Traffic Corps Program on RTE

McSpud

Only saw the last few minutes where they caught the guy making a break for the border.

The trailer for next week where a "driver is arrested for drinking driving" didn't spund too exciting.

keefg

A lot of people will obviously compare Traffic Blue to Road Wars, but I think it is more comparable with the BBC's version (I think it's just called Traffic Cops) that Jamie Theakston narrates.

The format is almost exactly the same as the BBC version where they cut from the roadside "action" to a studio interview with the officer.

This programme reminds me of my old school reports......"Could do better"

The production company needs to have a lot more camera crews out with the patrols, failing that, they should rig up a lot more cars with dash cams to capture the action.

furtzy

Stekelly wrote: »

Just watching it online now. Have to say I'm fairly appaled at the young Donegal lad getting let on his way.

Steam billowing from a missing coolant cap, provisional licence, bits missing off the car and the car on UK plates (the gard says "it's not cleared" then the blurred plate looks fairly yellow to me) and form for speeding. How many reasons do they need to fine the guy and/or take the car off him? Hugely unprofessional bit of footage to be shown. You'd think with the cameras on they'd be playing it by the book not more or less encouraging a dangerous situation to arise.

It'd be interesting to get an opinion on it from TheNog or one of the other members of AGS around.

I emailed the RSA outlining my disgust at the above incident and got this reply from Noel Brett this morning

Thank you for this email. I have this morning viewed the show and have been in contact directly with Garda HQ

I appreciate your e mail and support for road safety.

Regards

Noel Brett
Noel Brett
CEO

Hopefully it will have some impact

Tigger

roadwars wrote: »

Lose lose for the guards then is it?? If this was you or I or someone we knew, i think we would be over the moon that we only got 2 penalty points. It was good policing using discretion and I presume what the guard would like to have happen to him if he was in the drivers situation. Probably be best to dismount from the high horse before you collapse from oxygen deprivation

breaking a red light is serious

"keep her lit"
:eek:

furtzy

furtzy wrote: »

I emailed the RSA outlining my disgust at the above incident and got this reply from Noel Brett this morning

Thank you for this email. I have this morning viewed the show and have been in contact directly with Garda HQ

I appreciate your e mail and support for road safety.

Regards

Noel Brett
Noel Brett
CEO

Hopefully it will have some impact

You must have a lot of time on your hands.

I dont see the problem in giving a young lad starting out a chance. Throwing the book at him would be of no benefit and he does have to report to the jlo. They will be keeping a good eye out for him im sure so he will either cop himself on or get caught again at which point they could punish him.

I thought it wasnt a bad programme and I was glad to see the Gardai being fair rather than that tough cop do everyone for everything crap you see on road wars.

delly

In relation to the 'keep her lit' comment, would it make more sense that he could have been referring to the drivers indicator or something similar?

stealthyspeeder

furtzy wrote: »

I emailed the RSA outlining my disgust at the above incident and got this reply from Noel Brett this morning

If I got up that high on my high horse, i'd get altitude sickness :eek::eek:

L-M

Jasmine Black Driver wrote: »

You must have a lot of time on your hands.

I dont see the problem in giving a young lad starting out a chance. Throwing the book at him would be of no benefit and he does have to report to the jlo. They will be keeping a good eye out for him im sure so he will either cop himself on or get caught again at which point they could punish him.

I thought it wasnt a bad programme and I was glad to see the Gardai being fair rather than that tough cop do everyone for everything crap you see on road wars.

But he was already caught for doing 138??

furtzy

Jasmine Black Driver wrote: »

You must have a lot of time on your hands.

I dont see the problem in giving a young lad starting out a chance. Throwing the book at him would be of no benefit and he does have to report to the jlo. They will be keeping a good eye out for him im sure so he will either cop himself on or get caught again at which point they could punish him.

I thought it wasnt a bad programme and I was glad to see the Gardai being fair rather than that tough cop do everyone for everything crap you see on road wars.

Nah only took 2 minutes to send the mail. Hopefully it won't be one of your family he plows into after been let drive on. If you think letting a 17 year provisional licenced driver in a wreck of a car who had previously being caught doing 138 continue driving then you have a fairly warped view of driving

furtzy

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

If I got up that high on my high horse, i'd get altitude sickness :eek::eek:

High horse my arse. Same old ****e that gets posted on this forum all the time.

You'd be the one crying if this twat or similar ploughed into you after being stopped by the Gardai and let continue....grow up...stealthyspeeder....says it all

BlackWizard

furtzy wrote: »

Nah only took 2 minutes to send the mail. Hopefully it won't be one of your family he plows into after been let drive on. If you think letting a 17 year provisional licenced driver in a wreck of a car who had previously being caught doing 138 continue driving then you have a fairly warped view of driving

It might not be the same guy though. It could be some young lad (or thousands of young lads) that seen this show and just got his first car. He doesn't care if he gets caught speeding. The Gardai will just "slap him on the wrist" if he gets caught.

Maybe it was one of stealthyspeeders friends that was on that video. That's why he is so defensive of this kind of behaviour.

edanto

I liked the show, and will keep an eye out for another episode.

It really struck me that the young fella and the guy in the jeep got away practically scot free and that maybe I shouldn't be so worried about respecting speed limits, red lights, or even worrying about having a roadworthy car.

I know from my own experience that the chances of being caught are already fairly slim and now it seems that even if you do get caught, you'll only get a slap on the wrist anyways.

The guy in the jeep's situation was just ridiculous. There was clear evidence of speeding - they knew what speed they were doing when he sped past, and then had to do mad speeds to catch up with him, so even if they weren't able to match his speed and know it exactly, surely they could prove that it was over the speed limit?

Then, they had video evidence of the unindicated lane change, and breaking the light. I don't know what the legal definition of dangerous driving is... but.... to let him off with just a postal ticket for 2 points is pure lazy.

Did those Garda think that the traffic laws are just recommendations?

It was a great show, seemed to be editorially neutral, and let the Garda speak for themselves and by their actions allowed us to judge their decision making ability.

I'm sure those Donegal Garda were well intentioned, but you just don't let an unaccompanied driver off by himself in an unroadworthy car, you call his parents and get them or someone else there to the side of the road with you. Hopefully the rest of the series will have more clangers like that and the force will have to pull up its socks.

stealthyspeeder

furtzy wrote: »

High horse my arse. Same old ****e that gets posted on this forum all the time.

You'd be the one crying if this twat or similar ploughed into you after being stopped by the Gardai and let continue....grow up...stealthyspeeder....says it all

Sending a mail to the RSA over an incident you saw on television, where you werent there! how can you presume to know it all? Guards have a discretionary power for a reason, who do you think you are going round telling them they are not doing their job properly? (in my opinion, somebody who is up nosebleed high on his horse!) there may be underlying information which is completely unknown to you. Maybe you should consider this before you start mouthing off.

Also when I picked my username, I was thinking of how to describe my type of car using 2 adjectives, nothing to do with my personality, but you werent aware of that when you told me to grow up. So maybe you should do a bit of research before you go around giving out.

BlackWizard wrote: »

Maybe it was one of stealthyspeeders friends that was on that video. That's why he is so defensive of this kind of behaviour.

Not at all. In fact my comment was on the actions of a boards member, nothing to do with the incident, the lad, the guards or the type of behaviour. Catch a grip of yourself.

furtzy

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

Sending a mail to the RSA over an incident you saw on television, where you werent there! how can you presume to know it all? Guards have a discretionary power for a reason, who do you think you are going round telling them they are not doing their job properly? (in my opinion, somebody who is up nosebleed high on his horse!) there may be underlying information which is completely unknown to you. Maybe you should consider this before you start mouthing off.

Also when I picked my username, I was thinking of how to describe my type of car using 2 adjectives, nothing to do with my personality, but you werent aware of that when you told me to grow up. So maybe you should do a bit of research before you go around giving out.

What I seen was two Gardai allowing an unlicenced driver simply continue driving it what deemed was a wreck so I don't need to have been there. How can you defend their actions?

Let me tell you a story so as to outline why this pissed me off so much so as to send the mail

In January 1992 after leaving me off at a friends house my Dad was hit by a drunk driver whilst driving home. The impact was so severe as to completely rip the drivers side of the car off. The drivers seat ended up imbedded in the rear seats. Only for his quick thinking to aim his car for the hedge when he seen the other car on the wrong side of the road he would have been killed instantly. My father miracously got off with minor injuries thanks to the side impact bars in the car. After seeing the damage to the car the next day he was blessed

The f**ker in the other vehicle was so drunk he had fallen asleep at the wheel with his foot to the floor. To make things worse it came to light at the following court case that the local Gardai had observed this bastard driving erractily not 15 minutes earlier and for whatever reason didn't try to stop him. So if you think inaction by the Gardai is ok then you obviously haven't had to recieve a phone call telling you your father was involved in a major crash....its bloody horrible.

Also at the court case it came to light that he was the local school bus driver and was due to start work 6 hour later. He was a well known figure locally and we got the impresion during the court case that the Gardai knew him very well so to this day I reckon thats why they didn't pull him over

BlackWizard

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

Sending a mail to the RSA over an incident you saw on television, where you werent there! how can you presume to know it all? Guards have a discretionary power for a reason, who do you think you are going round telling them they are not doing their job properly? (in my opinion, somebody who is up nosebleed high on his horse!) there may be underlying information which is completely unknown to you. Maybe you should consider this before you start mouthing off.

When I was reading that I just kept thinking I wonder if he supports Fianna Fail too.. Just turn a blind eye lads. Keep your head in the sand. We know what's best. It's our way or the highway. Don't question us. :P

What many of us seen on that show seemed kind of odd, it just didn't seem right or fair. I personally felt let down by the Gardai. Anyone is well within their rights to bring this section of the TV show to the attention of whomever they want. Even if there was more to it than meets the eye people can seek clarification on the issue if they wish.

You obviously have some sort of vested interest which is aligned somehow with the people caught offending on these shows because you really haven't come out and said why you are defending them so defiantly.

Removed

stealthyspeeder

Thats never happened to me, but I can imagine it would not be pleasant. Now with that information, it would appear that you have personal motivation and not just a self rightous busybody with too much time on your hands. However without knowing the full story and all the information, impressions can be wrong. I am not defending the guards or the driver, I just thought you were on the auld high horse, but your not, you have a genuinne reason for your actions. By the same token, without knowing the all the information that the people involved in the episode knew, I personally would not take action as my impression could easily be wrong.

-Chris-

Attack the post, not the poster.

This is possibly getting a little personal.

BlackWizard

Yeah it was. I take back the last paragraph

peasant

The law (especially something as simple as traffic law) shouldn't be open to interpretation.
Fine, letting someone away with a warning for a minor offence but the cases of the youngfella in DL and the speeder in the SUV weren't minor, not at all.

stealthyspeeder

BlackWizard wrote: »

When I was reading that I just kept thinking I wonder if he supports Fianna Fail too.. Just turn a blind eye lads. Keep your head in the sand. We know what's best. It's our way or the highway. Don't question us. :P

No

BlackWizard wrote: »

What many of us seen on that show seemed kind of odd, it just didn't seem right or fair. I personally felt let down by the Gardai. Anyone is well within their rights to bring this section of the TV show to the attention of whomever they want. Even if there was more to it than meets the eye people can seek clarification on the issue if they wish.

In the same way that anyone is well within their rights to poke fun at individuals who they may percieve (originally in this case) to be overzealous high horseriding busybodies!

BlackWizard wrote: »

You obviously have some sort of vested interest which is aligned somehow with the people caught offending on these shows because you really haven't come out and said why you are defending them so defiantly.

Oh dear, did someone not read read my post? here it is again for you

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

Not at all. In fact my comment was on the actions of a boards member, nothing to do with the incident, the lad, the guards or the type of behaviour. Catch a grip of yourself.

*Edit /Removed

BlackWizard

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

Maybe you should read before you post! You have never met me, you dont know me, you do not know my personality, if you think you can make judgements on the effect ownership of my car has had on my personality, without any of the above you are quite clearly a bit of a muppet.

I've read your posts.

Seriously, just click on his name and go to view all posts.. Every second post is about speeding. Although in fairness it seems to be your "friend" a lot of the time. Either pissing off Gardai, racing cars on public streets or going 55kmph over the speed limit Thats just on page one.

Nearly all of your posts seem to bring controversy to the thread you are in.

-Chris-

Next personally directed comment gets an infraction.

jimmycrackcorm

peasant wrote: »

The law (especially something as simple as traffic law) shouldn't be open to interpretation.
Fine, letting someone away with a warning for a minor offence but the cases of the youngfella in DL and the speeder in the SUV weren't minor, not at all.

Bit of a contradiction in one sentence. I didn't catch what the young lad was stopped for - the speeding they mentioned was dealt with a month before and so was a separate issue.

stealthyspeeder

BlackWizard wrote: »

I've read your posts.

Seriously, just click on his name and go to view all posts.. Every second post is about speeding. Although in fairness it seems to be your "friend" a lot of the time. Either pissing off Gardai, racing cars on public streets or going 55kmph over the speed limit Thats just on page one.

Nearly all of your posts seem to bring controversy to the thread you are in.

Taken out of context on all three examples (but I can clearly see just from this thread that fully reading my posts is not your strong point)

No thread would be interesting if all the opinions were the same.

Send me a PM if you wanna have a slabber, im not ruining this thread anymore by answering your drivel.

furtzy

BlackWizard wrote: »

I've read your posts.

Seriously, just click on his name and go to view all posts.. Every second post is about speeding. Although in fairness it seems to be your "friend" a lot of the time. Either pissing off Gardai, racing cars on public streets or going 55kmph over the speed limit Thats just on page one.

Nearly all of your posts seem to bring controversy to the thread you are in.

Stealthyspeeder...Don't know you or what you get up to on the road but hopefully by reading my story it might make you think. I'm not on a crusade but what I seen on that programme pissed me off especially in light of all the calls from the gardai for people to change their driving habits. I've owned lots of cars and bikes over the past 19 years Fireblades, GTi's, SRi's etc but having had that wake up call when I was just 17 changed my views for life. All the bravado about speeding and my cars faster than yours amounts to f**k all when you see the damage a car crash can do

L-M

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Bit of a contradiction in one sentence. I didn't catch what the young lad was stopped for - the speeding they mentioned was dealt with a month before and so was a separate issue.

No full licence, no full licence driver, car wasn't VRT'd, therefore no tax or NCT, smoke billowing out from the bonnet where he hadn't put the coolant cap on, and the car generally in a bad state.

Guy:Incognito

How many other ways can the facts be presnted or what unknown circumstances coudl there be to allow a driver to drive off after being stopped when we know the following:

Provisionally licenced driver driving unnacompanied
Defective car
Car on foreign plates being driven illegally (plus not tax or NCT)
EDIT. No L plates



Add to that that he's already had his warning by being stopped previously doing 138 in a 100 zone.


Is there anythign there to suggest this young lad is learning anything by being sent on his way?

L-M

.

They've just stopped a car that's in bad repair, and the driver is just 17.... Where's the smoke coming outta? {to the camera}The car is obviously in poor condition, there's some smoke coming from the the bonnet, I'd imagine it's over heating. In general the car is very rough. Now, the young fella claims to have a driving licence, he doesn't have it with him. He's on a provisional licence and is unaccompanied....{chatter about condition of the car} I lost the water cap... "She needs water".

Although the car is in bad condition, they decide to give the driver a chance. "Your only starting out, you've no wing mirror, the car has smoke coming out of the bonnet, you've no L plates up, no full licence driver.

Turns out the driver has a previous speeding convinction in the same car. "138 in a 100, in this car?"

Sent to JLO etc. etc.

mle1324

alexmcred wrote: »

TBH I think it showed how far behind the UK we are when it comes to enforcement. It didn't do the Gardai any favors.

Yet again the Irish version of a show is fairly crap in comparison Road wars is much better.

On that note the Garda could do with a few Opel Vectra's with the 2.8l.Like the ones on Road Wars.The Mondeos are not the best when it comes to high speed chases

ironclaw

And the radio chatter "Lads... Rubber neckers..." Just so amateurish. No polish of the UK and any other modern police force.

The M50 Accident - Standing round, moving a car with no H&S gear (i.e. Hard Hats etc)

The usual Irish "Jesus, ya seen that.. Pah (Hand movement).. Thats what your up against... Jeezz"

They should stop airing it because a little more of my faith in the Gardai was lost last night.

Fair play to anyone in Blue here, I have the utmost respect for people when they put on that uniform but by god to we need to get with the times.

Pedro K

When they have your man stopped in the jeep and the gaurd says to him where do I start somebody drives by with a novelty horn! one of those "arooga!" sounds!

:pac:

Couldn't help but laugh at that one!

donvito99

ironclaw wrote: »

The M50 Accident - Standing round, moving a car with no H&S gear (i.e. Hard Hats etc)

Not practice anywhere in the world I should think.

The usual Irish "Jesus, ya seen that.. Pah (Hand movement).. Thats what your up against... Jeezz"

Sorry, whats wrong with this? They're people to ya know!

mle1324

donvito99 wrote: »

Not practice anywhere in the world I should think.


Sorry, whats wrong with this? They're people to ya know!

Agree with you there,people would be going mad if they talked like robots and using big fancy words that none of us use

Buffman

delly wrote: »

In relation to the 'keep her lit' comment, would it make more sense that he could have been referring to the drivers indicator or something similar?

He was telling the driver to be careful when pulling back into the fast lane, and to accelerate rapidly. This was because the idiot in the jeep had pulled in on the right hand side of the dual carriageway instead of the left.

The lad's responding to the M50 accident also seemed to take the slowest route possible. It looked like they were around the Conyngham Road/South Circular junction when they got the call, but proceeded through Chapelizod instead of shooting up the N4 dual carrageway.

Overall I think this program was a bad idea for the Garda, as their every move will be analysed with the benefit of hindsight.

murpheous81

Just watched said episode on RTE Player and have read most of the posts and the point coming across is that the traffic corp in different parts of the country interpret things differently.

So, if I drive past a garda car at speed, fail to pull over, drive through a red light, just missing the bikers, and receive more than was given to the jeep driver i.e. 2 points, could one use the tv show as judical precedence and get the penalty changed.

Surely anyone now who has felt hard done by comparing their case to the cases shown on telly could use the programme to reduce their penalty

eringobragh

Pedro K wrote: »

When they have your man stopped in the jeep and the gaurd says to him where do I start somebody drives by with a novelty horn! one of those "arooga!" sounds!

:pac:

Couldn't help but laugh at that one!

LOL that was fookin class! The Garda just stops for a second and looks.

BTW for viewers outside the Republic of Ireland, Irishdrivingbloopers uploaded Episode 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccszGuKUhoI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4fZoCq3kzM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni0ewp1ASzI

TheNog

Good God there is alot of talk of what should have happened but no one seems to know what can be done under the Road Traffic Acts.

For the young fella in Donegal:

While car was not in good condition (missing coolant cap) and missing wing mirror I would not consider it to be seriously defective as in to be a danger to other road users. I realise I may be wrong cos I dont have a whole lot of knowledge of motors but I am presuming the worst thing that could happen to that car is the engine seizing. Thats it.
Driving while on a learner permit is an offence but there is nothing under the Road Traffic Acts for us to take the car or to refuse the driver to continue. Same for the L plates.
VRT - cars seized for non payment of VRT is done under the Finance Act and yes we do have the power to do it. Once we seize the car we pass on the info to Customs who then follow it up to reclaim the money. However Customs would probably not go after the young fella mainly cos the car is a piece of crap and not worth the money spent for the VRT. Also the car would have to be recovered (€150 down my way) and stored costing the taxpayers ( you and me) more money for a car which would in all fairness probably have to be destroyed by the state and again costing us more money. The only solution to this is to make the owner pay all costs but that would require a change in law.
JLO - all youths under 18yrs old must and I say again must be referred to the JLO office first before any prosecution can take place. That is written in law. Some people will agree with it and some wont but there is nothing the Gardai can do about it.

Man on the M50:
He was speeding but the guards were unable to determine his speed or even his approximate speed. A guard cannt go into court and say "Well judge I reckon he was doing about 140kph" cos the judge or solicitor will then ask "how do you know he was doing 140kph?" Garda: "He looked to me he was doing 140kph"... Case struck out immediately. There is a couple of ways to clock a driver which works in evidence in court and they are either with the gun or if in a dangerous driving case an approximate speed taken from the patrol car speedometer while keeping level with the driver. From the episode the driver turned off the motorway before the unmarked could catch up to him. Lucky for him.
The only sure offence the driver could be caught on is the red light.


Alot of people here are claiming the law should be upheld but yet not one person has said which part of any act. I realise alot of people would have a rudimentary knowledge of the traffic laws but from watching the first episode I can see nothing wrong being done by any of the Gardai showed. In fact and considering it is the first episode and taking into account that yes mistakes will be made in its production, I am impressed with the result. There is room for improvement of course and I hope that will happen in future episodes.

eringobragh

TheNog wrote: »

For the young fella in Donegal:


Driving while on a learner permit is an offence but there is nothing under the Road Traffic Acts for us to take the car or to refuse the driver to continue. Same for the L plates.

:eek:

With all due respect, That is some fookin farce. Its no wonder people on Learner permits drive on their own. You think they would have thrown something into the Road Traffic Act.

TheNog

eringobragh wrote: »

:eek:

With all due respect, That is some fookin farce. Its no wonder people on Learner permits drive on their own. You think they would have thrown something into the Road Traffic Act.

It is but again nothing Gardai can do about it. We dont create the laws.

eringobragh

TheNog wrote: »

It is but again nothing Gardai can do about it. We dont create the laws.

Never said it was Should have been clearer, When I say 'they'..I was referring to the states legislators.

Guy:Incognito

TheNog wrote: »

For the young fella in Donegal:


Driving while on a learner permit is an offence but there is nothing under the Road Traffic Acts for us to take the car or to refuse the driver to continue. Same for the L plates..

What about the fines and or points brought in to combat these acts? Is it better to just ignore the indescretions? A fine might make him think about not doing it, lettign him away with it will encourage him to not bother changing anything.

Is there a point in bothering to have laws at all if Gards dont enforce them?

TheNog wrote: »

VRT - cars seized for non payment of VRT is done under the Finance Act and yes we do have the power to do it. Once we seize the car we pass on the info to Customs who then follow it up to reclaim the money. However Customs would probably not go after the young fella mainly cos the car is a piece of crap and not worth the money spent for the VRT. Also the car would have to be recovered (€150 down my way) and stored costing the taxpayers ( you and me) more money for a car which would in all fairness probably have to be destroyed by the state and again costing us more money. The only solution to this is to make the owner pay all costs but that would require a change in law.
.

What about the small matters of drivign an unregistered, untaxed and un nct'd car? More laws we shouldnt bother our hole having on the books?

What difference does the value of the car make?Does the law only apply to people with plenty of money?Is there a floor on the value of car the Gards will bother to do anythign about? It'd be handy to know for any people who dont fancy paying tax or getting an NCT. Or people who dont like the idea of being traceable.

What happens if that young lad runs down a kid and decides he doesnt fancy hanging around? Even if someone got the reg its **** all use because its registered to some other person in the UK.Would that be then worht going after the guy for?

I'm sorry but if the law isnt worth your while enforcing your really in the wrong job.

Zube

TheNog wrote: »

I am presuming the worst thing that could happen to that car is the engine seizing. Thats it.

That's it? The engine seizing is like a fatal heart attack: breakdowns don't get any worse than that!

Why do we bother with an NCT for saps like me if a mobile disaster like this can be waved on??

Madness!

TheNog

eringobragh wrote: »

Never said it was Should have been clearer, When I say 'they'..I was referring to the states legislators.

Hadnt meant to direct my last sentence to you but rather a reminder to all posters, is all.

Stekelly wrote: »

What about the fines and or points brought in to combat these acts? Is it better to just ignore the indescrtions?

Again the 17yr old will have to go through the JLO office. He may have been cautioned or he may have been recommended for court and prosecuted. We do not know.

Is there a point in bothering to have laws at all if Gards dont enforce them?

If you can be more specific on which traffic stop you are taking about I will try to answer your question

What about the small matters of drivign an unregistered, untaxed and un nct'd car? More laws we shouldnt bother our hole having on the books?

Again the guard said he was being reported to the JLO Office for this

What difference does the value of the car make?
Does the law only apply to people with plenty of money?
Is there a floor on the value of car the Gards will bother to do anythign about?

No
No and
No

It'd be handy to know for any people who dont fancy paying tax or getting an NCT. Or people who dont like the idea of being traceable.

Hey Im just telling ye the laws and how it works. Thats all

What happens if that young lad runs down a kid and decides he doesnt fancy hanging around? Even if someone got the reg its **** all use because its registered to some other person in the UK.Would that be then worht going after the guy for?

Hypothetical question really on something that didnt happen but believe it or not it is usually quite easy to trace the owner of the car even if it is registered in the UK. Would only take about 3 minutes.

I'm sorry but if the law isnt worth your while enforcing your really in the wrong job.

Ok so your turn. Im sure you have seen the episode so tell us what offences have been committed and how you would deal with them.

Im not being smart with you but Im simply showing you the constraints we operate under with the traffic acts.

TheNog

Zube wrote: »

That's it? The engine seizing is like a fatal heart attack: breakdowns don't get any worse than that!

Why do we bother with an NCT for saps like me if a mobile disaster like this can be waved on??

Madness!

NCT applies to vehicles registered in the state and we are presuming this car is NI.

If it is registered in the state, again the driver is 17yrs old so must go through the JLO office

Also how could an engine seizing cause an accident? (genuine question)

L-M

TheNog wrote: »

A guard cannt go into court and say "Well judge I reckon he was doing about 140kph" cos the judge or solicitor will then ask "how do you know he was doing 140kph?"

Could they not just say "Well I was doing 140kmph behind him, and I was just barely gaining ground. My spedometer is correctly calibrated and proof of driving at the speeds are on the camera?

Also could he not of been done for dangerous driving?

I can just imagine if I was doing that, and said "Oh I was late for a meeting", I'd get a right kick in the hole and more than two points just for running the red light.

I know you are only trying to make sense of what went on, and I thank you for actually taking on the challenge of responding to us angry Motors folk, but you cannot tell me that you think all he deserved were two points?

eringobragh

Zube wrote: »

That's it? The engine seizing is like a fatal heart attack: breakdowns don't get any worse than that!

Why do we bother with an NCT for saps like me if a mobile disaster like this can be waved on??

Madness!

x 2, and as for the learner permit part why do any of us even bother with the driving test if we can drive around more or less without hindrance. Will someone have to be killed before common sense prevails??

As for the above I'm referring to legislation its pretty daft that a garda can't stop a lad of 17(or any age for that ,matter) in his tracks in a car thats in bad repair and on a learner permit (which he didn't have with him).

While the rest of us risk points bringing our car back to the NCT centre for a retest.

Zube

TheNog wrote: »

Also how could an engine seizing cause an accident? (genuine question)

Jesus Christ!

How could a heart attack behind the wheel cause an accident?

L1011

TheNog wrote: »

Also how could an engine seizing cause an accident? (genuine question)

engine siezing = loss of power to power steering, braking servo, etc, etc. You suddenly have nearly no control of the vehicle, which if at the 138km/h he was blipped at, is not a good thing!

Gary ITR

Zube wrote: »

Jesus Christ!

The Nog is a Guard not a mechanic.

An overheating engine wouldn't seize anyway. The head gasket would blow and possibly crack the head and the car would loose all power and roll to a halt.

If an engine seized the wheels would look up and the car could skid or come to a sudden stop.

I could be totally wrong with all of the above btw

TheNog

Limerick man wrote: »

Could they not just say "Well I was doing 140kmph behind him, and I was just barely gaining ground. My spedometer is correctly calibrated and proof of driving at the speeds are on the camera?

Also could he not of been done for dangerous driving?

I can just imagine if I was doing that, and said "Oh I was late for a meeting", I'd get a right kick in the hole and more than two points just for running the red light.

I know you are only trying to make sense of what went on, and I thank you for actually taking on the challenge of responding to us angry Motors folk, but you cannot tell me that you think all he deserved were two points?

As I said before this fella was extremely lucky. Just to review:

He was speeding but his speed couldnt be determined
He did change lanes 3 times
He did run a red light

Two out of the three above would make a dangerous driving case fairly shaky. In all probability any judge would lean towards a strike out.

If his speed was determined or even an approximate speed got along with the other 2 points above, he would in my book be looking at dangerous driving or at the very least careless driving.