Why was Silas "speeding ticket" thread closed?

Quorthon

While I do agree that you have no comeback when you get a speeding ticket, I think there is a huge debate to be had in this area concerning the current police strategy for enforcement.

AFAICS, most speed traps in this country are put in a place where they are destined to make the most money - not on the most dangerous stretches of road. As long as this policy continues, we will have no success in reducing our appalling road accident statistics.

NOTE; I do not condone speeding or dangerous driving. I do however have some sympathy with Silas situation having been in it myself recently.

Regards


Q

silas o'rourke

thanks Q - i was a bit surprised myself, maybe the forum is moderated by cops. very dull, boring cops.

Meh

You broke the law, you got caught and now you want to know if you should face up to it? As I said in the original thread, there's nothing to discuss here.

As long as this policy continues, we will have no success in reducing our appalling road accident statistics.

As long as some drivers continue to ignore sensible safety regulations like speed limits whenever they feel like it, we will have no success in reducing our appalling road accident statistics. It's drivers like this that give us young male drivers a bad name. A speeding ticket never killed anyone.

silas o'rourke

take the broom out of your ass meh.

'appalling road accident statistics' - there's nothing like the hipocrisy of public outrage. most of these 'appalling statistics' are created by a huge number of factors, with people doing 68 in a 60 zone contributing the very least.

'that give us young male drivers bad name'
no, it's idiots like you that perpetuate the tabloidesque hysteria surrounding road accidents and blithely accept every garda report and recommendation. hello? scam? speeding tickets = money, wake up dude.

Meh

Originally posted by silas o'rourke
take the broom out of your ass meh.

I'll take the broom out of my ass if you take the crack pipe out of your mouth,

'appalling road accident statistics' - there's nothing like the hipocrisy of public outrage.

This phrase was a direct quote from Quorthon, who agrees with you. If you think that a road death rate nearly twice as high as the UK isn't "appalling", take it up with him.

idiots like you that perpetuate the tabloidesque hysteria surrounding road accidents and blithely accept every garda report and recommendation.

There is no "hysteria" surrounding road accidents. More than 400 people die on our roads each year, one of the highest figures in the EU. Every bank holiday weekend, there are ten or a dozen more deaths. And this goes almost unnoticed in the press, apart from a two column report on page 5.

hello? scam? speeding tickets = money, wake up dude.

I have a very very simple solution that will protect you from being scammed in this way. DON'T BREAK THE SPEED LIMIT. You had a choice, and you chose to break the law.

silas o'rourke

I certainly will not remove my crack pipe!

Okay garda, you've made your point and totally missed mine.

Meh

Originally posted by silas o'rourke
I certainly will not remove my crack pipe!

Well then the broom stays

silas o'rourke

drat!

IRISHLILY24

gee wiz meh, give us a break will ya. sure accidents happen, but 68 in a 60?? your a bit of a stick in the mud arnt ya.
I think that the question was since the ticket was mailed to him instead of being stopped for it, should he pay it. the question wasnt how he could have an accident, we all know that the law was broken, but duh, its happening everywhere you look.
anyway, I feel if I am going to be ticketed then I need to be stopped and told what I was doing and handed the ticket, if I rcvd a ticket in the mail I'd toss it to the wind. mailing me a ticket?? prove it is my answer.
That's why the garda exists, to uphold the law, not send nice little tickies in the mail. Sorry but I do get a bit overworked when it comes to that mailing you a ticket stuff, not about the law...the law is there for a reason.
sorry but I agree with silas on all accounts.

Just one of lifes little quirks.;) nothing to get hot and bothered about.

WhiteWashMan

fact of the matter is you still broke the law and you were caught.
ok, it may have been a minor infringement, and if you fought the case youd get of.
ou are allowed a 10% leeway with your speed, meaning that you wont get done doing 66 in a 60 zone.
if you were over by 2 miles per hour id say that you were unlucky, but you still broke the law so you deserve it....

Neil3030

Silas,

Your thread was locked because you broke the law and were givng out about the fact that you were caught.

You might argue that 68 in a 60 zone maybe a bit nitty but should a friend or loved one of yours be killed or injured (touch wood it never happens) you will not be as quick to condone such behaviour.

The speed limits are there for a reason and it isn't to piss you off.

As far as the Garda trying to scam you, the fine goes to charity and the Garda don't see a penny of it.

A loophole in the law (unless recently changed) is that you cannot be fined unless a Garda actually pulls you over. \Argue this if you want but as meh has said: No speeding = no fine

take the broom out of your ass meh.

it's idiots like you

I will leave this thread open if people wish to argue the point of speed traps but no more abuse between one another.

silas o'rourke

sorry miss, an older boy told me to do it.

silas o'rourke

so you mete out your own form of wacky justice by locking threads? how incredibly obtuse.

IRISHLILY24

Originally posted by silas o'rourke
so you mete out your own form of wacky justice by locking threads? how incredibly obtuse.

my sentiments exactly

Quorthon

Originally posted by Meh

This phrase was a direct quote from Quorthon, who agrees with you. If you think that a road death rate nearly twice as high as the UK isn't "appalling", take it up with him.
There is no "hysteria" surrounding road accidents. More than 400 people die on our roads each year, one of the highest figures in the EU. Every bank holiday weekend, there are ten or a dozen more deaths. And this goes almost unnoticed in the press, apart from a two column report on page 5.
I have a very very simple solution that will protect you from being scammed in this way. DON'T BREAK THE SPEED LIMIT. You had a choice, and you chose to break the law.

Lads sorry for stirring it, that wasnt my intention.

As for "agreeing" with Silas, while I feel some sympathy with him, I agree that he broke the law and should pay the fine. I dont necessarily agree with everything he has said subsequently.

My point was merely that garda enforcement seems to be directed at places where they will generate the greatest amount of cash and they know people can travel faster than the speed limit safely. In my opinion these are "cheap" tickets and will do nothing to reduce road deaths.

Equally there are very dangerous stretches of road, with not even a hard shoulder where the limit is also 60, and you will never see a speed check being done. There is a clear inconsistency here.

Also, as regards the holier than thou attitude that tends to surface whenever something like this is raised, can anyone here honestly say they have stuck to speed limits rigidly ALL THE TIME???


Q

NeRb666

There's supposed to be 10% leeway, plus the cameras are supposed to be accurate to 2mph, which means that 68 in a 60 could probably be overlooked. You'd probably have to go to court to fight your case though.

Odian

Neill, the law must have changed,because if that was the case then what would the point of having a Gatso Cameras(weird gray boxs that flickers when ure driving on the roads) on the roads,if it could not be enforced.




Are you sure it goes to charity?

it must have been a concealed camera or cop car (no photo enclosed with ticket).

It should be made law that they have to take a picture of you doing that speed.If ure not pulled over,and one day the ticket arrives in the post,your gonna be very shocked,and obvisouly gonna pay the fine.If this is not changed it would be a way for the Goverment to make a quick buck!

Speeding is breaking the law,however the whole thing sholud be revised.If anyone knows the dual carriage way from the Spawell down towards Tempeogue Bridge,they'll know wot im talking about,it goes from 60mph to 30mph with out even a sign to tell you until you reach the lights and by that stage you ahve already been pulled over!

For all you speeders out there(bad boys,speeding kills) this is for you




Wanna play cops and robbers!

Kegser

It's not neccesarily speeding that kills; it's inappropriate speeding. However the law is there and no matter how much you dislike it; you have to abide by it.

I'm just interested to see whether the speed cameras have been adjusted to nab bikers yet.

Odian

I'm just interested to see whether the speed cameras have been adjusted to nab bikers yet.

Hell yea,even when dunking their donuts!
not sure though about the Gatsos though

Lenny

Originally posted by Odian
[B
Speeding is breaking the law,however the whole thing sholud be revised.If anyone knows the dual carriage way from the Spawell down towards Tempeogue Bridge,they'll know wot im talking about,it goes from 60mph to 30mph with out even a sign to tell you until you reach the lights and by that stage you ahve already been pulled over!
[/B]

Well you must be blind!
As I do see two signs saying 30mph is the speed limit, before you even come well close to the spawel duel carrage way!

But though, I must say, one of them is quite small, and saing that, I do mean it is about 1 foot in diameter

Quorthon

guys the signage in this country is quite awful. Many roads dont have speed limits clearly marked, or as you say, some obscure sign about 6 inches in diameter.

Has anyone here ever driven in Switzerland, for example? Signposting is absolutely out of this world on what are outstanding roads in the first place. One of the safest places to drive IMHO.

Q

Lenny

If you don't think the road signs are very good here, you know who to vote for and who you think would improove them when voting
Here's some info about Sweden


Speed Limits

Speed Limits are posted everywhere. They are medium size red circles with a yellow background and black numbers.

For example:





If you speed in Sweden, you risk a heavy fine and maybe even losing your driving license. Sweden is 54% forest, so there are a lot of "Animal" warning signs posted. These signs must be taken seriously. You should be extra careful when driving around sunset and dawn.

Alcohol

Even very small amounts of alcohol can affect your driving ability. Sweden has a very strict law that entitles the Police to give a Breathalyzer test, even if there is no reason to suspect that you are driving under the influence of alcohol. If your blood level alcohol content is 0.2 promille or the content of alcohol in your exhaled breath is 0.10mg/l or more, this will result in a stiff fine, a prison sentence or both. You will also lose your driving license. Alcohol also remains in your system the day after you drink it. Do Not Drink and Drive.

Seat Belts

Whenever you are sitting in a car, you must use a seat belt. Children under the age of seven must sit in a child safety seat. All other children must use a seatbelt. It is forbidden to use a back facing Child safety seat in a car that has a passenger side airbag.

Headlights

It is the Law in Sweden that you have to be seen when you are driving. All vehicles must drive with at least dimmed headlights, always day and night.

Now you surely cannot go comparying Ireland to Sweden, their climate is totally different, so is their life style.

seamus

Fine, some signs in Ireland are awful....but you are supposed to know the speed limit in areas....remember all that stuff you learned before your test??

Samson

I would like to comment on the following points:

Originally posted by Neil3030
As far as the Garda trying to scam you, the fine goes to charity and the Garda don't see a penny of it.

This is inaccurate, money from traffic fines does not go to charity. The funds generated go to the exchequer.

Originally posted by NeRb666
There's supposed to be 10% leeway, plus the cameras are supposed to be accurate to 2mph, which means that 68 in a 60 could probably be overlooked. You'd probably have to go to court to fight your case though.

This is also inaccurate, any leeway is for purely operational reasons. The reasons being that if there was no leeway, the rate of ticketing/paperwork/administration and amount of court time taken up would be unsustainable. Technically if you are 5 miles per hour over the limit, you can be fined.

Originally posted by Odian
It should be made law that they have to take a picture of you doing that speed.If ure not pulled over,and one day the ticket arrives in the post,your gonna be very shocked,and obvisouly gonna pay the fine.If this is not changed it would be a way for the Goverment to make a quick buck!

If you receive a speeding ticket in the post, there is a photo of you speeding. If you do receive a speeding ticket, write to the Gardai requesting a copy of any photographic evidence they have against you. Some weeks later you will receive your snapshot in the post.
The (real) reason they are not sent out with the speeding ticket as a matter of course, is that each photographic print costs money, thus cutting down on profit margins.



For your information, there are no fixed speed cameras on the Naas dual/triple carriageway. The above van is the culprit (it has Gatso/video kit in the back and snaps you from the hard shoulder as you speed by unaware).

Neil3030

This is inaccurate, money from traffic fines does not go to charity. The funds generated go to the exchequer.

I've never been done for speeding but my father was once and the fine he paid went to Concearn. And besides, my point was that the garda aren't putting themselves in places to earn themeselves cash.

Samson

Originally posted by Neil3030
I've never been done for speeding but my father was once and the fine he paid went to Concearn.

This would have been a court imposed fine (possibly before the "on the spot" came in), quite often District Judges direct that you pay any fine imposed to a charity of their choice.

Originally posted by Neil3030
And besides, my point was that the garda aren't putting themselves in places to earn themeselves cash.

The point is valid that the Gardai are not trying to make for themselves.
However, they do have a certain budget, and if they can show extra revenue can be generated by pumping more resources into speed enforcement, they then have a good argument for an increased budget.

Also, large numbers of speeding tickets issued makes it look like the Gardai are being proactive in the fight against the carnage on our roads.
This in turn means that individual Gardai are under "quota pressures", no matter what they say publicly.
Therefore, speed traps are usually situated in locations where the maximum amount of ticketing can be achieved (usually safe roads where one would not be in danger by breaking the speed limit slightly I.E. dual carriageways etc.).

The Devil

I was done for speeding on the Mullingar bypass one day.
The limit is 60.
I was doing 77.
It was a bright dry day.
The guard was hiding in the bushes in the centre of the road.
He jumped out to flag me down.
This guy was not out to slow down traffic or help road safety.
It was obvious by his actions that he was just trying to issue as many tickets as possible.

Samson

Jesus, hiding in the bushes ?
That takes the p!ss altogether.

Neil3030

The limit is 60.
I was doing 77.

You shouldn't be complaining.

Don't break the limit, the garda won't piss you off.