is that you broke the law and got caught.
Kippy