Quickie re Penalty Points

Seth Brundle

unkel wrote:

Spot on.

Reporting results of testing the callibration of speedos should be part of car reviews!

Thanks. I love being right!
However, testing the calibration is of relatively limited use as if it was tested then people in general would automatically assume that it is always accurate. ALso testing would presumably be best when the car is in A1 condition with brand new correctly sized & pressured tyres - something not common with cars that use our splendid roads.

It is possible to measure the (general) accuracy of your instruments by driving over a set distance at a set speed. Aren't lights on main roads (i.e. 'motorways' and dual carriageways) 100m apart? If so then the distance could be easily calculated. However, two things arise from this - 1. you need to stare at your speedo whilst driving to ensure that you are keeping to the set speed (unless you have cruise control!) making the experiment dangerous and also the fact that it can be difficult to keep an even speed on our roads because invariably there will be someone driving slowly in your lane.

CTU_Agent

getting back to penalty points and its ridicilous-ness of it all, my girlfriends father was clocked by a gatso van on the side of the road doing 32 in a 30 zone and was given to penalty points and the fine....the man is 70 years old for crying out load.... this is no exageration ive seen the notice that was served and those were the speeds that were stated...

Also, I got stopped by a garda myself at a checkpoint one night and he went to town on me as a provisional driver.... i didnt have my license with me, had no l plates displayed front and rear (2 offences for this although i had them on the floor of the car), i had no qualified driver, and "non conformant reg plates" i had italics on the license plates... I was summonsed with 5 charges as above and luckily the garda in question never showd up so i was counting my lucky stars....

Bogger77

ns9bg1 wrote:

Also, I got stopped by a garda myself at a checkpoint one night and he went to town on me as a provisional driver.... i didnt have my license with me, had no l plates displayed front and rear (2 offences for this although i had them on the floor of the car), i had no qualified driver, and "non conformant reg plates" i had italics on the license plates... I was summonsed with 5 charges as above and luckily the garda in question never showd up so i was counting my lucky stars....

Some use having them L plates on the floor of the car, easily seen from the outside. :rolleyes:

Why didn't you have them on your car? Were you ashamed or something?

CTU_Agent

i think at the time i either took them down to use the motorway or to wash the car windows and they kept falling off or sumting like that.....


....I lie about the 2 offences for the l plates, it was 2 offences for the reg plates not conforming on the front and rear of the vehicle.....

lomb

i suppose 1 way to check accuracy is drive past a gatso, the one outside axa on the longmile road tells u what speed ur doing only as a safety message so its safe.
all vws are calibrated to show 6-7% over whaat ur doing. ive tested several using gps.
my fathers coraolla is spot on though.

Bogger77

ns9bg1 wrote:

i think at the time i either took them down to use the motorway or to wash the car windows and they kept falling off or sumting like that.....
QUOTE]

I rest my case !!

Have you passed your tested yet? Best feeling in world, taking the plates off and ripping them up

Bogger77

lomb wrote:

my fathers coraolla is spot on though.

My corolla is off, and has been, since the day I got it. I tend to hold it at 60 on the speedo in know speed trap areas, and closer to real limit in other area's.

I'll have to recalibrate my reckoning when metric comes into force

CTU_Agent

i have passed my test, ur right getting that official "youve passed" is a great feeling as for ripping up the L plates- the girlfriend is still a learner and on my insurance so ........

JohnCleary

Bogger77 wrote:

just noticed this, so your car has been modified?

Provisonal Driver, no L plates, no Qualified driver, 8% over speed limit, in a modified car. If you arrived before the local judge in my area (tullamore circuit) you'd end up with a massive fine, 4 points, probably suspended. And you'd be asked to show your car, to a Garda Motor inspector, minus any window tinting, etc. The last guy he sentanced to this, had sold the car on, so he had to re-purchase the car, and replace all the windows, suitable sentence if you ask me.
edit guy had been caught doing over 80mph in a 60zone

No boy racer mods, just alloys.
I was never shown by the Garda that I was speeding. If I had my full license id defo have gone to court over it... When asked to produce a 'record' of the speed I was doing...what would the Garda present?

W4nker Gardai!

Pataman

According to last weeks Indo, the printout loophole has been closed. The judge will accept the garda's word.

Bogger77

JohnCleary wrote:

No boy racer mods, just alloys.
I was never shown by the Garda that I was speeding. If I had my full license id defo have gone to court over it... When asked to produce a 'record' of the speed I was doing...what would the Garda present?

W4nker Gardai!

2 points with what you've said.
You were in the wrong, re: driver and L plates. In my experience, just cos he can't issue a written proof of speed, doesn't invalidate the speed gun, Odds on, you were breaking the limit.

second,

W4nker Gardai!

Bet you've been watching your speed since? so he's done his job.

Bogger77

Pataman wrote:

According to last weeks Indo, the printout loophole has been closed. The judge will accept the garda's word.

If it's good enough to base a conviction of IRA membership on, it no reason why it can't be used other instances.

I've only been stopped for speeding once, and the garda offered me the gun to check it's display. It was accurate I was well over the limit. pre points though, paid the fine that day on my way past the station.

Most gardai I've dealt with are normal people, with sense of humour, although I've never insulted them.

JohnCleary

Bogger77 wrote:

Bet you've been watching your speed since? so he's done his job.

Have I fu(k

Bogger77

JohnCleary wrote:

Have I fu(k

In that case, pity he didn't take you to the cleaners


Some people never learn

BobTheBeat

This is quite an interesting topic... however, one thing I have to say about the traffic cops is that they are bloody inconsistent.
Last weekend a good friend of mine was pulled over for speeding. Now this guy is only 20, still on a provisional license and paying a fortune for insurance on a 1.4
He was caught by the guard (with a radar gun), doing 62 in a 30 mph zone. By law, over twice the speed limit and goodbye, its disqualification station. This is sickening speed and suggests that my mate is a reckless twit and has a serious problem obeying the rules of the road. Anyways, the cop lumbers up to him, gives the usual spiel, then lets him off with a fine of only €120 or so.
The guards seriously need to get their heads together on this kind of ****e

Boggle

bogger77 wrote:

Bet you've been watching your speed since? so he's done his job.

It'd be nice if people were less paranoid about speed and more worried about looking outside the car.

And anyone who preaches about being 5mph over the limit must never have driven a day in his life... anyone who does drive (well) knows that your car can drift a little higher and a little lower at times without necessarily trying to break any limits - take when your going down a bit of a hill for example.

How long is it going to take for someone to kill someone because they were more worried about watching their speedo while passing the school than watching for kids. Especially now that they'll be squinting at the small secondary print on their speedo dials.

Blitzkrieger

JohnCleary wrote:

Now I know I can appeal or whatever because I was given no print out, etc. blah blah spam rant....

No you can't. If you wanted to appeal you shouldn't have paid the fine. I wouldn't say a word to the insurance company until the points actually appear on the license.

I'm not sure if unkel is right about that loophole being closed - I'd go out and get legal advice if I was caught (again).

MrPudding

Blitzkrieger wrote:

........I was caught (again).

Which he hopefully and most likely will.

MrP

midship

Boggle wrote:

It'd be nice if people were less paranoid about speed and more worried about looking outside the car.

And anyone who preaches about being 5mph over the limit must never have driven a day in his life... anyone who does drive (well) knows that your car can drift a little higher and a little lower at times without necessarily trying to break any limits - take when your going down a bit of a hill for example.

Good Point, i was cought doing 38 (in a 30) on a dual carrigeway and seen a picture, i got off it 6 months later in court

I know i was over the limit but the road is three lanes wide with a feckin barrier up the center, on a bright dry day with no other car in sight! No way was i accepting 2 point and a fine for that, thank you very much! The whole speeding thing is a scam. They are given quotas and have to generate revenue so most of the time they pick nice easy streches of road that have been reduced to 30MPH purely to increse revenue go over it and bam your gone!

JohnCleary

midship wrote:

Good Point, i was cought doing 38 (in a 30) on a dual carrigeway and seen a picture, i got off it 6 months later in court

I know i was over the limit but the road is three lanes wide with a feckin barrier up the center, on a bright dry day with no other car in sight! No way was i accepting 2 point and a fine for that, thank you very much! The whole speeding thing is a scam. They are given quotas and have to generate revenue so most of the time they pick nice easy streches of road that have been reduced to 30MPH purely to increse revenue go over it and bam your gone!

Its so true its sickening!
I was caught on the Ennis to Limerick road, just after Shannon.... Really good quality 4 lane road with barriers in between

kdouglas

just a slight side note: what if someone is caught by a (automatic) speed camera over the limit but they are not the registered owner of the car, obviously the fine and points will be sent to the registered owner, but i presume with a letter from the two parties involved (registered owner and actual offender) then this can be transferred?

also, i thought speed cameras (stationary) had to be clearly marked and visible, should a similar rule not apply to gardai with handheld gatso's? (i.e. no more hiding behind a bush around a corner)

Seth Brundle

As you say, the notice is sent to the registered owner who will be given the points. However, they can nominate someone else to recieve the points.

As for making the scameras clearly visible, there is no rule about this. However, there usually is signage in the locality indicating the possible presence of cameras and also the speed limit. The cameras here are often hidden behind overgrown bushes or some signage. This shows that the gardai/local authorities are taking a punishing approach rather than the preventative approach used in parts of the UK where not only are the Gatsos in full view but they are also yellow or some colour that stands out.

Our man in Havana

As you say, the notice is sent to the registered owner who will be given the points. However, they can nominate someone else to recieve the points.

Popular misconception. No points are sent to anyone until a fine is paid and a signed confession is recieved.
In a lot of cases the registered owner would not have been driving and therefore completes the "I wasn't driving and talk to this guy about it" section.

Seth Brundle

is that not what I said?

magpie

No way was i accepting 2 point and a fine for that, thank you very much!

So how did you beat the rap?

I got done doing 43 mph on the N7 in one of the crafty 30 zones they've added to increase their revenue.

Anyone know what the money from speeding fines is used for? Something tells me it's not improved roads / signage.

Seth Brundle

magpie wrote:

Anyone know what the money from speeding fines is used for? Something tells me it's not improved roads / signage.

Speeding fines are given straight to the national exchequer.

Our man in Havana

So how did you beat the rap?

You beat the rap by asking for printouts. It seems the only place that Muldoon can give you a printout is Louth.

No Printout=No case to answer, so you beat the rap. Has worked 3 times for me so far!

Seth Brundle

Did the garda drop the charge at the side of the road or did you appeal, requesting the printout or did you go all the way to court?

magpie

How do you beat the rap for a fixed camera? The only proof you get is a photograph of your car registration, which could have been taken while stationery.

Can you ask for a printout from fixed camera / white van?

Seth Brundle

The fixed cameras take two pictures (hence the two flashes by fixed Gatsos) which are used to manually calculate the speed if an appeal arises.