Gatso's vans are dangerous

preilly79

I passed it last week; had the cruise control on, 100kph on the button and the thing flashed me. I'm dreading what might come in the post.

OldmanMondeo

preilly79 wrote: »

I passed it last week; had the cruise control on, 100kph on the button and the thing flashed me. I'm dreading what might come in the post.

Won't take long, work van got flashed Friday 27th, Issued Tuesday 1st, received in office Thursday 3rd...

msg11

preilly79 wrote: »

I passed it last week; had the cruise control on, 100kph on the button and the thing flashed me. I'm dreading what might come in the post.

Same here pal. I would have rather been pulled over for speeding, at leased theres some reasoning with the Gardai, but with that camera your ****ed.

Shires

rohatch wrote: »

Just ensure new cars are limited electronically to the speed limit.

The most puerile statement I have come across all week... possibly excepting the contents of last Sunday's Sunday Tribune.

IrishSpeedTraps wrote: »

So what happens if you are in a situation where you need to increase your speed to avoid a crash or dangerous situation?

Indeed, or if you have a life and death situation and need to get to help fast, say a hospital?

My friend Johnny was in that situation and he drove as fast as was safe for the conditions en route, which in many places was far in excess of the posted limits.

I imagine that an in-car limiter, or GATSO cameras wouldn't have been quite as understanding of Johnny's predicament as, say, a traffic policeman would have been.

donvito99

Gatso's vans are dangerous

[Pedantic] Just to point out, there isn't some chap who runs Gatso vans or anything! [/Pedantic]

Armadillo

KamiKazi wrote: »

Gatso van sitting on the N4 this morning, it's ridiculous.

three lanes + bus lane, straight enough road in good condition, no bad weather conditions yet an 80km/h speed limit.

Saving lives indeed :rolleyes:

I got flashed 'face on' by this van this morning. I was in the car in the nearside lane. There was also a car in the middle and a car in the far offside lane. I believe that I was driving at the proper limit 80kph - So how is it decided which car was speeding?
If any other person was at the side of the road taking photos of oncoming traffic with a flashing camera, it would be considered a hazard and dangerous and they would be arrested for causing a nuisance to traffic.
BTW - I was travelling outbound on the N4 on Wed night and saw the flash go off (Gatso was parked after the bus shelter at Liffey Valley) I was biking it at the time and the cars in front of me braked, but luckily I had left enough space in front.
There must be guidelines by the powers that be in using these gatso flashes on oncoming traffic....then again....

antomorro-sei

OldmanMondeo wrote: »

Won't take long, work van got flashed Friday 27th, Issued Tuesday 1st, received in office Thursday 3rd...

I got flashed by it about a six or seven weeks ago, but still havn't recieved anything.

a_v525

Does it even need to flash??? A gatso was parked up outside St.James's Gate on the quay going to Heuston at approx 8.40 am two days this week & it was morningtime & the camera still flashed!!! Why does it need to flash in the middle of the day??? Flashes are unnecessary in the day because theyll illuminate nothing.

Also, anyone spot that the side windows of the cabin on Gatsos are whited-out?? Surely thats illegal as the tint has to let in like 70% light?

Seth Brundle

It doesn't need to flash but a flash can help it. It may not help during the day but it can alert drivers of its presence and that they have just been caught!
I went by one in the same place as you around Jan/Feb IIRC and was at the time over the limit. Needless to say, it flashed. However, I think I was saved (nothing ever arrived in the post) by the fact that there was a dickhead on my tail along the quays who suddently decided to undertake when we were within range. My assumption is that the garda evaluating the scene decided to get the driver who was obviously more dangerous than I was.

As for drivers slamming on the brakes when a van comes into sight:
* if you are under the speed limit then you have no reason to brake
* there are loads of vans parked at the side of roads (fair enough not as many on motorways!) - if you need to jam on for them all then you are the danger and not the fact that a van to your front left is sitting there motionless
* if you spend any amount of time on the likes ot the M50/N4 & M4/N7 & M7 yuou will know that there are quite a few unmarked cars patrolling (e.g. the one I recently posted about)

I.S.T.

rohatch wrote: »

You wouldn't be getting in those situations, thats the whole point.

You can't control what happens with other motorists on the road. What if there was a vehicle approaching you with failed breaks and you need to move out of the way fast?

Hoffmans

may have to flee some road rage nutter
but always keep in the speed limit nutters do

CR 7

IrishSpeedTraps wrote: »

You can't control what happens with other motorists on the road. What if there was a vehicle approaching you with failed breaks and you need to move out of the way fast?

It's ok, it'll be magically limited to the speed limit, so you'll never need to go faster than it. :rolleyes:
Sure speeding is the only possible cause of any form of accident.

redman

Passed a Gatso on Stillorgan Dual Carriageway near Montrose inbound when darkness was rising. Motorbike lashed by and I was surprised how bright it flashed, hadn't notice them flash as bright before...perhaps different intensity flashers in different vans?

CamperMan

OldmanMondeo wrote: »

Yip, Comming into work this morning over the M50, seen a white van at the N7 junction, think to myself is it or is it not? Just as I got near enough to see it the fecking thing flashes right in my eyes (and no not at me as I was well under the limit), lucky I wasn't blinded.

These things should be banned....:D

what about the idiots that drive towards you with their main beam still on.... plenty of that goes on

OldmanMondeo

CamperMan wrote: »

what about the idiots that drive towards you with their main beam still on.... plenty of that goes on

Idiots with full beams on can be seen froma distance and high beams are not as bright as the flash from a gatso.

Besides, I only drive with my full beams on when it's a gatso van comming towards me as they head to their next stop...:rolleyes:

Omcd

IrishSpeedTraps wrote: »

Of course it's the gatso van that cause drivers to jam on. Why else to all the break lights ahead of me light up light a Christmas tree when there is one parked at the site of the road?

It's the drivers psychological reaction (and/or lack of consideration for other road users) to seeing the Gatso van that causes them to jam on, not the Gatso van. In order for the Gatso van to cause them to jam on, it would have to be physically in their way. Not all drivers who see the Gatso van jam on, therefore, on that point alone, it is not the Gatso van that is causing those who do to do so.

I dont think it a good idea for them to be flashing in the face of drivers though, especially at night, which I too have seen several times. If the Gatso flashed someone and they were temporarily blinded by the flash and crashed because of it, then IMO that would be a valid situation where the Gatso van could have been said to have caused it.