Christmas Check Points

JackFrosty

Done alot of late night driving in south tipp over xmas, no check points

TheNog

In fairness there have been many frosty nights with icy roads so not a great time to be doing checkpoints

eringobragh

TheNog wrote: »

In fairness there have been many frosty nights with icy roads so not a great time to be doing checkpoints

Ah sure don't sweat it, we're well (unfortunately) used to it over here "Never a Garda insite when ye need one" ...........

ottostreet

i was looking forward to going through some good ould checkpoints over christmas. nothing better. many's the time myself and a friend have gone driving around dublin specifically looking for one to go through. was massively disappointed. not one! dont want any now. my tax is out.

Top Dog

Covered about 2000 miles in the past 3 weeks stretching from Cork to Ennis and over as far as New Ross. Not a single checkpoint, and I was travelling at all hours of the day.

I always laugh when I hear the news of the Garda Blitz over the holiday period - I'd say in the past 5 years I've seen 1 checkpoint over the seasonal times. And that includes 1 Christmas being based in Dublin and travelling to Cork, Wexford & Clare.

Tech3

met one checkpoint beofre christmas near balindine on the n17 tax insurance

been driving all over the place during christmas including kerry-donegal and back and didnt come across any checkpoint

HPT

DublinDilbert wrote: »

Its the first Christmas in years that i didn't even see 1 check point, have asked a couple of people and they hadn't seen any either. I was driving pretty much every day / evening and drove up the north twice and not a sign of one.

I would even go so far as to say in December there was less check points than you'd normally see.

Ditto!

I have just seen two checkpoints since moving back to Ireland at the start of September and I have done a good few thousand miles around the country. The first was in October there were only two guards so I and a lot of other cars just drove through while one of the guards gave a lecture to someone and the other guard was checking cars going the other way. The 2nd was new years day again just tax and insurance.

Esel

'Just tax and insurance' is what you think. Only the guards themselves know the real reason for the checkpoint.

here.from.day.1

Did a good bit over December, 1-3 hours a day/night around the north east (Newry - Drog - Navan - Dublin - Maynooth - Carlow) and I didnt even see a checkpoint let alone get stopped.

ToxicPaddy

Saw 3 checkpoints, one had a number of plain clothes gardai in vests with guns holstered waiting at the side, obviously looking for someone..

Wasnt stopped at any, just waved through, didnt even check tax and insurance or the usual stick the head in the window to check for the fumes of drink..
usually have the window rolled down and ready to stop anyway just in case when I pull up to a checkpoint.

mcwhirter

Didn't see any checkpoints around ashbourne, navan, slane trim kilcock areas. It was quieter this year than last

Sully

There was a checkpoint by UCD in Dublin early January. Garda Traffic doing them.

Paulw

I was stopped by a checkpoint on the 31st. Quick "good evening officer" and was waved on.

colsers22

I was driving a lot over xmas, I wasn;t stopped once.. I only saw one checkpoint on the N4 in Dublin, but I was going the opposite direction. Anyway, check points shouldn't worry people. Just don't drink and drive, simple!!

OldmanMondeo

Interesting to read, as most I did quite a bit of driving over the christmas period and only meet the 1. We are told to expect a higher Garda presence at Christmas, yet 4 pages in and few were stopped for more than tax and insurance.

So much for the Christmas Drink driving crackdown.

OldmanMondeo

colsers22 wrote: »

Anyway, check points shouldn't worry people. Just don't drink and drive, simple!!

The point of the thread is not about worrying about the check points, it's about the lack of them even though we were advise of a clamp down.

Heroditas

ottostreet wrote: »

did around 3500 miles in december. one checkpoint. on the quays just past heuston station in dublin. huge one. garda cars, unmarked cars, and lots of executive saloons all pulled over. all being breathalysed it appeared. i was waved through without a second glance. it was very exciting! that was early december. i was also pulled over once, but thats a different story.

Was that on a Monday night? I remember seeing all the cars being pulled over.

embraer170

Did about 1000 miles between Christmas/New Years through Kerry, Limerick, Clare, Galway, Dublin, Cork including a lot of late night driving... not a single checkpoint.

galwaytt

First garda checkpoint I've come across in 10yrs, on dual carriageway to Oranmore, on 1st Jan, at 10:15a.m. approx.

Got to blow in bag. Curious. Fanta/7Up doesn't register, apparently.

The SO in the pass seat, oth, would have been worth a giggle.

Anyway, best bit was.......heading towards the checkpoint, 2 cars pull in to hard shoulder. One, a 95 reg Camry. He then (I kid you not), does a u-turn.....and drives back up the outer/overtaking/fast/:rolleyes:/ lane, to avoid the checkpoint. Against the traffic.

At this stage, I could see that the guys at the checkpoint could see this maneouvre, and they had a squad car in the hard shoulder, running, headlights modulating, facing the 'wrong way'........and, using their binoculars, they spot the Camry, jump in the Mondeo.

Now - the good bit: A 1/2 mile ahead before the checkpoint, on the hard shoulder, is a........silver, 3-aerieled, 07 D reg Mondeo, running. Want to guess who was sitting in that ??

I'd just love to have been a fly on the (windscreen) for that encounter !!:D