Dublin traffic cops seize tourist bus for no tax

coylemj · 18-05-2014 6:03pm

Going Forward wrote: »

I find the whole idea of Gardai tweeting anything like this a bit odd for some reason

Why did they do it, a juvenile show of power, like a warning to other bus operators, or potential tourists in the capital not to patronize untaxed buses?

Do they tweet pictures of untaxed cars?

Is every alleged offence now tweetable? Its all a bit UK Motorway Cops TV stuff to me.

It's a perfectly good use of social media as far I'm concerned, especially when they tweeted a photo of an S-Class Merc. last week which was seized because it was being driven by a disqualified driver who was clearly uninsured and he had false tax and NCT discs on the windscreen....

@GardaTraffic May 10

Disqualified Driver stopped with false discs displayed on Mercedes Benz high powered car. Traffic Corps Waterford.

punisher5112 · 18-05-2014 8:31pm

Why do they call anything over 1.4 high powered car?

cdebru · 18-05-2014 8:32pm

markpb wrote: »

The bus has already been seized, the tax will be paid, a fine will be paid and the bus will be returned. The owner has already been found guilty so there'll be no court case.

I'd imagine the Gardai posted the picture the way they did to make a point about tax evasion, not to target the specific owner. They do the same when they post pictures of private vehicles which are stopped for other reasons.

Gardai can not find anyone guilty of anything, they can issue a fixed penalty notice which you can choose to pay or you can insist on your day in court only after your day in court can you be found guilty.

Going Forward · 18-05-2014 10:00pm

coylemj wrote: »

It's a perfectly good use of social media as far I'm concerned, especially when they tweeted a photo of an S-Class Merc. last week which was seized because it was being driven by a disqualified driver who was clearly uninsured and he had false tax and NCT discs on the windscreen....

@GardaTraffic May 10

Disqualified Driver stopped with false discs displayed on Mercedes Benz high powered car. Traffic Corps Waterford.

Interesting point about using modern media I suppose.

It crossed my mind that theres nothing to stop them getting snap happy and taking pictures of their own private cars and claiming kudos because they've busted a car ringing gang either. No real harm either I suppose

Unless there's a reg number that I can see, I dont really see the point.

Can they not show the reg number but include "allegedly" in any tweets?

If I see a car pulled over with gaurds just "talking" to the driver, they dont cover the reg to protect the driver's identity do they?

I cant identify the owner from the reg if it was a private vehicle either.

audi12 · 18-05-2014 10:06pm

Victor wrote: »

Trolling not welcome

Moderator

If you want a particular problem fixed, report it. Councils don't magically know when a pothole forms.
Do you think, maybe, they are trying to promote the delivery of goods and services and discourage the moving around of empty car seats?

You must live in the city where you rarely see potholes in the country they are everywhere and the council workers dont give a dam

readytosnap · 18-05-2014 10:08pm

punisher5112 wrote: »

Why do they call anything over 1.4 high powered car?

Cos they are only used to driving oul tractors on the farm boy

:D

coylemj · 18-05-2014 11:43pm

Going Forward wrote: »

If I see a car pulled over with gaurds just "talking" to the driver, they dont cover the reg to protect the driver's identity do they?

I cant identify the owner from the reg if it was a private vehicle either.

It may have something to do with a case a few years ago where RTE news showed a clip of the Gardai doing a drink-driving checkpoint where they had pulled over a car (this is before random breath testing) and the registration number of the car was visible. The owner of the car was a lawyer and she successfully sued RTE because (she claimed) all of her friends and many people in the legal profession would recognise the registration number and immediately assume that she was pulled over because she was drunk behind the wheel of the car. RTE caved in and paid her damages.

So the safe option nowadays on TV is to blur the registration number of a car to avoid any 'misunderstandings'. In the case of the Gardai and Twitter, they don't want to prejudice a prosecution which seems to be sensible decision - just look at some of the wild assumptions posters are making about the owner of the bus featured in this thread, just because it didn't have a current tax disc.

coolemon · 19-05-2014 5:49pm

I saw this happen. Garda on a motorbike was shouting at the bus driver urging him forward on O' Connell Street while the bus was trying to let passengers off. I had to look a few times to see where he was shouting as I wasn't expecting a bus to be the target. The Garda motorbike turned around and drove the against the traffic flow up to the bus and shouted his instructions at the driver through the window. It was despicable the way he was behaving. The driver was letting passengers off at the stop on O' Connell Street just before the Abbey street junction opposite Easons (and trying to explain to them what was happening and that their journey had been cut short).

I didn't see how the Garda encountered the bus to begin with, but he was nothing but thuggish as the driver was trying to let passengers off. What did he want, to bring the passengers to Pearse Street station?

Power trip.

billie1b · 19-05-2014 5:59pm

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
SPOT THE BUS DRIVER/MANAGER
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

coolemon · 19-05-2014 6:01pm

billie1b wrote: »

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
SPOT THE BUS DRIVER/MANAGER
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I expected that

Victor · 19-05-2014 6:25pm

coolemon wrote: »

I saw this happen. Garda on a motorbike was shouting at the bus driver urging him forward on O' Connell Street

Odd then that the photo is on Dame Street.

coolemon · 19-05-2014 7:31pm

Victor wrote: »

Odd then that the photo is on Dame Street.

Yes, that is odd.

carpejugulum · 19-05-2014 7:46pm

billie1b wrote: »

I know, its crazy, you'd think it'd more expensive for the buses and trucks and so on that are on the road everyday for the guts of 16/18 hours, and they can claim back expenses on it. But no, they tax the fück out of private vehicles instead.

coylemj · 19-05-2014 7:58pm

Victor wrote: »

Odd then that the photo is on Dame Street.

+1 which is consistent with the Garda tweet that stated it was seized by the 'DMR South Central Pearse Street Traffic Unit' whom you wouldn't expect to be operating in O'Connell St.

billie1b · 19-05-2014 10:13pm

carpejugulum wrote: »

Thats a nice picture, seems like your helicopter was holding up traffic

audi12 · 19-05-2014 11:15pm

tweeting pictures of seized cars you would think the driver was a criminal for letting his tax run out or forgetting to pay not exactly a drug seizure which would be something to be proud off

pablo128 · 19-05-2014 11:30pm

Muahahaha wrote: »

Wow pretty cheap compared to taxing a 2.0 car which is the best part of €900 these days iirc

It's only 710, or 800 if you tax it per quarter. Still a good chunk of money though.

We have about 12 vans in work. I sometimes cover the drivers if they are off. I was doing a run to Wexford one day when I got stopped at a checkpoint. The van was 5 months out of tax. I was mortified. I rang the job, and passed the phone over to the guard. It turned out they simply overlooked the matter. Obviously the guard chewed them out of it but was decent enough to let me on my way. The auld codger who normally drives the van got a bollocking off the job for not noticing either.
These things happen.

BuffyBot · 19-05-2014 11:46pm

Pay heed to Victor's earlier on thread warning folks...

stop · 20-05-2014 11:26am

coylemj wrote: »

+1 which is consistent with the Garda tweet that stated it was seized by the 'DMR South Central Pearse Street Traffic Unit' whom you wouldn't expect to be operating in O'Connell St.

While I have a little understanding of the Dublin Garda regions, I'm fairly sure I've seen on their twitter account arrests/points/road-blocks being done by that unit much further afield (out towards N4, N7)

billie1b · 20-05-2014 2:05pm

stop wrote: »

While I have a little understanding of the Dublin Garda regions, I'm fairly sure I've seen on their twitter account arrests/points/road-blocks being done by that unit much further afield (out towards N4, N7)

Thats still the Traffic corps south side juristiction, the northside have their own one

carpejugulum · 20-05-2014 6:05pm

audi12 wrote: »

tweeting pictures of seized cars you would think the driver was a criminal for letting his tax run out or forgetting to pay not exactly a drug seizure which would be something to be proud off

Traffic guards focus on drug seizures now?

markpb · 22-05-2014 2:57pm

audi12 wrote: »

tweeting pictures of seized cars you would think the driver was a criminal for letting his tax run out or forgetting to pay not exactly a drug seizure which would be something to be proud off

They are.

audi12 · 25-05-2014 1:37pm

If they did it would be more useful taking drugs off the street than mickey mouse tax fines

Victor · 25-05-2014 1:48pm

On-topic please. The niceties of policing can be discussed elsewhere.

Moderator

Dublin traffic cops seize tourist bus for no tax

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