Do you flash lights at other drivers to warn them of speed vans?

dexter_morgan

Peatys wrote: »

Fascinating. Thread is about speed vans.
Not checkpoints.

This is the heading in the very first post of this thread! "Do you flash lights at other drivers to warn them of speed vans and Garda checkpoints?" Fascinating how you could miss that.

BTW did my post about a drunk driver offend you somehow? Seems like I struck a nerve!

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

Peatys

dexter_morgan wrote: »

This is the heading in the very first post of this thread! "Do you flash lights at other drivers to warn them of speed vans and Garda checkpoints?" Fascinating how you could miss that.

Hmmm, seems I did indeed miss that

BTW did my post about a drunk driver offend you somehow? Seems like I struck a nerve!

No.

Kalyke

To those who say they would not flash, a question. Do you let family or friends know of these checkpoints?

Peatys

Kalyke wrote: »

To those who say they would not flash, a question. Do you let family or friends know of these checkpoints?

Wouldn't enter my head that anyone I know, family or friends would have anything to hide from a checkpoint.

Do you mean tax/drink driving checkpoints or guards out with a hairdryer collecting revenue?

Kalyke

Peatys wrote: »

Kalyke wrote: »

To those who say they would not flash, a question. Do you let family or friends know of these checkpoints?

Wouldn't enter my head that anyone I know, family or friends would have anything to hide from a checkpoint.

Do you mean tax/drink driving checkpoints or guards out with a hairdryer collecting revenue?

Speed vans

Donald Trump

Whatever about flashing you lights

Ladies, I want to know would yiz flash yizzer boobs

John_Rambo

Dempsey wrote: »

Explain how the autobahn works so :rolleyes:

Not in Ireland.

whisky_galore

Hapax Legomenon wrote: »

It's the adult equivalent of shouting "sketch!" when there's a teacher on the way. If you knowingly fail to warn other drivers, you're essentially no better than a common grass.

^^ this is just childish now.

So if there were no speed cameras, that'd be great because we could bomb along at any speed we wanted to. That'd work wonders for our road traffic fatalities stats. :rolleyes:

John_Rambo

John_Rambo wrote: »

I know where our coming from and you make a good point, but your GTi can comfortably and safely cruise at 140kph on a motorway. It's probably comfortable at that speed... Big brake discs, massive callipers and pads, excellent traction control, serious handling, low profile, high end wet weather tyres, light chasis etc... So can modern diesel 5 and 3 series BMW's and indeed other cars can do it faster and quiet safely.

The problem is, not everyone has them. And people are stupid, if we raised the bar and went for autobahn limits we'd have people in small cars, Defenders, vans, Clio's, high top people carriers etc... (and they're all capable of high speeds.... eventually, they're just not capable of the reactive manoeuvres when things go wrong) flaking along at massive speeds is good for some, but not for others.

Unless we have separate speed limits for various cars which will be impossible to implicate we have to set speed limits for the lower common denominator.

The vast majority of cars are perfectly safe and comfortable cruising at 140kmh, my car is at absolute ease at 160 or even 180 on the motorway it was designed for it. Even high top people carriers are perfectly safe and capable of this speed, they all do it on autobhans, it’s not just well sorted cars that drive on them
it’s mostly your run of the mill cars. It’s rarely you come across something like a defender doing even 120 so I don’t see any reason assume it would make much difference.

The fact is cars were absolute scrap when these limits were set, even a super car from the days the limits were set would be inferior to a micra or Clio today in terms of braking, tyres etc. 100kmh is extremely slow on many of or N roads etc and many roads have 80kmh speed limits for many many kms of road and it would drive you insane sitting at that speed on a road well capable of faster.

FunLover18

Kalyke wrote: »

To those who say they would not flash, a question. Do you let family or friends know of these checkpoints?

No, it wouldn't even occur to me.

whisky_galore

Alma Important Twinkle wrote: »

The fact is cars were absolute scrap when these limits were set, even a super car from the days the limits were set would be inferior to a micra or Clio today in terms of braking, tyres etc. 100kmh is extremely slow on many of or N roads etc and many roads have 80kmh speed limits for many many kms of road and it would drive you insane sitting at that speed on a road well capable of faster.

What is so vitally important to the future of this planet that you need to get there maybe 10 mins earlier for?

yrreg0850

I do it for gosafe vans only, if I think the driver is marginally over. These vans are basically revenue generators. A TV programme last year exposed some vans were not even properly calibrated.
I will not do it for an obvious speeder or a checkpoint.

inforfun

The 2 spots where i see them regularly both are at the point where the speed drops from 80 to 60. The only way to avoid going too fast is dropping the anchor immediately at the 60 sign.
I will warn if i can because that is just trying to screw people over.

KrustyUCC

That happens a lot

The sneaky locations they choose

Not about safety about maximising revenue

FunLover18

inforfun wrote: »

The 2 spots where i see them regularly both are at the point where the speed drops from 80 to 60. The only way to avoid going too fast is dropping the anchor immediately at the 60 sign.
I will warn if i can because that is just trying to screw people over.

Or slow down in advance, you seem to know about the drop so I assume others in the area do too.

Hector Bellend

It gives me more pleasure to see them getting caught.

It should be up to them to obey the speed limit not me.

Gamer Bhoy 89

I've been the passenger of my other half's car for 6 years to learn that if it was me behind the wheel I probably wouldn't flash....

The amount of times I've witnessed cars coming across a speed van and slowing down from the speed limit to an absolute [dangerous] crawl is worrying. The Gárds are not asking you to drive at a graveyard pace, if you're going the limit then grand, stay on it.....

fuzzyduck4

Doctors room ghost wrote: »

Twat-Badger wrote: »

Yes I do.  

I also pull over into the hard shoulder if there's cars behind me to let them pass. I let other cars out of side turns, zip merge, give cyclists as much room as I can and make sure to thank other motorists who extend similar courtesies to me.  

It's called courteous driving.  Try it some time.

Nice to be courteous but if you’re driving in the hard shoulder to let someone pass and a tractor pulls out of a field and hits you in the hard shoulder you are fukd and Johnny tailgaiter will sail past both of ye like he’s floating on a cloud of air.youre not insured if you smash a car in the hard shoulder.
Let the fukr that’s bet up behind you tailgating learn a bit of manners and either grow some stones and pass you or else back off to a safe distance.pulling in for them gimps only encourages their pr1ckish behavior and endangers yourself and your cars occupants

I find that when someone tail gates me I tend to jam on the breaks and go even slower to wind them up. I drive a 1 litre car so when a 2 litre bmw or audi jumps up behind me I wont be thrown by their bully boy tactics. Slow and steady wins the race!

whisky_galore

fuzzyduck4 wrote: »

I find that when someone tail gates me I tend to jam on the breaks and go even slower to wind them up. I drive a 1 litre car so when a 2 litre bmw or audi jumps up behind me I wont be thrown by their bully boy tactics. Slow and steady wins the race!

That just makes an already aggressive tool even more wound-up and dangerous, it's not up to you to teach lessons about driving to anyone.

inforfun

FunLover18 wrote: »

Or slow down in advance, you seem to know about the drop so I assume others in the area do too.

And the same scenario in an area i dont know? Because i am pretty sure those 2 spots arent the only 2 they use that tactic.
Or i must be very unlucky.

For what it is worth, they haven caught me so far.
I have a 6th sense developed for those speed checks in The Netherlands where they have so many of them, you can request a movie from you trip from A to B

Graces7

whisky_galore wrote: »

That just makes an already aggressive tool even more wound-up and dangerous, it's not up to you to teach lessons about driving to anyone.

Hmm.. I pull over when needful if there is somewhere safe to do so.. I do not pull over for an aggressive tailgater until is is safe, and if on a road where I know there is not going to be a safe place soon, I slow down, because if I need to stop suddenly, he is going to ram me. Especially at night.

facehugger99

yrreg0850 wrote: »

I do it for gosafe vans only, if I think the driver is marginally over.

You must be incredibly good at judging relative velocity speeds in an instant as you approach a car coming towards you.

alan partridge aha

Hector Bellend wrote: »

It gives me more pleasure to see them getting caught.

It should be up to them to obey the speed limit not me.

Apt name

fuzzyduck4

Graces7 wrote: »

whisky_galore wrote: »

That just makes an already aggressive tool even more wound-up and dangerous, it's not up to you to teach lessons about driving to anyone.

Hmm.. I pull over when needful if there is somewhere safe to do so.. I do not pull over for an aggressive tailgater until is is safe, and if on a road where I know there is not going to be a safe place soon, I slow down, because if I need to stop suddenly, he is going to ram me.  Especially at night.

Its not very practical to pull in at times, especially on a country road. Unless there is an ambulance or garda car behind me I tend to hold my ground. Nothing could be that important that someone has to go over 120 km an hour, especially when you consider than speed kills.

Graces7

fuzzyduck4 wrote: »

Its not very practical to pull in at times, especially on a country road. Unless there is an ambulance or garda car behind me I tend to hold my ground. Nothing could be that important that someone has to go over 120 km an hour, especially when you consider than speed kills.

There was a boy racer one dark evening, who tailgated me for miles on the Ring Of Kerry road between Killarney and Moll's Gap, that very narrow winding part. I flashed brake lights a few times; he had headlights full on. Horn blaring.. I felt like stopping the car, getting out and lambasting him. Knew who he was too..

MajesticDonkey

fuzzyduck4 wrote: »

Its not very practical to pull in at times, especially on a country road. Unless there is an ambulance or garda car behind me I tend to hold my ground. Nothing could be that important that someone has to go over 120 km an hour, especially when you consider than speed kills.

Speed doesn't kill on it's own. Inappropriate speed does kill however.

yrreg0850

fuzzyduck4 wrote: »

Its not very practical to pull in at times, especially on a country road. Unless there is an ambulance or garda car behind me I tend to hold my ground. Nothing could be that important that someone has to go over 120 km an hour, especially when you consider than speed kills.

I willl never pull in, if I am doing the legal speed limit.

feargale

PARlance wrote: »

I'll make a quick judgement call. If someone is driving at a crazy speed then no warning. If I think someone might be in danger of tipping along, a little over the limit, I'll warn. Especially if it's in a sneaky spot.

I can't tell the speed of an oncoming car down to the nearest km or anything. But you can spot the lunatics.

The trouble is, the limit has to be drawn somewhere, and wherever it's drawn somebody will be a little over. In practice the guards don't prosecute for a little over. I can only understand flashing a warning if one is in favour of totally unrestricted speeds. If there are revenue generating traps why is nobody using political pressure to address the issue? Must it always be as in the 1950s when often the parish priest decided in his absolute discretion whether to exercise pressure if he deemed the application of the law to a particular person in a particular instance to be unduly harsh?
Would all the flashers not be better employed getting a bill through the Oireachtas allowing a speed free for all to drivers?

seamus

feargale wrote: »

In practice the guards don't prosecute for a little over.

No, no, no. Money-making racket, rabble rabble rabble. My mate got done for being 2mph over the limit, rabble rabble rabble. Go chase the real criminals, rabble rabble rabble. Revenue generation, rabble rabble rabble.

feargale

"No as you can do done if caught be the police for doing it"

This was posted two minutes ago but has been deleted. I hope the poster isn't driving at the moment.

citytillidie

feargale wrote: »

"No as you can do done if caught be the police for doing it"

This was posted two minutes ago but has been deleted. I hope the poster isn't driving at the moment.

That was mean, i deleted it until i found a link, i meant fined not done

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2157763/Drivers-fined-flashing-headlights-warn-oncoming-cars-police-speed-trap.html

amcalester

I wonder how many motorists who are happy to turn a blind eye to speeding are equally as happy to do the same to cyclists breaking red lights.

After all in both cases it is a road user breaking the law.

I don't flash for either, though 90% of my driving in motorway so very rarely see either.

wexie

feargale wrote: »

If there are revenue generating traps why is nobody using political pressure to address the issue?

I don't get this whole 'revenue generating' trap nonsense. They are very clearly marked vans, parked out in the open, that you can usually spot well outside the distance they are effective in. So to me that means if you haven't spotted it in time to slow down enough not to get caught by it then you are either not paying enough attention to the road ahead or going far to fast.

In either case you deserve a little reminder that there are speed limits, not speed suggestions.

I grew up where these things were (and are pretty) normal, those are actual traps.




If you can't spot a big white van sitting by the side of the road well.....that's just too bad.

OldMrBrennan83

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citytillidie

OmegaGene wrote: »

That link is for the uk and police
What’s the law in Ireland if there even is one ?

Have a look at my location

KrustyUCC

wexie wrote: »

I don't get this whole 'revenue generating' trap nonsense. They are very clearly marked vans, parked out in the open, that you can usually spot well outside the distance they are effective in. So to me that means if you haven't spotted it in time to slow down enough not to get caught by it then you are either not paying enough attention to the road ahead or going far to fast.

In either case you deserve a little reminder that there are speed limits, not speed suggestions.

I grew up where these things were (and are pretty) normal, those are actual traps.




If you can't spot a big white van sitting by the side of the road well.....that's just too bad.

Not every van is white. Some are red and some are yellow as well

Also in a hell of a lot of cases the vans are not parked out in the open. They are hid behind walls, trees etc

Also parked in areas where accidents don't happen

Those are the areas where people feel they are revenue generating vans. If the whole point of 'safety' vans is to get people to slow down and the company don't get extra revenue for detections then why are they so sly about where they park?

Cause they only want to catch people out

corks finest

Always

FunLover18

But they're gernerating revenue off people who are breaking the law, so what?

feargale

citytillidie wrote: »

That was mean, i deleted it until i found a link, i meant fined not done

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2157763/Drivers-fined-flashing-headlights-warn-oncoming-cars-police-speed-trap.html

Joke! Relax, man. We know it was a typo.

Yer Da sells Avon

whisky_galore wrote: »

^^ this is just childish now.

No, you are.

yrreg0850

wexie wrote: »

I don't get this whole 'revenue generating' trap nonsense. They are very clearly marked vans, parked out in the open.

On one occasion I spotted one of these vans parked on a hard margin , on a bend at dusk with no lights on . This in itself was breaking the law. reported same to the RSA -heard no more!

John_Rambo

Alma Important Twinkle wrote: »

The vast majority of cars are perfectly safe and comfortable cruising at 140kmh, my car is at absolute ease at 160 or even 180 on the motorway it was designed for it. Even high top people carriers are perfectly safe and capable of this speed, they all do it on autobhans, it’s not just well sorted cars that drive on them
it’s mostly your run of the mill cars. It’s rarely you come across something like a defender doing even 120 so I don’t see any reason assume it would make much difference.

I've had a couple of GTi's Nox. 180kph is to fast for Irish Motorways. With you're sedentary lifestyle and weekly alcohol intake I'd say your reactions are fairly slow.

Alma Important Twinkle wrote: »

The fact is cars were absolute scrap when these limits were set, even a super car from the days the limits were set would be inferior to a micra or Clio today in terms of braking, tyres etc. 100kmh is extremely slow on many of or N roads etc and many roads have 80kmh speed limits for many many kms of road and it would drive you insane sitting at that speed on a road well capable of faster.

Aside from the autobahn it's the same all over the world Nox! The engineers base the speed limits on lots of factors, some of which wouldn't enter your head.

mcgrath1992

for checkpoints- Never
If there was a hazard or a bad road accident up ahead- yes i do
speed van- yes i do

wexie

Just wondering, as the vans are occupied normally, would they leave the engine running to use the aircon these days?

Cause otherwise there might be a few mummified speed camera operators dotted around the country

yrreg0850

KrustyUCC wrote: »

Not every van is white. Some are red and some are yellow as well

Also in a hell of a lot of cases the vans are not parked out in the open. They are hid behind walls, trees etc

Also parked in areas where accidents don't happen

Those are the areas where people feel they are revenue generating vans. If the whole point of 'safety' vans is to get people to slow down and the company don't get extra revenue for detections then why are they so sly about where they park?

Cause they only want to catch people out

As I mentioned earlier, I have seen a van parked in a hard margin, on a bend , at dusk (lighting up time) with not a light visable.

Is this contributing to road safety ?

Kalyke

They are leaving the sliding door open...

beachhead

Isn't it illegal to flash drivers to warn of speed vans/garda checkpoints

appledrop

There was a check point this evening going onto M4 at Maynooth exit. Thought it was a bit dangerous. It's a very busy junction with a lot of traffic heading to M4 Sligo as well as too + from Maynooth. They decided to set it up at peak traffic. The result was cars backing up and causing issues at the junction. Could have easily caused an accident.

OldMrBrennan83

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