Garda with no licience,tax, and bald tyres kills two and gets a fine!

thebullkf

hondasam wrote: »

I don't agree with any of those tbh, It was an accident he could not avoid it. If he was fined ten thousand and banned for ten yrs would it make a difference?

yeah it would, it would encourage every motorist to ensure they

a-had a licence
b-tax
c-legally roadworthy car.

Bruthal

foggy_lad wrote: »

What a ridiculous statement!

This guy is responsible for the deaths of two other people! No matter what way you spin it if he was obeying the laws he took an oath to uphold then those two lads would be alive and well today!

They are dead as a direct result of his unlawful actions.

Your assuming that if he obeyed the laws, he would not have been driving at that time, but he could of obeyed them and had all his car items in check, and been driving, with the same result.

If you lie at night on a motorway, there is a fair chance of being run over by someone. And this is a major factor in why they are dead. There is a good chance someone else might have hit them anyway.

Some motorway accidents involve people stopped on the hard shoulder being hit by traffic, in the daytime. Its often mentioned in adds about breakdowns on motorways, dont stay in your car etx. You might say a motorway has better visibility etc, but people pay less attention when driving on them than a narrow windy road.

thebullkf

hondasam wrote: »

You call my statement ridiculous and then you post that :pac:
How would he have avoided the accident?

by not driving a car he had no business driving....

don't understand the flawed logic here...?

thebullkf

If two gardai were killed whilst fighting in the road, by a motorist without a licence, insurance, tax or hardly any thread on his tyres.. is everyone here honstly saying they'd only get a €900 fine????

Genuine question.

thebullkf

robbie7730 wrote: »

Because the law says no driving without tax also. So if you hit someone and have no tax, is that ok?



What if your driving, and a fella is lying on the road in pitch dark and you fail to see him, and you run over him, are you to blame?

Or if you are going 140kph in a 120 zone, and later you kill someone who suddenly runs out in front of you while going 50kph in a 50 zone, are you to blame there?

see my post above.

Bruthal

thebullkf wrote: »

If two gardai were killed whilst fighting in the road, by a motorist without a licence, insurance, tax or hardly any thread on his tyres.. is everyone here honstly saying they'd only get a €900 fine????

Genuine question.

Probably not, but the sentences for similar convictions of every aspect, vary wildly anyway. One fella might get 5 years prison for that, while another would get penalty points.

hondasam

thebullkf wrote: »

by not driving a car he had no business driving....

don't understand the flawed logic here...?

Fair enough if he did not drive on that night he would not have killed them.
If they were not lying on the road he would not have killed them, If he did not kill them the next car would have, there is a lot of IF's there.

Tigger

in america if you are doing something illegal and that causes something bad to happen then you are guilty of that too

so in america yer man would be up for double manslaughter

in america bertie and his crowd would be in jail and the bad banks would have folded

i think this is why people really really want to go to america

boneheaded

foggy_lad wrote: »

Fair enough but on a motorway even in the dead of night in the wet your vision is far better than it is on most other roads simply by the road being more open to moonlight and your lights being more effective on the better road surface, he should have seen these two lads and should have made some attempt to avoid hitting them. from what i have read so far it appears no avoiding or evasive actions were taken or there was no evidence of this from the markings on the road after the incident.

Might be a while before he is sent down for the chips and pizzas, Maybe they have an old station bike they could give him?

What a ridiculous statement!

This guy is responsible for the deaths of two other people! No matter what way you spin it if he was obeying the laws he took an oath to uphold then those two lads would be alive and well today!

They are dead as a direct result of his unlawful actions.

SO if it had been aanyone other than a Guard driving the car they would still be alive????

hondasam

thebullkf wrote: »

If two gardai were killed whilst fighting in the road, by a motorist without a licence, insurance, tax or hardly any thread on his tyres.. is everyone here honstly saying they'd only get a €900 fine????

Genuine question.

Two gardai in uniform fighting on the road, hope we never see this :pac:

serious answer, no one can predict that. Look what happened in donegal when the garda was killed.

Bruthal

Tigger wrote: »

in america if you are doing something illegal and that causes something bad to happen then you are guilty of that too

so in america yer man would be up for double manslaughter

in america bertie and his crowd would be in jail and the bad banks would have folded

i think this is why people really really want to go to america

And a few of us would have been shot in school.

marco_polo

To put a bit of context the news report is still on TV3. In it you can clearly see both the bend and the tracks where the car came to a halt just at the very start of the exit lane.

http://www.tv3.ie/videos.php?video=31221&locID=1.2.141&page=14

MagicSean

foggy_lad wrote: »

Do the gardai not look after their own?

The ombudsman investigate serious incidents like this.

foggy_lad wrote: »

Things/animals which have more or less committed suicide by running out so close that taking evasive or avoiding action would not have been possible or safe

Just like in this incident?

foggy_lad wrote: »

I was always told that lying on any insurance form will void the policy you are taking out. you must be honest in your dealings with the insurer at all times otherwise you destroy the relationship between them and you.

You were told wrong. EU law requires the insurance company to provide a minimum of third party cover in these cases.

foggy_lad wrote: »

I have come across many older people walking along what were old national primary and secondary routes walking home from the pub wearing nothing reflective and the only way I would see them was the feint shine off the wellingtons.

Yet somehow you think this driver should have been able to see better than you?

foggy_lad wrote: »

Can they "complete a course" without holding a licence?

Yes. Completion of the course involves the granting of a licence where one is not already held.

foggy_lad wrote: »

THey go back to the assumption which more and more people will make that the Gardai look after their own in cases like this and the ridiculous fines handed down only bolster this in the minds of decent law abiding people who have a licence and who would never even dream of driving without one or if their car was untaxed or unroadworthy!

i suggest you go to court and observe some driving cases. These fines were in excess of what would usually be handed down for these charges.

foggy_lad wrote: »

How is this fact? those two lads would be alive and well today if that off duty garda had not decided he was above the law!

If he had four good tyres, one years worth of tax and a new licence these people would still be dead.

hondasam

foggy_lad wrote: »

I am suggesting that all drivers today are at greater risk of being distracted whist driving by several things, mobile phones, sat nav, dvd players, stereos you need a degree to operate, handsfree kits that are not set up properly, tinted glass that obscures the view, etc etc.

All valid points but I was not distracted by any of these things and I still nearly knocked someone down and most likely would have killed him and you still think I would be in the wrong.
These things happen so fast you have no control over them sometimes. It's not fair to blame the driver all the time.

foggy_lad

robbie7730 wrote: »

Your assuming that if he obeyed the laws, he would not have been driving at that time, but he could of obeyed them and had all his car items in check, and been driving, with the same result.

If you lie at night on a motorway, there is a fair chance of being run over by someone. And this is a major factor in why they are dead. There is a good chance someone else might have hit them anyway.

Some motorway accidents involve people stopped on the hard shoulder being hit by traffic, in the daytime. Its often mentioned in adds about breakdowns on motorways, dont stay in your car etx. You might say a motorway has better visibility etc, but people pay less attention when driving on them than a narrow windy road.

If this guy was paying attention to his driving he would and should have been able to take evasive action on that very wide stretch of motorway.

thebullkf wrote: »

If two gardai were killed whilst fighting in the road, by a motorist without a licence, insurance, tax or hardly any thread on his tyres.. is everyone here honstly saying they'd only get a €900 fine????

Genuine question.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0416/shannonn.html

A man convicted of driving with excess alcohol at the scene of an accident in which a garda and a fire officer were killed has been given a 20 year driving ban at the Circuit Court in Limerick.

Them and us!

boneheaded wrote: »

SO if it had been aanyone other than a Guard driving the car they would still be alive????

I have never been anything but fully suportive of Gardai and the difficult jobs they do on a daily basis which put them in danger of death and attack and defilement by the absolute worst filth of society. If this Garda MAN had been paying proper attention or maybe had not been driving a car he was not licenced to drive those two lads would not have died. It has nothing to do with him being a garda but the late shifts he was working wont have helped his concentration or the speed of his reactions!

Bruthal

foggy_lad wrote: »

If this guy was paying attention to his driving he would and should have been able to take evasive action on that very wide stretch of motorway.

If he was paying attention right at that time, he might have. No driver pays 100% attention all the time, and motorways are the place where this is more likely. Whether he should of seen them or not, is not relevant to the driving without tax and good tyres though.

Its easy for anyone that has hit no one, to think the same could never happen to them.

boneheaded

Seriously what difference does paying tax make to you driving? how does it affect how you handle a car? Yes we are all required to pay it but if the disc in the window is in date or not does that effect how you or drive how your car handles???? its a revenue matter not a road traffic matter.

Yes his licence had expired. 10 year licence and you get no reminder that it is expired. How many people do you think he met as a Guard who’s licence had expired and he said get it sorted out?

Bald tyres
Think about this…..if you are involved in an accident….and you are wrong….you have done something wrong….you might not want to admit it but if you have been involved in an accident and you are honest with yourself you will say ……….That is careless driving plane and simple and you will be convicted of that
Now lets look at the bald tyres…..if they were smooth and down to the wire he would have been done for dangerous driving or at least careless driving…….yes he would….. the tyres can’t have been too bad…again think of him walking around a car kicking the tyres and saying to someoneget them sorted out… probably has.

He is a Guard, yes scum to some, but he has been to the scene of god only knows how many fatal accidents, he has knocked on how many doors in the middle of the night, stopped how many people, listened to them and understood where they are coming from.

He is in the forefront of the media now because he is a Guard

foggy_lad

boneheaded wrote: »

He is in the forefront of the media now because he is a Guard

killed two people on the road while he was breaking the law and committing several motoring offences!


There is nothing to say he ever had a licence, all the evidence points to him driving without licence and tax and in unroadworthy vehicles on a regular basis if he could not see the two dangerously bald tyres needed to be replaced urgently.

mathepac

boneheaded wrote: »

... He is a Guard ... but he has been to the scene of god only knows how many fatal accidents, he has knocked on how many doors in the middle of the night, stopped how many people, listened to them and understood where they are coming from....

How do you know this and how come you speak with such conviction about what his time in the job was like? Your post is just nonsensical idle speculation. It may be that he has never been asked to perform this particularly onerous duty, but he was the cause of his colleagues having to wake two families and tell them one of their loved ones was dead, killed by a Guard.

boneheaded wrote: »

... He is in the forefront of the media now because he is a Guard

He's in the news now because he is a Guard who killed two people while driving illegally, no other reason.

boneheaded

foggy_lad wrote: »

killed two people on the road while he was breaking the law and committing several motoring offences!


There is nothing to say he ever had a licence, all the evidence points to him driving without licence and tax and in unroadworthy vehicles on a regular basis if he could not see the two tyres needed to be replaced urgently.

how do you know they were dangerously bald ??

Convicted of bald tyres....surely if they were dangerously bald he would have been charged with this

boneheaded

mathepac wrote: »

How do you know this and how come you speak with such conviction about what his time in the job was like? Your post is just nonsensical idle speculation. It may be that he has never been asked to perform this particularly onerous duty, but he was the cause of his colleagues having to wake two families and tell them one of their loved ones was dead, killed by a Guard.
He's in the news now because he is a Guard who killed two people while driving illegally, no other reason.

Find a Guard who has not knocked on a door late at night and delivered terrible news and you are doing well find a guard who has not attended the scene of a fatal accident and
you should buy a lotto ticket cause your lucks in

zenno

dillo2k10 wrote: »

You must only drive at a speed that you can stop within the distance that you can see to be clear. That could have been a broken down car, a car crash or something that fell of a car etc on the motorway.

And also, how many times have we all been told to expect the unexpected ? not paying proper attention to your surroundings will lead to things like this. I do not believe it was pitch dark on that motorway, not for a second.

robbie7730 wrote: »

No driver pays 100% attention all the time

Wrong. As soon as I get into my car I pay attention at all times until I am finished the days driving. I will not take my attention off the road for 1 split second as I know a kid could run out onto the road at any time and all the rest of the obstacles that can occur and I know many other people that are the same. Your attention should never wane whilst driving a vehicle simple as that.

mathepac

boneheaded wrote: »

Find a Guard who has not knocked on a door late at night and delivered terrible news and you are doing well find a guard who has not attended the scene of a fatal accident and you should buy a lotto ticket cause your lucks in

I asked you a question about a specific Guard and you revert to generalisations, which means you have not go a clue about what he had or had not got to do during his career. so I repeat my opinion that "Your post is just nonsensical idle speculation."

This latest offering soon falls apart when subjected to brief scrutiny and a review of readily available statistics.

In 2010 there were 211 fatal road traffic accidents (down from 411 in 2001) and in the same years there were approximately 13,000 serving Gardai. Using either year for a quick calculation, between 98.40% and 96.84% of serving Gardai did not have to knock on a door in any year to deliver the tragic news that a loved one had been killed in a road traffic accident.

On his own, the Garda in question caused almost 1% of the country's road traffic fatalities.

zenno

The occupants of the vehicle that sped off from the scene of this accident need to be found fast as they are direct witnesses. They should go to their local Garda station in limerick and give details as to exactly what happened and why they left the scene of this accident if they have any sense.

Ellis Dee

hondasam wrote: »

why can't he plead poverty or shortage of funds?

He was involved in an accident which he did not cause, yes he is guilty of having no d/lic and no tax (not the biggest crime btw) and bald tyres, I'm sure he is sorry for what happened. You think he should be sacked?

Yes, I certainly do. Unlike some defendants, who are unemployed or poorly paid, Gardai are well paid and should be able to pay their tax without difficulty. Failure to do so demonstrates a nonchalant attitude to abiding by the law and helps undermine other people's willingness to do so. Police officers are a privileged group and, by exercising public power, they can and do sometimes intervene in citizens' fundamental and human rights. That is why they must be utterly beyond reproach and seen to be.:cool:

Do you think a bank clerk who has been caught shoplifting fifty euro worth of goods (hardly the biggest crime, either) wouldn't be fired? :cool:

NBTD

Have read the first 7-8 pages and didnt see a mention of this, apologies if it has been addressed:

He was described in court as being a member of the Traffic Corps, but Henry Street Garda station has said he was never a member of the corps.

Why did he incorrectly describe himself (or allow himself to be described) in court as a member of the Traffic Corps when he wasn't.

Would this be to seem more in tune with dangers etc on the road?? To me it makes driving an un-roadworthy car even worse. Ever watch the 'Traffic Cops' type shows where they make a point of telling people how dangerous it is to drive with bald tyres etc.

jclally

I take it that if he had no license or tax then he had no insurance either. If you exclude the tyres, is the penalty for driving with none of the legal requirements to do so just €400?

I might think twice about my €1500 insurance and €750 tax renewals if so.

Or is that yet another case of one rule for Gardai and another for anyone else

nxbyveromdwjpg

Where are you all reading that the two people were lying on the ground or fighting in the middle of a motorway? I've read four links and no mention of it, I find that part extremely hard to believe

munchkin_utd

nm wrote: »

Where are you all reading that the two people were lying on the ground or fighting in the middle of a motorway? I've read four links and no mention of it, I find that part extremely hard to believe

here:
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/gardai-seek-identity-of-second-man-hit-by-offduty-officers-car-2495902.html

no mention of rolling around but it does mention the 2 guys getting out of the same car at the side of the motorway and a fight developing (if it hadnt already started in the car). The car they were travelling in then fled the scene!

lividduck

boneheaded wrote: »

Seriously what difference does paying tax make to you driving? how does it affect how you handle a car? Yes we are all required to pay it but if the disc in the window is in date or not does that effect how you or drive how your car handles???? its a revenue matter not a road traffic matter.

Yes his licence had expired. 10 year licence and you get no reminder that it is expired. How many people do you think he met as a Guard who’s licence had expired and he said get it sorted out?

Bald tyres
Think about this…..if you are involved in an accident….and you are wrong….you have done something wrong….you might not want to admit it but if you have been involved in an accident and you are honest with yourself you will say ……….That is careless driving plane and simple and you will be convicted of that
Now lets look at the bald tyres…..if they were smooth and down to the wire he would have been done for dangerous driving or at least careless driving…….yes he would….. the tyres can’t have been too bad…again think of him walking around a car kicking the tyres and saying to someoneget them sorted out… probably has.

He is a Guard, yes scum to some, but he has been to the scene of god only knows how many fatal accidents, he has knocked on how many doors in the middle of the night, stopped how many people, listened to them and understood where they are coming from.

He is in the forefront of the media now because he is a Guard

He was convicted of having no driving licience, no evidence was given in mitigation that he had one that was merely expired, so it is reasonable to assume that he didn't have one.
As for his tyres, "The court heard that the tyre tread on one of the wheels of the garda's car was "quite bald and excessively worn" while another was "worn to the extent that the plier chord was exposed"., and yes it is reasonable to assume that if he wasn't a guard he would have been charged with at least careless driving on that count alone.
One law for them, one law for us!

_feedback_

lividduck wrote: »

He was convicted of having no driving licience, no evidence was given in mitigation that he had one that was merely expired, so it is reasonable to assume that he didn't have one.
As for his tyres, "The court heard that the tyre tread on one of the wheels of the garda's car was "quite bald and excessively worn" while another was "worn to the extent that the plier chord was exposed"., and yes it is reasonable to assume that if he wasn't a guard he would have been charged with at least careless driving on that count alone.
One law for them, one law for us!

He was fined €250 for each tyre.

This Joe Soap was fined €160 for a bald tyre.

These Garda perks of special law aren't great are they?

Milk & Honey

jclally wrote: »

I take it that if he had no license or tax then he had no insurance either.

There was no mention of insurance. Licences expire and people often forget about the expiry date.

Bruthal

zenno wrote: »

Wrong. As soon as I get into my car I pay attention at all times until I am finished the days driving. I will not take my attention off the road for 1 split second as I know a kid could run out onto the road at any time

So you drive on every road, in a fashion as to prepare for kids to run out in front of you? 30kph down the motorway is it? You always pull in to change channel on the radio, or switch it on or off? I know, you never used a radio in the car. Never look left or right while driven, in your entire driving time?

and all the rest of the obstacles that can occur and I know many other people that are the same. Your attention should never wane whilst driving a vehicle simple as that.

You`re fooling yourself if you believe you can give 100% to driving the entire time your driving.

Sounds like we have found the perfect boards driver, who has zero chance of ever running into someone. Any accident would automatically be the other persons fault then.

Saying a persons attention should never wane is all well and good. But its fantasy land stuff. You obviously genuinely believe you are a person that can concentrate flawlessly. The perfect driver. Sounds apt on boards though, the place with lots of flawless people.

Paparazzo

foggy_lad wrote: »

killed two people on the road while he was breaking the law and committing several motoring offences!


There is nothing to say he ever had a licence, all the evidence points to him driving without licence and tax and in unroadworthy vehicles on a regular basis if he could not see the two dangerously bald tyres needed to be replaced urgently.

None of them contributed to the accident.
Lets look at another scenario. A drink driver swerves onto your side of the road and hits you. Turns out your tire tread depth is 1.5mm instead of 1.6mm, so illegal. Turns out your licence was out of date the day before.
That doesn't automaticly make you at fault.

Milk & Honey

Paparazzo wrote: »

None of them contributed to the accident.
Lets look at another scenario. A drink driver swerves onto your side of the road and hits you. Turns out your tire tread depth is 1.5mm instead of 1.6mm, so illegal. Turns out your licence was out of date the day before.
That doesn't automaticly make you at fault.

In Switzerland it would do. It is considered that if you are breaking the law you are not entitled to the protection of the law. If you park illegally and another vehicle hits your's, its your fault, on the basis that you should not have been there in the first place.

Bruthal

jclally wrote: »

I take it that if he had no license or tax then he had no insurance either. If you exclude the tyres, is the penalty for driving with none of the legal requirements to do so just €400?

I might think twice about my €1500 insurance and €750 tax renewals if so.

Or is that yet another case of one rule for Gardai and another for anyone else

Tax is one thing, but it would be hopeful that people pay for insurance for reasons that are other than to avoid fines.

Bruthal

Milk & Honey wrote: »

In Switzerland it would do. It is considered that if you are breaking the law you are not entitled to the protection of the law. If you park illegally and another vehicle hits your's, its your fault, on the basis that you should not have been there in the first place.

That`s handy, you don`t like your car anymore, so just find an illegally parked one, and ram it.

Paparazzo

Milk & Honey wrote: »

In Switzerland it would do. It is considered that if you are breaking the law you are not entitled to the protection of the law. If you park illegally and another vehicle hits your's, its your fault, on the basis that you should not have been there in the first place.

Why does it protect the drink driver on the wrong side of the road then?

Padkir

foggy_lad wrote: »

If this guy was paying attention to his driving he would and should have been able to take evasive action on that very wide stretch of motorway.

Have you ever swerved a car on short notice at 120kph???? If it's a windy day and you're switching lanes you need to be careful, never mind having to avoid an obstacle that you see whn you're about half a second from it! I have no doubt the 2 guards would now be dead if they did this!

Stop talking nonsense!!

bamboozle

incredible story, did he not have any lights on his car that he couldnt see these people on the road.

one rule for us and another rule for them

zenno

robbie7730 wrote: »

So you drive on every road, in a fashion as to prepare for kids to run out in front of you? 30kph down the motorway is it? You always pull in to change channel on the radio, or switch it on or off? I know, you never used a radio in the car. Never look left or right while driven, in your entire driving time?



You`re fooling yourself if you believe you can give 100% to driving the entire time your driving.

Sounds like we have found the perfect boards driver, who has zero chance of ever running into someone. Any accident would automatically be the other persons fault then.

Saying a persons attention should never wane is all well and good. But its fantasy land stuff. You obviously genuinely believe you are a person that can concentrate flawlessly. The perfect driver. Sounds apt on boards though, the place with lots of flawless people.

I just expect the unexpected at all times and I don't have a radio in the car as I never needed one. also who the heck drives at 30kph on a motorway ? you said that not me. Well my attention never does wane as once the car is moving then my concentration is 100% that's the way I do it. anyway this isn't about me so back on topic.

MagicSean

bamboozle wrote: »

incredible story, did he not have any lights on his car that he couldnt see these people on the road.

one rule for us and another rule for them

What rule are you referring to? You do know the collision itself is being investigated seperately by the Ombudsman? What am I saying, of course you don't because you haven't bothered to read anything but the thread title.

Stark

zenno wrote: »

I just expect the unexpected at all times and I don't have a radio in the car as I never needed one. also who the heck drives at 30kph on a motorway ?

Well that's what you'd have to do if you were "expecting the unexpected at all times".

Bruthal

zenno wrote: »

I just expect the unexpected at all times and I don't have a radio in the car as I never needed one. also who the heck drives at 30kph on a motorway ? you said that not me.

Well you said this, so i assume you watch out for kids on motorways.

zenno wrote: »

I will not take my attention off the road for 1 split second as I know a kid could run out onto the road at any time

Well my attention never does wane as once the car is moving then my concentration is 100% that's the way I do it.

Ok so you can concentrate 100% at all times. No radio you say, ever? Thats good. Silence with any passengers in the car too then, as talking means 100% cant be on the road. Never look left or right, as then you cant be looking ahead:)

anyway this isn't about me so back on topic.

Well its about someone that didnt see a person lying on the motorway. I said no one can concentrate 100% perfect all the time. You said that was wrong.

But thats common sense really. You can try, and in doing so, believe you were never once distracted. But unless you never ever look at something along the road thats not related to driving, unless you dont say a word to someone in the car ever, then you have been distracted to some extent. And thats not about you, thats about everyone.

MagicSean

zenno wrote: »

I just expect the unexpected at all times and I don't have a radio in the car as I never needed one. also who the heck drives at 30kph on a motorway ? you said that not me. Well my attention never does wane as once the car is moving then my concentration is 100% that's the way I do it. anyway this isn't about me so back on topic.

It's strange how attitudes change when a Garda is involved. So despite your previous near misses with idiots and dopy people on the road you now believe it is completely the fault of the driver.

zenno wrote: »

well if people looked where they were going as to walking or cycling then they would not have a problem. but the majority of idiots that do get hit by traffic are either looking into space and not concentrating on their surroundings or they are drunk or high on something. i have had a few near misses myself by dopy people of all ages that just walk out onto the road without looking and i was driving at the correct speed limit. i have seen accidents as well from people crossing the road without looking as if they were on another planet. a road is for traffic if people are going to cross a road or cycle on it they should obey the rules of the road just like any driver.

hondasam

zenno wrote: »

I just expect the unexpected at all times and I don't have a radio in the car as I never needed one. also who the heck drives at 30kph on a motorway ? you said that not me. Well my attention never does wane as once the car is moving then my concentration is 100% that's the way I do it. anyway this isn't about me so back on topic.

No one is this perfect when they are driving, we all lose concentration for a split second, our minds are full of everyday stuff. If you were in the car with the window open and say a bee flew in would it distract you? If you seen a spider in the car would it distract you?

hondasam

Ellis Dee wrote: »

Yes, I certainly do. Unlike some defendants, who are unemployed or poorly paid, Gardai are well paid and should be able to pay their tax without difficulty. Failure to do so demonstrates a nonchalant attitude to abiding by the law and helps undermine other people's willingness to do so. Police officers are a privileged group and, by exercising public power, they can and do sometimes intervene in citizens' fundamental and human rights. That is why they must be utterly beyond reproach and seen to be.:cool:

Do you think a bank clerk who has been caught shoplifting fifty euro worth of goods (hardly the biggest crime, either) wouldn't be fired? :cool:

You don't know his financial situation so cannot say what he can afford. Young gardai are not well paid.
I don't think a bank clerk would be fired if it was a first offence no. People don't just get fired because they made a mistake.

marco_polo

nm wrote: »

Where are you all reading that the two people were lying on the ground or fighting in the middle of a motorway? I've read four links and no mention of it, I find that part extremely hard to believe

The state solicitor mentioned it in court and it is in a number of newspaper reports.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0420/1224314969133.html

Both men were “on the ground in the middle of the motorway” when he hit them, Limerick State solicitor Michael Murray said.

Dan O’Gorman, representing Garda Clifford, said his client had “no criminal culpability” in respect of the “dreadfully tragic accident”.

Mr Murray said the State “accepted there was no complaint in the manner of Garda Clifford’s driving”.

_feedback_

zenno wrote: »

I just expect the unexpected at all times and I don't have a radio in the car as I never needed one. also who the heck drives at 30kph on a motorway ? you said that not me. Well my attention never does wane as once the car is moving then my concentration is 100% that's the way I do it. anyway this isn't about me so back on topic.

You made it about you. Have to say, I don't believe for one second that you don't use the radio in your car...

EDIT:

MagicSean wrote: »

It's strange how attitudes change when a Garda is involved. So despite your previous near misses with idiots and dopy people on the road you now believe it is completely the fault of the driver.

WOW :eek:

Bruthal

elviscostello wrote: »

You made it about you. Have to say, I don't believe for one second that you don't use the radio in your car...

No heater or fan to adjust either no doubt.