Do you know what speed you were doing?

LionelNashe

What's the best way to answer this question, if stopped by a guard? It's hypothetical, just prompted by a different thread in this forum. If you're speeding and you answer honestly, you incriminate yourself. If you say you weren't speeding, I don't know if it would do any good, but could it do any harm? Why do guards even ask? Are they trying to get the driver to incriminate themselves, to add to the evidence? If you thought you were 20 miles over the speed limit, and you said so, and it turned out you were clocked at a lesser speed than that, would what you said stand against you?

Peregrinus

If you were in fact speeding, and you answer honestly, you incriminate yourself. If you say "I don't know", you incriminate yourself for a different offence - driving without due care and attention, since obviously you should be paying attention to your speed. The only safe answer is "I believe I was doing about [speed limit], guard". You can of course decline to answer, which is not incriminating, but it may get the conversation off on a bad foot.

Robbo

Do not ask for the Over/Under and attempt to place a bet.

Victor

"A guard wouldn't ask me that question."

Pat Mustard

LionelNashe wrote: »

Why do guards even ask? Are they trying to get the driver to incriminate themselves, to add to the evidence?

Probably. They are doing their job, so I suppose that is to be expected.

Some replies that I have used in the past:

"Maybe I could take a look to see what the speed gun says?" They usually have difficulty doing this. After you look at it, there may be little need for you to say much else.

Or when I found myself totally in the wrong at the business end of a very pointed question from the other side of the driver's window:
"I don't have anything useful to say, at the moment"

If very stuck, you can resort to the old "no comment" but it's a bit brusque and unlikely to endear you to the Garda. Use with caution.

LionelNashe

I've thought of replying "More to the point, do YOU know what speed I was doing."

Zubeneschamali

"Do you know why I stopped you?"

"I was hoping you knew!"

Grassey

"of course, it's displayed there on the dash."


Then dance around any subsequent questions with further vague answers.

NUTLEY BOY

LionelNashe wrote: »

I've thought of replying "More to the point, do YOU know what speed I was doing."

They usually do know

Samuel T. Cogley

Being stopped once doing "180" on the M50 - the car can do 99Mph empty, downhill, my advice is something along the lines of 'I thought I was under the limit but clearly as you've stopped me guard I must have been mistaken. Personally I've found most of the conversations struck up with guards is to make sure you're not pissed, and if you're reasonable with them they'll be reasonable with you.

As a side note on ratty traffic guards, just bear in mind your job probably never involves going to a scene where some idiot has killed someones family over having one more pint or getting home 30 seconds earlier.

4ensic15

"what's up? Did your brother get the farm?"

endacl

"In furlongs per fortnight? I'm not sure, Guard"

hullaballoo

"I was 10% either side of the speed limit I'm just not sure which one..."

endacl

hullaballoo wrote: »

"I was 10% either side of the speed limit I'm just not sure which one..."

Which side, or which limit?

Samuel T. Cogley

Ive always wondered if my English accent would let me pull off...

"oh kilometres per hour..."

I expect not, with my Irish licence not helping matters.

BaronVon

It's more of a rhetorical question. Just stare at him blankly, and he'll elaborate further!

Are Am Eye

Q. Do you know what speed you were doing?

A. Light has a finite speed and all motion is relative.

Avatar MIA

Right now... At this latitude, a little under 1,000 miles per hour.

Samuel T. Cogley

Avatar MIA wrote: »

Right now... At this latitude, a little under 1,000 miles per hour.

Did anyone else see those disc holders. They reflected 'You look grand Guard' when she shone the torch at it and had finny suggestions on the back like:

'Try complementing them by saying "Don't you have grand big legs guard, or if it's a male guard..."'

Edit: Fecking found and ordered!

begbysback

"Thank fcuk for that, I thought you were gonna give me breathalyser there for a minute guard, haven't a clue about the speed guard - was struggling to keep her in between the white lines there".

The high horse brigade

Garda: Have you any idea what speed you were doing?
Me: I have no idea, i was trying to send a text.....

I love Sean nos

SI units, so metres per second. He's a handy conversion table:


30km/h = 8.33m/s
50km/h = 13.89m/s
60km/h = 16.67m/s
80km/h = 22.22m/s
100km/h = 27.78m/s
120km/h = 33.33m/s

No, but I know exactly where I am...

Sleeper12

hullaballoo wrote:

"I was 10% either side of the speed limit I'm just not sure which one..."

You are allowed up to 10% above the speed limit. Not all speedometers are accurate so the law allows 10%

Really Interested

Sleeper12 wrote: »

You are allowed up to 10% above the speed limit. Not all speedometers are accurate so the law allows 10%

Can you point to that law?

Sleeper12

Really Interested wrote: »

Can you point to that law?

http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057560965/2

Not the law but this thread covers it

Really Interested

Sleeper12 wrote: »

http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057560965/2

Not the law but this thread covers it

SO if i am prosecuted for doing 130 kph in a 120 kph zone I can use that boards thread to get away with it?

BrianBoru00

and if you're doing 132km/h but the machine reads it as 8% over THAT then your clocked at 142km/h in a 100 km/h zone .??????

Sleeper12

Really Interested wrote:

SO if i am prosecuted for doing 130 kph in a 120 kph zone I can use that boards thread to get away with it?

That's the thing. You won't be prosecuted if you are less than 10%over the limit.
Speedometers are not 100% accurate. My own is close to 10% out and was like that the day I bought it new in January. Check your own against a sat nav. You might be surprised.
They don't even test the spedo on the NCT.

Really Interested

Sleeper12 wrote: »

That's the thing. You won't be prosecuted if you are less than 10%over the limit.
Speedometers are not 100% accurate. My own is close to 10% out and was like that the day I bought it new in January. Check your own against a sat nav. You might be surprised.
They don't even test the spedo on the NCT.

So if I get prosecuted for doing 130 in a 120 you will pay my fine and take my points?

http://www.backroads.ie/forums/archive/index.php/t-13868.html

from above

"Last December - 129 km/h in a 120 zone on the M7 at 1 in the morning on a dry weeknight. Sick. I felt like getting on to talk to Joe Duffy."

Sleeper12

Really Interested wrote:

So if I get prosecuted for doing 130 in a 120 you will pay my fine and take my points?

I really don't see why the confusion on this. It's always been like this.
I suggest comparing your speed on the car spedo and the sat nav speed. You'll see how much your car spedo is out of whack

JamesM

LionelNashe wrote: »

What's the best way to answer this question, if stopped by a guard? It's hypothetical, just prompted by a different thread in this forum. If you're speeding and you answer honestly, you incriminate yourself. If you say you weren't speeding, I don't know if it would do any good, but could it do any harm? Why do guards even ask? Are they trying to get the driver to incriminate themselves, to add to the evidence? If you thought you were 20 miles over the speed limit, and you said so, and it turned out you were clocked at a lesser speed than that, would what you said stand against you?

Watergrasshill heading into Cork on the M8 about 8 years ago. Do you know what speed you were doing ? Answer: About 100. (Towing a boat) You know that 80 is the limit when you are towing - I thought that it was 100 on a motorway ? I'm just giving you a warning, but slow down a bit. Thanks Guard I appreciate it. Take care

Really Interested

Sleeper12 wrote: »

I really don't see why the confusion on this. It's always been like this.
I suggest comparing your speed on the car spedo and the sat nav speed. You'll see how much your car spedo is out of whack

I don't see any confusion either. Making sure your speedo is correct is not the same as saying legally they allow a 10% variance. I am not aware of any law on such allowance. But i have seen people getting speeding fines that are less than 10% above the limit.

Bushmanpm

Guard "do you know how fast you were going?"
Driver "why? have you forgotten already? I'll be on my way then"

Zubeneschamali

Sleeper12 wrote: »

I really don't see why the confusion on this

No-one is confused. We all get it.

Samuel T. Cogley

Speedometers almost always, unless yours is faulty, overestimate speed - that's done for a reason. The law doesn't build-in allowances for instrumentation in cars, engineers do.

2forjoy

My speedometer , dashcam and satnav give three different readings . dont know which is correct

The Backwards Man

Was pulled by a traffic cop going into Holyhead one night, he asks me ' you don't know why I stopped you do you?'
Me says ' I might have cut you up on the roundabout a wee bit there' ..
Him 'No there's a fella with a flat tyre down the road and no pulling bar, do you have one?'
Me to him 'Sure'
Me to myself 'Jesus your wan stupid bastard Backwards Man'