Do penalty points work?

davet82

I got my first 2 points in the door (driving 12 years) and an 80 euro fine for going 57km in a 50km zone (4mph over the limit) at 2 o'clock in the morning.

I think its really hard to keep the speed limit, i tried after i got the points but all i got was abuse, beeps, flashing lights and being overtaken by other drivers and even pulled in by the guards who thought i may have been drunk/or something wrong as he put it cause i was going so slow??

Now I find myself slowing down anytime i see a white van parked at the side of the road but putting the boot down as usual.

Do the points work? Do you find yourself constantly watching your speed and speed signs (if you are lucky to see one btw) for the fear of being caught? Do you vigoursly keep the speed limits on the various roads?

andrewg82

surely watching your speed and road signs is a good thing? though 80 euro for doing 57km in a 50km zone is fairly harsh. not really speeding!

FatherLen

the idea behind the points certainly is a good one.
like communism.

My name is URL

Think I might have been caught speeding myself the other day. I was doing about the same speed as yourself in a 50 zone. The van was parked outside of a Garda station though so I'm hoping they weren't actually operating the speed cameras at the time. I agree with you, it can be very hard to stick to the speed limit on some roads, especially when those behind you are speeding too.

Sykk

50km doesn't mean "Something around 50km and sher a few k over will be grand".

Yes they do work.

Kolido

Speed limits are one of the few laws I agree with. Obey them.

DarkJager

If there's one thing we badly need, it's a full review of speed limits across the island. There are some ridiculous roads that are way slower than they should be, and others like country roads that are too fast. Motorways as well should be 140-160kph, with a minimum speed of 110kph enforced on them. Too many slow ***** nearly causing pile ups by crawling along the motorways.

Micky Dolenz

Speed kills, so too does coke.

drunkmonkey

They've made a few guys driving behind me **** themselves when I leave rubber on the road, besides that they've achieved nothing, quality of driving is abysmal on the road especially the slow drivers in the outside lane of the motorway. Should be shot the lot of them.

i generally obey the 50 ones
i generally obey the ones where people keep saying there's guards around - usually the 80 ones
m4 never seen them so don't mind breaking the limit there
definitely don't obey that ridiculous 30 one on the round turnoff onto the m50

some of them need to be revised though, seriously

Jester252

I normal stuck within +/- 5% of the speed limit.

summerskin

UK license FTW

hondasam

That's harsh OP, though they were set a bit higher than 7km over.
I got done speeding twice in the one day recently.

Nothingbetter2d

davet82 wrote: »

I got my first 2 points in the door (driving 12 years) and an 80 euro fine for going 57km in a 50km zone (4mph over the limit) at 2 o'clock in the morning.

I think its really hard to keep the speed limit, i tried after i got the points but all i got was abuse, beeps, flashing lights and being overtaken by other drivers and even pulled in by the guards who thought i may have been drunk/or something wrong as he put it cause i was going so slow??

Now I find myself slowing down anytime i see a white van parked at the side of the road but putting the boot down as usual.

Do the points work? Do you find yourself constantly watching your speed and speed signs (if you are lucky to see one btw) for the fear of being caught? Do you vigoursly keep the speed limits on the various roads?

its nothing more than a money making scam.... they dont make people drive slower in general. and some roads have silly speed restrictions that are not necessary.

davet82

hondasam wrote: »

I got done speeding twice in the one day recently.

ouch!

A lady i work with got done 3 days on the trot going to work, luckily she got the first fine in the post on day 4 going to work, she didnt know it was a 30 zone because there were no signs (cannot verify just her word for it). 6 points, 240 euro in fines and a higher premium on her insurance

PogMoThoin

Sykk wrote: »

50km doesn't mean "Something around 50km and sher a few k over will be grand".

Yes they do work.

Do work as in make dangerous roads safer, or do work as in generate some income? Some of the places these cameras operate is ridiculous. Shooting fish in a barrel doesn't make the roads any safer

davet82

hondasam wrote: »

That's harsh OP, though they were set a bit higher than 7km over.

a guy my mother was talking to in the post office paying his fine said he was 5km over the limit for the one he was paying but like that you can only take somebodies word for it.

just hit the brakes hard when ya see a trap!

hondasam

davet82 wrote: »

a guy my mother was talking to in the post office paying his fine said he was 5km over the limit for the one he was paying but like that you can only take somebodies word for it.

just hit the brakes hard when ya see a trap!

I was not caught by the go safe van.

I know where they are located, just put the car on cruise control until you pass the signs. You have to be really near them to get caught.

stovelid

Driving at twice the speed limit blah blah stupid system blah blah driver skill blah blah poxy car with tractor exhaust blah blah

They make some drivers think, who don't normally.
So yes they work in so many ways.
But certain roads and speed limits you can just tell are PURELY for income generation.

ScumLord

It doesn't really matter what the speed limit is the guards don't really enforce them. What Ireland really needs is a proper driving education something along the lines of Sweden's. Everything else is just a band aid.

christmas2012

they should fix uneven road surfaces imagine some tool hitting that at 100 mph or even 60 mph as i have often seen and almost recoil at seeing that,as it is the one thing that can make a car somersault on a dual carrageway..

even out the roads,if they want to make roads safer make them more even for a start.all this talk of getting tough on drivers doesnt work,its not enforced properly,anytime you see a garda check point you can do a u turn no questions asked.and the speed traps?hardly traps you can see them a mile off with their lumionous jackets,and they always pick the same spot,i find it very static by nature,if they on the other hand were driving around actively seeing drivers create problems for other road users,then it would be different.

PCPhoto

ScumLord wrote: »

It doesn't really matter what the speed limit is the guards don't really enforce them. What Ireland really needs is a proper driving education something along the lines of Sweden's. Everything else is just a band aid.

totally agree ... and proper enforcement of the laws ... not this sh1te ... lets go out and get a bunch of overtime because its a bank holiday and say we're cracking down on speed and other related driving offences.

if the gardai/minister were really interested in saving lives they would make the roads safer and forget about the cost .... and if they were really interested in a revenue exercise - why not get gardai out constantly on the roads - every day people go through red/amber lights, or take an illegal right/left turn...or the illegal U-Turn......not to mention the mobile phone users.

put another 20,000 gardai on the streets and enforce the laws that are there - not on a part-time basis 24/7 ...365 days a year....the income from the fines would easily pay for the costs involved and within 5yrs drivers attitudes would be changed and the numbers enforcing the traffic laws could be reduced

PCPhoto

christmas2012 wrote: »

they should fix uneven road surfaces imagine some tool hitting that at 100 mph or even 60 mph as i have often seen and almost recoil at seeing that,as it is the one thing that can make a car somersault on a dual carrageway..

even out the roads,if they want to make roads safer make them more even for a start.all this talk of getting tough on drivers doesnt work,its not enforced properly,anytime you see a garda check point you can do a u turn no questions asked.and the speed traps?hardly traps you can see them a mile off with their lumionous jackets,and they always pick the same spot,i find it very static by nature,if they on the other hand were driving around actively seeing drivers create problems for other road users,then it would be different.

they have to be visible so they can say its not a revenue exercise !!

Micky Dolenz

They should ban cars.

DarkJager

DarkJager wrote: »

If there's one thing we badly need, it's a full review of speed limits across the island. There are some ridiculous roads that are way slower than they should be, and others like country roads that are too fast. Motorways as well should be 140-160kph, with a minimum speed of 110kph enforced on them. Too many slow ***** nearly causing pile ups by crawling along the motorways.

Yeah, that's right, it's careful drivers doing 110 on the motorway (only 10kph below the limit) who cause accidents.

What is ISN'T is tail-gating morons in Range Rovers who seem to believe they have a right to drive as fast as they like and intimidate anyone they like out of the way.

I drive on the motorways a lot and whilst it's a bit annoying to come across someone driving in the wrong lane, they don't kill anyone.

It's a lot more annoying to have some f**kwit driving 2 foot behind me at 120kph flashing his lights because I am over-taking at the speed limit. And I'm guessing those drivers cause a lot more accidents.

hondasam

PCPhoto wrote: »

totally agree ... and proper enforcement of the laws ... not this sh1te ... lets go out and get a bunch of overtime because its a bank holiday and say we're cracking down on speed and other related driving offences.

if the gardai/minister were really interested in saving lives they would make the roads safer and forget about the cost .... and if they were really interested in a revenue exercise - why not get gardai out constantly on the roads - every day people go through red/amber lights, or take an illegal right/left turn...or the illegal U-Turn......not to mention the mobile phone users.

put another 20,000 gardai on the streets and enforce the laws that are there - not on a part-time basis 24/7 ...365 days a year....the income from the fines would easily pay for the costs involved and within 5yrs drivers attitudes would be changed and the numbers enforcing the traffic laws could be reduced

Who is going to pay for all the extra guards. There is enough penalty points as it is we don't need any more.

starbelgrade

Speed limits, me hole.

PCPhoto

@Hondasam I dare say if they do their job and enforce the laws they would pay for themselves - simple maths:

driving in bus lane (80euro fine) - catch approx 10 per hour thats €800 per hour ... take out approx costs involved in processing and I doubt very much that you would loose money.

EDIT: if I had my way each vehicle would have to have a tachograph fitted ...this is taken in the event of an accident and actual speeds at time of crash will be known - it would also prove/disprove speed cameras with actual speeds done at date/time of alleged offence.

seamus

DarkJager wrote: »

Motorways as well should be 140-160kph, with a minimum speed of 110kph enforced on them. Too many slow ***** nearly causing pile ups by crawling along the motorways.

Minimum of 110 is probably a bit much, 80km/h would be more reasonable.

I did a lot of Autobahn driving last weekend and it was bliss. Averaged about 140km/h. There were two things which made it work:

- People generally obeyed the lanes. The right lane was for driving normally, the center and outside lanes were for overtaking.

- People generally drove fast anyway. As I say, I was doing 140km/h, but I wasn't blasting by anybody. I was only doing 20km/h more than those in the right-hand lane. I didn't once encounter anyone pootling along at 60km/h or even 80km/h in any lane. Trucks were probably the worst offenders, overtaking eachother at barely 100-odd km/h, but I had the pleasure of doing a return journey on a Sunday where there were no trucks.

And no, the Autobahn isn't significantly better surfaced or laid out. Plenty of times it changed from 3 lanes to 2 and back again, plenty of bumpy slippery bits and twists and turns. It just works because people follow common sense.

hondasam

PCPhoto wrote: »

I dare say if they do their job and enforce the laws they would pay for themselves - simple maths:

driving in bus lane (80euro fine) - catch approx 10 per hour thats €800 per hour ... take out approx costs involved in processing and I doubt very much that you would loose money.

You think people join the guards to collect revenue.
Great on the way to work everyday lets see how we can screw people for more revenue. Thankfully most of them don't think like you.


Edit, Do you obey every rule of the road at all times?

dmcronin

Does anyone get caught 'speeding' where dumb-ass roadmen leave behind their 60kph signs after them on a finished road?

DarkJager

Orinoco wrote: »

Yeah, that's right, it's careful drivers doing 110 on the motorway (only 10kph below the limit) who cause accidents.

What is ISN'T is tail-gating morons in Range Rovers who seem to believe they have a right to drive as fast as they like and intimidate anyone they like out of the way.

I drive on the motorways a lot and whilst it's a bit annoying to come across someone driving in the wrong lane, they don't kill anyone.

It's a lot more annoying to have some f**kwit driving 2 foot behind me at 120kph flashing his lights because I am over-taking at the speed limit. And I'm guessing those drivers cause a lot more accidents.

Traffic on a motorway is 120kph. There are seriously dangerous drivers out there who do sub 100. I see them every evening on the M20 here in Limerick. Add to that rush hour traffic, and you get a number of cars travelling at the limit suddenly jamming on the breaks because some dozy prick is crawling along at 80kph. Motorways are there to reduce travel time, hence the speed which vehicles travel on them. They are not for Sunday driver ***** or people who get nervous going to 100kph.

Krispie

PCPhoto wrote: »

driving in bus lane (80euro fine) - catch approx 10 per hour thats €800 per hour ... take out approx costs involved in processing and I doubt very much that you would loose money.

Sure that will only cover the additional compensation due to the civil service worker who had to "learn" a new computer programe to implement the charges...... This is the civil service we talk of.......:rolleyes:

I got caught just under 3 years ago. Not since:p. Not holier than thou but has made me take more notice of limits. Add to that older and allegedly wiser:D F*&K the flashing driver. They only make me slow down even more tbh. I never flash oncoming traffic either. fcuking hate that:mad:

Not where did I leave me halo..............

CruelCoin

I'm not sure if i think they are effective, or fair.

Example:

Person a: Drives a new BMW at 20kmph over the limit, is young with fast reflexes.

Person b: Drives a rickety auld corrola at 20kmph under the limit, is old, can barely see over the steering wheel and when in an accident will clamp up, screech, and do nothing to try avoid it.

In my opinion, person a is safer than person b.

Yet the general public lambast person a as a monstrous baby eater, and person b as a paragon of the community.



I would rather a much more qualitative assessment of speed limits. Possibly one which takes age, reflexes, eyesight and vehicle condition into account.

davet82

CruelCoin wrote: »

I'm not sure if i think they are effective, or fair.

Example:

Person a: Drives a new BMW at 20kmph over the limit, is young with fast reflexes.

Person b: Drives a rickety auld corrola at 20kmph under the limit, is old, can barely see over the steering wheel and when in an accident will clamp up, screech, and do nothing to try avoid it.

In my opinion, person a is safer than person b.

Yet the general public lambast person a as a monstrous baby eater, and person b as a paragon of the community.



I would rather a much more qualitative assessment of speed limits. Possibly one which takes age, reflexes, eyesight and vehicle condition into account.

do you want a can opener for them worms?

Shenshen

I think that speed limits on many roads in Ireland are simply based on a dare, nothing else.
"Sure, go 100 if you think you'll survive it"

On the other hand, there are a lot of places with speed limits that are just impossible, such as 25km/h or even 15 km/h. I've yet to see a speedometer that will even register such speeds.
And observance of limits isn't helped by temporary signs (put up during road works) being left stuck at the side of the road till they rot away.

That said, many if not most limits are sensible, so I stick to them.

Anyone who feels they need to go over 120 km/h should probably get in contact with RyanAir and get off the road.

corkcity

having those points for 3 years really sucks .got points in 2008 myself and i made sure i kept to the speed limits from then on ,i do agree its hard to do with other driver practically scrapping the paint off the ass of your car trying to get passed you.when im all i care about is whats in front and to the sides of me ,f**k whos behind you

Shenshen

Shenshen wrote: »

Anyone who feels they need to go over 120 km/h should probably get in contact with RyanAir and get off the road.

nothing wrong with 140 on a wide straight motorway
it's not exactly some insane speed

COYW

Deleted User wrote: »

It's a lot more annoying to have some f**kwit driving 2 foot behind me at 120kph flashing his lights because I am over-taking at the speed limit. And I'm guessing those drivers cause a lot more accidents.

This is pure crazy. If you have to brake suddenly, they haven't got a chance in hell of avoiding smashing into the back of you. The impact at 100+kph would be horrific. Learner or nervous drivers on the motor doing 70-80kph is madness too. I tend to cross them now and again on the M4. Scares the bloody life out of me at times, particularly when they are masked by a car in front of you.

Roundabouts, use of indicators and road position are 3 other areas that are extremely poor in my experience.

On penalty points, I have none thankfully and I always try my best to observe the limits. Naturally, there are times when I might exceed it by 5 kph, by accident or so but I think we are all guilty of that. No amount of pressure from other drivers would force me to speed.

jack presley

I don't agree with having minimum speeds on motorways. Obviously if there's a tool doing 50 on a clear day he needs a slap around the head but if you set a minimum speed at 80 or 100, what happens when the motorway is crowded and it's pissing rain? Regardless of speed limits you're supposed to drive based on the conditions and in bad weather what happens if you have to brake and go under the minimum speed to avoid something in the lane ahead of you?

Shenshen

bluewolf wrote: »

nothing wrong with 140 on a wide straight motorway
it's not exactly some insane speed

As a German, I have to disagree.
It is insane considering what and who drives on motorways in Ireland...

It's not a problem on a fairly empty road, but the behaviour I've seen since coming over here has me convinced that it's just not a good idea here.
I've seen people plodding along in the right-hand lane at 80... what would you do if you came up to one of those too fast?
I've seen tractors on motorways.
I've seen people driving off onto the slip road, then changing their mind and reversing back on to the motorway.

To tell you the truth, driving at 120 km/h here is far more nerve-wracking than driving at 160 km/h in Germany. And anybody who thinks he/she can safely do so is deluding themselves.

CruelCoin

davet82 wrote: »

do you want a can opener for them worms?

Have you got one?

Gee thanks mister!

Shenshen

Shenshen wrote: »

As a German, I have to disagree.
It is insane considering what and who drives on motorways in Ireland...

It's not a problem on a fairly empty road, but the behaviour I've seen since coming over here has me convinced that it's just not a good idea here.
I've seen people plodding along in the right-hand lane at 80... what would you do if you came up to one of those too fast?
I've seen tractors on motorways.
I've seen people driving off onto the slip road, then changing their mind and reversing back on to the motorway.

To tell you the truth, driving at 120 km/h here is far more nerve-wracking than driving at 160 km/h in Germany. And anybody who thinks he/she can safely do so is deluding themselves.

The people doing 80 don't appear out of nowhere - you'll see them from well behind and adjust speed/move lane accordingly
just as you'll note that oh, there's a giant truck up ahead and cars stuck behind, they'll want to pull into my lane, i'll keep an eye on them too

lane discipline and general behaviour here is bad, but on the section of m4 i tend to drive, they get out of the way if they see you coming
never seen any reversing or tractors or whathaveyou

the worst i've ever had was when doing 120 and everyone ahead jammed on their brakes... not to slow down, right to a stop. and i had some moron crawling up my backside so i couldn't brake as hard without causing a pile up :rolleyes:
happily i had enough safety distance to tap then jam on
and why did they all stop?
to gawk at a feckin accident and ambulances on the other side of the motorway :rolleyes:

CruelCoin

Deleted User wrote: »

It's a lot more annoying to have some f**kwit driving 2 foot behind me at 120kph flashing his lights because I am over-taking at the speed limit. And I'm guessing those drivers cause a lot more accidents.

And I take it you're the kind of ****wit who will "overtake" someone at 120kmph who is also traveling at 120kmph.

5 minute "overtaking" maneuver later, followed by the obligatory half-mile gap before you pull back in.....

Shenshen

bluewolf wrote: »

The people doing 80 don't appear out of nowhere - you'll see them from well behind and adjust speed/move lane accordingly
just as you'll note that oh, there's a giant truck up ahead and cars stuck behind, they'll want to pull into my lane, i'll keep an eye on them too

lane discipline and general behaviour here is bad, but on the section of m4 i tend to drive, they get out of the way if they see you coming
never seen any reversing or tractors or whathaveyou

On the N25, they're not always visible. There are some bends that will leave you guessing until you're near enough on top of them.

I was a big advocate of having motorways without speed limit... until I moved to Ireland. Sorry.

Shenshen

Shenshen wrote: »

On the N25, they're not always visible. There are some bends that will leave you guessing until you're near enough on top of them.

I was a big advocate of having motorways without speed limit... until I moved to Ireland. Sorry.

fair enough, i just haven't seen the bad ones so

Shenshen

bluewolf wrote: »

fair enough, i just haven't seen the bad ones so

I have to say though that I don't really think speed limits or points work all that well here, either, for that matter.
I think they would if the enforcement was actually there. A few cameras here and there is not going to teach people very much, it's not much of a threat.
You'd need dedicated traffic police, and a good few more of them than there are now.
Germans behave primarily because there is no telling if the car behind you is a civil police car with dashboard-mounted speed camera.. they know they can get caught at any moment. And if they do, they might be forced to pay a lot more than €80. 3 points automatically mean handing over your license for a month...

ScumLord

Shenshen wrote: »

I think that speed limits on many roads in Ireland are simply based on a dare, nothing else.
"Sure, go 100 if you think you'll survive it"

There's no problem doing 100klm on the majority of Irish roads, that's why I want to see proper education brought in so it'll put a stop to the nervous nellies doing 70klm for no other reason other than they don't know how to drive any faster. It's not that they're observing speed limits either because they'll continue to do 70klm right through a town. They're driving for their own comfort level and not driving as they should be.

Anyone who feels they need to go over 120 km/h should probably get in contact with RyanAir and get off the road.

This isn't the 1950s modern cars have no problem doing that speed and more.

Shenshen

ScumLord wrote: »

There's no problem doing 100klm on the majority of Irish roads, that's why I want to see proper education brought in so it'll put a stop to the nervous nellies doing 70klm for no other reason other than they don't know how to drive any faster. It's not that they're observing speed limits either because they'll continue to do 70klm right through a town. They're driving for their own comfort level and not driving as they should be.


This isn't the 1950s modern cars have no problem doing that speed and more.

I have to ask, have you ever been to Cork or Kerry?
Or are you assuming that Dublin = all of Ireland?

Kev_2012

Try the Condell Road in Limerick. 50Kph on quite a good road. Should be 80Kph.

Something tells me it is this way because the alternative to this road is the Limerick Tunnel which is tolled. :rolleyes:

Also, I rarely speed, but having speed vans/cameras all over the place will cause accidents by people slamming the brakes when they see them. Used to happen on the M50 northbound camera the whole time when heading home to limerick on a friday evening.