Near Misses Volume 2 (So close you can feel it)

Agree if they took a formal statement it's being taken seriously so I'm not sure it's wise to be posting the video yet, the wheels of justice turn slowly.

Unless you’ve a friendly Garda to give you an unofficial update, you aren’t supposed to get any updates unless you are the victim; potential breach of GDPR disclosing information about a potential offence by someone else.

On an near empty road you do 2 kmph over the limit, get your picture taken you get 3 points and a E160 fine.

Somebody getting “3 points, maybe 5” for that maneuver seems disproportionately low when its the exact type of behavior that puts people in coffins.

I had a similar experience - terrible driving, thought I was a goner - reported to Garda and said I had video. Video was never sought, I never got an update. After a few months I got onto GSOC, they got onto the station or local inspector, and it turned out the Garda had spoken to the driver and issued a FCPN. He was very apologetic about not updating me.

I'd have preferred something more severe, but have to trust the Garda's professional opinion (and I didn't really have a say in the matter anyway).

This is it exactly.

We have been hearing so much the past few weeks about cycling- and motor-related deaths. Everyone agrees that the tragedies are awful, but there's a "it'll never happen to me" cockiness to so many drivers. That's why it's so important that near-misses cannot, and should not, be tolerated lightly.

Drivers cannot be reckless and just get away with it, or get off lightly. That's the zero-consequence mindset which leads to deaths and injuries.

It needs to be the case that if drivers pull these stunts on the road, they know that any dashcam footage will land them in front of a judge and off the road.

Whether or not an FCPN has been issued is personal information if the person you disclose that information to can identify the other person. The guards cannot know for certain whether the complainant knows the alleged perpetrator or not, so they are under instruction not to disclose anything to avoid a potential complaint.

It doesn’t mean that they are right to do it, just that there’s a small risk that gives them a reason not to

GDPR is about processing data and stored data, it says nothing about a Garda telling you about something they had personal knowledge of, if they were the one to issue the points for example. There probably is a separate internal policy restricting what they can say though.

That link specifies those principles relate to processing data. A Garda telling you about an action they took is not processing data, maybe it would be if they had to go look it up if they weren't involved in the case. Apart from that, there are wide exemptions to GDPR for law enforcement activities.

All that might be true but it's not GDPR which you originally said. Anyway I'm not interested in getting into an endless back and forth so I'm going to leave it there.

A near miss of a different kind today! Stunning sunny day, lots out cycling when a male cyclist caning along at about 40kph towards Howth on the packed coastal cycle path in Raheny opposite st. Annes park overtook stationary cyclists waiting for the traffic lights to cross the road almost had a head on collision with cyclists coming the other way, proper speed wobble, he just managed to stay on board.

He was under the impression it was everyone else's fault. He didn't look very confident on the bike, beginner or maybe a new bike. Another cyclist called him Fred & told him to cop on!!

(I googled Fred & cycling - funny)