Garda Traffic Corps: Thank you!

woolymammoth · 05-01-2011 6:38pm #1

So i was walking down Setanta Pl., towards Kildare St. It was 6:10pm, and it was dark. About 20-30 yards ahead of me on the corner, i see a guy on a bicycle. He's turning off Kildare and into Setanta, and he's being hugged by a traffic corps motorbike. All of the blue lights are flashing. I'm just coming into earshot as the bicycle comes to a halt. And before the garda fully stops, the cyclist begins his plea;

cyclist: "i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i didn't realise, i'm sorry"

Garda: "You didn't realise what you were doing?"

Cyclist: "I'm really sorry, I didn't know I couldn't.."

Garda (now now audibly irritated at the stupidity): "You mean you don't know the rules of the road?"

Cyclist: " ... ah, I do, but.."

Garda (clearly had enough, gets off bike): "Give me details, you can argue all you like in court!"

Cyclist: *silence*

I wouldn't wish badness on anyone. I have no idea what the guy done before he turned that corner, but whatever it was was must've been stupid enough!

So thank you traffic corps, you made my day

Fuinseog · 05-01-2011 8:30pm

woolymammoth wrote: »

So i was walking down Setanta Pl., towards Kildare St. It was 6:10pm, and it was dark. About 20-30 yards ahead of me on the corner, i see a guy on a bicycle. He's turning off Kildare and into Setanta, and he's being hugged by a traffic corps motorbike. All of the blue lights are flashing. I'm just coming into earshot as the bicycle comes to a halt. And before the garda fully stops, the cyclist begins his plea;

cyclist: "i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i didn't realise, i'm sorry"

Garda: "You didn't realise what you were doing?"

Cyclist: "I'm really sorry, I didn't know I couldn't.."

Garda (now now audibly irritated at the stupidity): "You mean you don't know the rules of the road?"

Cyclist: " ... ah, I do, but.."

Garda (clearly had enough, gets off bike): "Give me details, you can argue all you like in court!"

Cyclist: *silence*

I wouldn't wish badness on anyone. I have no idea what the guy done before he turned that corner, but whatever it was was must've been stupid enough!

So thank you traffic corps, you made my day

bloody guards wha. anyone would think there are out there to uphold the law.

and sure what harm if the cyclist was cycling without a light, on the wrong side of the road and in a reckless fashion?

Quentinkrisp · 05-01-2011 9:23pm

about time!

RMD · 05-01-2011 10:01pm

The roads are once again that little bit safer.

JuliusCaesar · 05-01-2011 11:01pm

woolymammoth wrote: »

i see a guy on a bicycle. He's turning off Kildare and into Setanta, and he's being hugged by a traffic corps

I thought the gardai were giving out free hugs. Imagine my disappointment! Those guys in their leathers.............mmmmmmmmmm

ThisRegard · 05-01-2011 11:03pm

So will you post the same everytime you see a motorist pulled over ? What's the real point you're flip flopping around ?

Cookie_Monster · 05-01-2011 11:09pm

Traffic corps spending quality time at work there. stopping some guy on a bike for cycling on a path while a dozen cars drive by with dodgy lights unnoticed :rolleyes:

woolymammoth · 05-01-2011 11:12pm

ThisRegard wrote: »

So will you post the same everytime you see a motorist pulled over ? What's the real point you're flip flopping around ?

Don't be an idiot. the point is about acting dangerously on teh road, be it motor or pedal power. vehicles aren't dangerous. bicycles aren't dangerous. It's the idiots who don't know how to use them that are dangerous! And i'm happy to see every last one of them pulled over and brought up in court. having had my fair share of bicycle encounters, it's just more sweet to see it happen to them.

woolymammoth · 05-01-2011 11:13pm

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

I thought the gardai were giving out free hugs. Imagine my disappointment! Those guys in their leathers.............mmmmmmmmmm

sorry to disappoint.. it did almost look like he was going to from a distance

Cranky Mc Funhouse · 05-01-2011 11:17pm

Just out of interest what would happen if said cyclist claimed he/she didn't know the rules of the road or thought they didn't apply to them? Would it be a vaild argument as there is no licence or registration process to verify such knowledge before talking to the roads on a bicycle?

ThisRegard · 05-01-2011 11:18pm

Not being idiotic, but will you post everytime you see a motorist pulled over, by your own admission, for reasons unknown to you ?

woolymammoth · 05-01-2011 11:29pm

ThisRegard wrote: »

Not being idiotic, but will you post everytime you see a motorist pulled over, by your own admission, for reasons unknown to you ?

i've seen cars get pulled over plenty of times. But i've never had the pleasure of overhearing such a conversation before. chances are i'll never post about a cyclist being pulled over again, if i ever even see it again. But it's such a rare occurrence for a section of road users who regularly disregard those little things like lights, traffic lights, one way streets and a fondness for footpaths! I don't care what he did. Nobody gets pulled over like that without having done something.

Cranky Mc Funhouse wrote: »

Just out of interest what would happen if said cyclist claimed he/she didn't know the rules of the road or thought they didn't apply to them? Would it be a vaild argument as there is no licence or registration process to verify such knowledge before talking to the roads on a bicycle?

I have no idea, but the garda didn't want to hear it, told them to take it up with a judge! All i know is cyclists have been prosecuted before.

ThisRegard · 05-01-2011 11:38pm

It's not rare at all, on occasions the gardai even specifically target cyclists for such things as no lights. It's probably as common as it is for motorists to be pulled within the city for the likes of breaking lights and ignoring yellow boxes. However it's not common enough in either instance. There's elements of each group that regularly flout the law and rules of the road.

woolymammoth · 05-01-2011 11:43pm

ThisRegard wrote: »

It's not rare at all, on occasions the gardai even specifically target cyclists for such things as no lights. It's probably as common as it is for motorists to be pulled within the city for the likes of breaking lights and ignoring yellow boxes. However it's not common enough in either instance. There's elements of each group that regularly flout the law and rules of the road.

well i've never seen a cyclist tackled for dodgy peddling before, I hope it's more common as you say. As for the rest, couldn't agree more!

woolymammoth · 05-01-2011 11:47pm

Cranky Mc Funhouse wrote: »

Your tellin' me!! I got a summons a few weeks ago for no lights (I forgot to take them off while in tesco and they were gone when i got back about 3 minutes later!:mad:) Was just wondering if I had of claimed ignorance would it have worked? Probably not im guessin'! ha!

while i don't recall the bike having any lights (i got excited by all the blue flashy ones

), i got the feeling this fella was pulled for something else. If i were you, i would've reported a theft. you were talking to the right person after all! :pac:

arybvtcw0eolkf · 06-01-2011 1:15am

Moved from DCF.

Quentinkrisp · 06-01-2011 11:58am

for the sake of fairness, IMO every road user (be it motorist or cyclist) that acts like an irresponsible twunt deserves to get pulled over and have the book thrown at them.

da__flash · 06-01-2011 2:01pm

NGA usually give outs free hugs if you ask nicely

brayblue24 · 06-01-2011 2:12pm

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Traffic corps spending quality time at work there. stopping some guy on a bike for cycling on a path while a dozen cars drive by with dodgy lights unnoticed :rolleyes:

So it's damned if you do and damned if you don't?

woolymammoth · 06-01-2011 2:17pm

brayblue24 wrote: »

So it's damned if you do and damned if you don't?

no, just damned if you don't, imho. Cookie_Monster is clearly bitter about seeing a lot of his fellow motorists getting away with murder on the roads. The main focus of my post, i'd like to think, is that bicycles should get just as much attention as cars, bikes, lorries etc.

Daniel S · 06-01-2011 8:20pm

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Traffic corps spending quality time at work there. stopping some guy on a bike for cycling on a path while a dozen cars drive by with dodgy lights unnoticed :rolleyes:

I saw a squad car with a broken tail light today, fecker didn't give me much room when he was overtaking me either.

RMD · 06-01-2011 10:28pm

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Traffic corps spending quality time at work there. stopping some guy on a bike for cycling on a path while a dozen cars drive by with dodgy lights unnoticed :rolleyes:

Suppose you were at the scene at the time and saw this all going on, or you're making some useless assumption that there was plenty of other traffic crime within sight of the Garda to deal with?

GSF · 08-01-2011 12:16pm

Maybe the traffic corp can arrest themselves for illegally parking their car in the cycle lane outside Blanchardstown Garda Station on a regular basis.

Whats the chances do you think? 0% or -10%?

PCPhoto · 08-01-2011 12:34pm

GSF wrote: »

Maybe the traffic corp can arrest themselves for illegally parking their car in the cycle lane outside Blanchardstown Garda Station on a regular basis.

Whats the chances do you think? 0% or -10%?

this seems to be one of the main problems people have with gardai and enforcement of traffic laws.

they seem to have a begrudgery towards "Emergency Services" because they seem to "get away with it" .... I have found this to be true - many Gardai drive and park illegally and if questioned they throw out "how do you know I'm not on my way to a scene"

I personally regularly see Gardai park on double yellows, park up on a footpath, use sirens and lights to bypass traffic lights, take an illegal right turn, and double park..... I don't believe anything will be done if its reported - so I don't bother reporting it...... I do see it as a perk of the job and they should be allowed to drive around but should park in a responsible manner .... I would welcome more enforcement of traffic laws (across ALL sectors...cyclists, pedestrians, cars, trucks etc)

GSF · 08-01-2011 1:07pm

Yes its inconsistency of application of laws and the belief by those in charge are not themselves liable to obey the law that makes this country so annoying.

I walk, drive and cycle in Dublin so have no particular axe to grind against any road user. There are idiots availaing of all three methods of getting around.

brayblue24 · 08-01-2011 9:35pm

woolymammoth wrote: »

no, just damned if you don't, imho. Cookie_Monster is clearly bitter about seeing a lot of his fellow motorists getting away with murder on the roads. The main focus of my post, i'd like to think, is that bicycles should get just as much attention as cars, bikes, lorries etc.

However it came out in my post I'm actually in full agreement with you

Shield · 09-01-2011 2:21am

Just for the record, AGS are exempt from a lot of the RTA while in the execution of their duty.

They don't have to be on their way to a scene. They could be observing someone, investigating something, waiting for the 'Go' on something... any one of a number of reasons really.

As long as they are in the execution of Garda duty, they are entitled to avail of the exemptions in a professional and responsible manner.

PCPhoto wrote: »

this seems to be one of the main problems people have with gardai and enforcement of traffic laws.

they seem to have a begrudgery towards "Emergency Services" because they seem to "get away with it" .... I have found this to be true - many Gardai drive and park illegally and if questioned they throw out "how do you know I'm not on my way to a scene"

I personally regularly see Gardai park on double yellows, park up on a footpath, use sirens and lights to bypass traffic lights, take an illegal right turn, and double park..... I don't believe anything will be done if its reported - so I don't bother reporting it...... I do see it as a perk of the job and they should be allowed to drive around but should park in a responsible manner .... I would welcome more enforcement of traffic laws (across ALL sectors...cyclists, pedestrians, cars, trucks etc)

Cookie_Monster · 09-01-2011 8:05pm

RMD wrote: »

Suppose you were at the scene at the time and saw this all going on, or you're making some useless assumption that there was plenty of other traffic crime within sight of the Garda to deal with?

Kildare street is always very busy regardless of time of the day. And go anywhere you like and try and count 10 cars in a row with correct lighting working/on, its a rare occurrence to get to ten.

Its an epidemic that AGS or the RSA seem to have little or no interest in dealing with.

Laisurg · 09-01-2011 8:12pm

RMD wrote: »

The roads are once again that little bit safer.

Because cyclists are really dangerous right? :P

Yakuza · 09-01-2011 8:25pm

psni wrote: »

Just for the record, AGS are exempt from a lot of the RTA while in the execution of their duty.

They don't have to be on their way to a scene. They could be observing someone, investigating something, waiting for the 'Go' on something... any one of a number of reasons really.

As long as they are in the execution of Garda duty, they are entitled to avail of the exemptions in a professional and responsible manner.

I was just going to post something like the above. Many people on these boards (and in real life

) seem to be (wilfully?) ignorant of the exemptions, or can't handle the fact that there is a certain cohort of the population who are exempt from these laws (with certain preconditions). Irish begrudgery knows no bounds.

Now, to get back to the OP, the cyclist in question probably barrelled on down South Leinster St from Clare St before turning up Kildare St (all against traffic flow). I've seen it often enough. It's gotten worse since the Dublin Bikes came in, there's a parking station near the corner of South Leinster St and Kildare St, and it can be very tempting to scoot down there from Clare St if you're coming from Merrion Square direction.

Greenmachine · 09-01-2011 8:39pm

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Traffic corps spending quality time at work there. stopping some guy on a bike for cycling on a path while a dozen cars drive by with dodgy lights unnoticed :rolleyes:

Right so pedestrians and cyclists ought to be immune from traffic rules. Thanks for your contribution.

RMD · 16-01-2011 12:26pm

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Kildare street is always very busy regardless of time of the day. And go anywhere you like and try and count 10 cars in a row with correct lighting working/on, its a rare occurrence to get to ten.

Its an epidemic that AGS or the RSA seem to have little or no interest in dealing with.

What's to say it didn't happen during the day? Stop making these useless assumptions. 1/30 sounds like a lot more reasonable figure at best, 1/10 is just ridiculous.

Garda Traffic Corps: Thank you!

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