[article] Speed Checkpoints on Naas Dual Carraigway.

mike65

Tracy Hogan banging the drum for a bit of common sense.

from unison.ie

THEY'RE back shooting fish in a barrel on one of the safest roads in the country. And it makes my blood boil.

I drove six and a half hours on Saturday afternoon from South Kerry to Dublin, and tried out for the first time the new-look Naas dual-carriageway.

The first and only garda I saw during the entire journey was standing with a speed camera on the new €233m upgraded Naas dual-carriageway, which has three lanes and a hard shoulder in each direction.

The road is already open though it is not being given official blessing by Transport Minister Martin Cullen until tomorrow.

The motorway has a speed limit of 120kph; the Naas dual-carriageway is slightly lower at 100kph.

The garda was waiting just after the point where the motorway turns into the even wider dual-carriageway at Naas.

This is exactly the kind of nonsense that gives law enforcement a bad name.

It is simply shooting fish in a barrel in exactly the same driving conditions at a point where the speed limit is slightly reduced. Other new dual-carriageways have been given the same 120kph limit as motorways.

What was the garda doing on the new look Naas dual-carriageway?

Was he trying to catch the habitual speeder?

Or was he trying to notch up more easy 'scores' in his notebook?

Were we not promised more focused checks at high-risk accident locations, rather than these soft targets of dual-carriageways?

Before hitting the new Naas Road, I had driven some of the most dangerous stretches of road in Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary.

Terrible

Single lane carriageway with terrible bends, with just inches separating cars and trucks travelling in opposite directions.

These roads have the same speed limit as the dual-carriageway.

I saw drivers engage in overtaking manoeuvres which made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

And there was not one garda speed trap on any of these roads.

The boys in blue are waiting to catch you, the law-abiding driver, before you have time to adjust on dual-carriageways.

In the meantime, the carnage continues on the single lane roads and back roads, caused by boy racers and speed freaks, and not a garda speed check in sight.

Mike.

ToxicPaddy

She is right.. but no matter what happens, Garda top brass are putting the pressure on the various stations and traffic corps groups to get the numbers up on speeders etc so where do they go? The easiest places they can find to catch someone..

Some places I've seen them "shooting fish in a barrel":

Naas Dual Carriageway
Clonmel - Waterford Rd (Gatso van parked up against the 100kph sign after Bulmers leaving Clonmel!!! :rolleyes: )
M9 on the Newbridge/Nass Overpass
100yards past the end of the end of M9 where it turns back to a National road when heading for Carlow..

As she said, not one to be seen on bad main roads where people pull all sorts of crazy manoeuvres and drive like lunatics..

I'm not bashing the rank and file gardai, they are doing what they have to do, its the brass that are the problem, they are in the media going on about the tragedy and loss of young life on Ireland's bad roads and then where do they stick the radar guns and gatso vans, on dual carriageways and motorways.. idiots :mad:

connundrum

Fair play to her, I was on that stretch the 1st night it had opened fully. And there was a Guard there too.. I don't even think I'm pissed off any more. I'm actually disappointed.

I drove from Portarlington up to DCU and like the Journo, I only came across that 1 solitary Guard.. on the safest strech of road possible. On the non motorway roads I used I saw 3 or 4 noticable situations where muppets were overtaking dangerously at speed. Where was the Guard then?

I'm not suggesting that the Guards should be posted everywhere at all times... but come on! Common sense must prevail!

Kashkai

Its a handy way to say we caught 'x' number of motorists speeding last month. Trouble is most of these "dangerous speeders" were probably caught on motorways and dual carriageways which are statistically the safest roads in the country. Now while I don't condone speeding per se, I'm sick to bloody death of seeing cops lying in wait on straight, well paved roads catching guys who while technically over the limit, are driving within their capability.

I left work the Friday before last in Dublin City and I saw three speed traps on the way home to Kildare:

1. an unmarked white van on the left past Heuston station catching motorists over the 60kph limit. The fact that the road is two lane outbound, with no housing estate (i.e. kids) off it and is generally safe enough doesn't matter. Its a handy number for the boys in blue to get the "madman" doing over 60kph. Hell you can almost run that fast.

2. On the M4 just before the Celbridge turn off. A 120kph motorway but again its a handy number.

3. On the link road from the M4 to INTEL. A new four land road with no housing estates off it and with a separate cycle track but a stupid limit of 60kph.

Now there are those who might think I was caught speeding and I'm just having a rant but I wasn't speeding as I don't drive fast. However, its bloody ridiculous having cops on good roads just pumping up the statistics vis-a-vis number of speeders caught when the lazy feckers should be on the back roads where they will catch the real lunatics. But this would have an impact on the exchequer as the number of drivers caught would drop and therefore the money raked in from fines would diminish. The speeding statistics would also drop and this would be bad PR for the government who just love to talk statistics (as we all know its only two steps from lies - statistics, damn statistics and lies)

mike65

Trcay is a bloke btw!

Mike.