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Sick of the gardai

  • 18-10-2006 10:41pm
    #1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 752 ✭✭✭


    Im 21, male, and drive a 1.4 astra now I know a lot of ppl on their 1st provisional drive without fully licensed drivers in the car a gardai who stopped me before even said to me that he knows its not feasible to always have 1 and personally he thought it was a stupid law anyway they, always pull me in for NO REASON at all and then go on about how its a violation of my license and my insurance etc etc it seems I cant even go out in the car any more without getting pulled in for the only reason I can think of being my car is not a 1 litre like most learners and because of the look of me (I wear hoodies a lot and football jerseys) Sorry about the rant just needed to get it out, thanks for listening!


«1

Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,173 ✭✭✭overdriver


    Take the hood down for a start

    They may have your reg on some sort of watch-list. Have you been in proper trouble with them?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 752 ✭✭✭Lorax


    I dont drive with my hood up! Whats this watchlist thing? Ive never been in trouble with the gardai in my life, never even had dealings with them untuil I start driving. Ive only been driving 4 months.


  • Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 41,647 Mod ✭✭✭✭Seth Brundle


    I drove (albeit several years ago) on a 1st and 2nd provisional without ever getting stopped. I drive (often at speed) and still don't get stopped. In fact in about 12 or 15 years of driving, I have only been stopped once and it was justified. The garda listened to my excuse, (laughed!) and let me go.

    I don't believe that they are pulling you just because you may look young or because you are in a 1.4 astra or because you wear a football jersey. You have to stand out for a stronger reason. Has the car got a kit? A non-standard exhaust? Something?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,575 ✭✭✭junkyard


    Or the previous owner may have been known to the Gardai so as a result the car gets pull at every opportunity. Do you have your car modified? If so its like a red rag to a bull. Also if you look like a scumbag, no disrespect intended, your asking for trouble.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,454 ✭✭✭mloc123


    Lorax wrote:
    the only reason I can think of being my car is not a 1 litre like most learners

    lol, a 1.4 astra is quite a sports car alright. Where abouts are you living? In 5 years of driving I have never been stopped driving in westmeath, kildare, dublin and dublin city frequently. You must have done something to piss them off at some stage, is it always the same local gardai?


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,756 ✭✭✭vector


    A friend of a friend had a similar problem, despite looking respectable and being in his 30s, he found his 3 series was pulled over alot and just looked over, after some enquires with a member it emerged that the vehicles previous owner was "known to the gardai" and was on a "catalog" now I don't think he meant the argos catalog but rather some record attached to the cars registration.

    Perhaps your car had a previous owner of ill repute OR it is a mirror image of an existing car that has an owner of ill repute


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 51,411 ✭✭✭✭bazz26


    Similar thing happened to someone why father knows. He bought a second hand Merc a couple of years ago and was constantly pulled over by the Garda. They even searched the car inside out a few times. Now this guy never broke the law in his life not to mind be known to the Garda. Anyway he did a bit of inquiring from a friend of a friend who knew a garda and it ended up that the car had been owned by a well known high profile criminal at one stage. He sold the car on quickly.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,559 ✭✭✭Tipsy Mac


    Usually they stop these cars if they are done up like muppet mobiles, ie tinted windows, lexus lights and go faster plastic tacked on :D


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,173 ✭✭✭overdriver


    My last car was the same. I was pulled constantly in it. they even followed me home one night.


    This may be your problem.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,464 ✭✭✭furtzy


    Quite simple really. If you're on a 1st, 3rd or subsequent provisional licence you have to be accompanied by a full licence holder....thems the rules like it or lump it. A provisional licence is a learners permit and not a licence as such.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,484 ✭✭✭✭Stephen


    I've been driving in one form or another since I was 16 (bikes->cars), and have only EVER been stopped for tax disc checks in 8 years, usually a couple of times each year. You'd think the government would just implement a UK type system where tax defaulters get automatically notified/fined by post, rather than wasting garda time and causing traffic jams with tax checkpoints, but no, this is Ireland where efficiency and government never cross paths.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,222 ✭✭✭\m/_(>_<)_\m/


    Lorax wrote:
    (I wear hoodies a lot and football jerseys)

    count your self lucky your not arrested and locked up... ya granny beater.
    no need to call in a jury for you. its obvious your a criminal


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 748 ✭✭✭It BeeMee


    Lorax wrote:
    Im 21, male, and drive a 1.4 astra now I know a lot of ppl on their 1st provisional drive without fully licensed drivers in the car a gardai who stopped me before even said to me that he knows its not feasible to always have 1 and personally he thought it was a stupid law anyway they, always pull me in for NO REASON at all and then go on about how its a violation of my license and my insurance etc etc it seems I cant even go out in the car any more without getting pulled in for the only reason I can think of being my car is not a 1 litre like most learners and because of the look of me (I wear hoodies a lot and football jerseys) Sorry about the rant just needed to get it out, thanks for listening!

    Maybe you failed to bing the car to a ..errr... FULL STOP!
    (sorry)

    Seriously, there must be something that brings you to the guard's attention.
    I take it there's L-Plates on the car?
    Maybe the Gardai have finally started to crack down on the whole "need experienced driver" rule?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,107 ✭✭✭hi5


    You've had four years now to do your driving test :)


  • Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 41,647 Mod ✭✭✭✭Seth Brundle


    hi5 wrote:
    You've had four years now to do your driving test :)
    The OP is on his first provisional so has had less than two years to complete a test. The fact that he is 21 is irrelevant.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,248 ✭✭✭lau1247


    don't think how you dress matters..
    No sane person driving at reasonable speed is gonna peek into your window to see what you're wearing..
    If there is, god help ya..

    As for the type of car and engine size.. seems irrelevant also..
    Unless you drive like crazy..
    i.e accelerating constantly even on a short stretch of road..
    since you've been stopped many time, I can assume you're not speeding


    Maybe it's a look you're expressing..
    No disrespect but some people just have that kind of vibe..
    They are the ones where you have a glance at them and know that you just want to give them a punch in the face even for no apparant reason..

    West Dublin, ☀️ 7.83kWp ⚡5.66 kWp South West, ⚡2.18 kWp North East



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,432 ✭✭✭vasch_ro


    if your driving unaccompanied when they stop you well then they are doing their job, its as simple as that ......


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 236 ✭✭bo-bo


    perhaps its just the gardai doing their job


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 66 ✭✭last_orders


    iv been driving for around four months like you lorax, i wear hoodies when driving an drive a pretty beat up polo (looks like it was used as a stunt car its got so many dents an scrapes), the damage is from the previous owner but concidering the appearance it looks like im the one who is the dodgy driver. iv also got learner plates up and i frequently drive solo but iv never been stopped, only the odd quick glance at the tax disc at cheack points. it must be that your car is either a suped up space craft lookalike (finglas, we have a problem) or your driving is dodgy, jus my opinion.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,173 ✭✭✭overdriver


    (finglas, we have a problem)
    :D:D:D


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,081 ✭✭✭unnameduser


    furtzy wrote:
    Quite simple really. If you're on a 1st, 3rd or subsequent provisional licence you have to be accompanied by a full licence holder....thems the rules like it or lump it. A provisional licence is a learners permit and not a licence as such.

    What a comment. The driving licence situation in Ireland is a farce. Yes they are the rules but christ breaking them is unavoidable when waiting for a test. Id hate to be in that situation.


  • Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 41,647 Mod ✭✭✭✭Seth Brundle


    Its not unavoidable! L drivers (as do all drivers) choose to drive and not use other means of transport.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 38,247 ✭✭✭✭Guy:Incognito


    What a comment. The driving licence situation in Ireland is a farce. Yes they are the rules but christ breaking them is unavoidable when waiting for a test. Id hate to be in that situation.


    The wait for a test is not excuse. It takes as long to get a licence in Germany , yet they seem to manage ok not driving for a year.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,672 ✭✭✭deman


    bo-bo wrote:
    perhaps its just the gardai doing their job

    But they're not doing their job. How many times has the OP got off with just a warning? Yes there's a long queue waiting to do their test but this guy's had 4 years to do his. There's no excuse here. He's breaking the law and should be punished.


  • Moderators, Regional North West Moderators Posts: 19,166 Mod ✭✭✭✭byte
    byte


    But he hasn't had a license for 4 years. So he didn't have 4 years to get a full license.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,672 ✭✭✭deman


    byte wrote:
    But he hasn't had a license for 4 years. So he didn't have 4 years to get a full license.

    At 17, knowing about the farce with the driving test, don't you think it would have been a smart to do to start queuing then? I'm not saying he had the licence for 4 years, just that he's had 4 years to see about it.


  • Moderators, Regional North West Moderators Posts: 19,166 Mod ✭✭✭✭byte
    byte


    Yeah, but maybe he had no real intention of driving at 17. Nor maybe had the finances for a motor.

    Heck, I didn't get my full license or my first car until I was 26!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,055 ✭✭✭✭Wishbone Ash


    The Gardai usually do a reg check via their control to the PULSE system before stopping a motorist. Unfortunately, it's a bit of viscious circle - the more times that one is checked, the more times one is likely to be checked as it records all prevoius enquiries. As has been stated prevoiusly, the former owner (if any) may have had reason to be stopped.
    deman wrote:
    but this guy's had 4 years to do his.
    He's on his 1st provisional. Where are you getting 4 years?

    There are 185 people aged 85 and over on a first provisional B licence. Do you think that they have had 68+ years to get their full licence. :rolleyes:


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,144 ✭✭✭LundiMardi


    He's on his 1st provisional. Where are you getting 4 years?

    Probably cos he's 21 and has had 4 years since 17 to get his licence....

    I know, i know what you're thinking, and yes it is quite a retarded statement.

    Oh well, i'm off to view possible graves for when i die in 60 years or so, oh and i have to pick up the tombstone too, it's just being engraved.:rolleyes:


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,193 ✭✭✭liamo


    OP, You've been driving for FOUR months. You're on your first provisional licence. You're breaking the law by driving unaccompanied by a licenced driver and you have the nerve to post this whingeing, whining post about being pulled over frequently? Might it possibly have something to do with your (probably very obviously) inexperienced driving?

    There's a reason that you're supposed to be accompanied by a licenced driver. It's to stop you ending up as another statistic - dead in a ditch or dead wrapped around a tree or dead squashed against a wall at 3am on a dark road - or worse, dead with a few of your friends dead in the back seat.

    You've been pulled over loads of times and warned about driving unaccompanied and you're STILL doing it? And now you're complaining about being pulled over? FFS, why don't you go all the way and complain about having to bother getting a licence in the first f***ing place 'cos, obviously, laws that apply to everyone else don't apply to you, right?

    Get off the f***ing road, you maniac, before you kill yourself and/or someone else!!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 752 ✭✭✭Lorax


    omg whatever. 1 of the gardai who pulled me in even told me it was a stupid law and in his own words said "sure its not possible to have a fully licensed driver in the car at all times" said by an enforcer OF the law so that throws your argument out the window not too mention there are 1000's of people who do what I do every day.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 674 ✭✭✭what_car


    Lorax wrote:
    Im 21, male, and drive a 1.4 astra now I know a lot of ppl on their 1st provisional drive without fully licensed drivers in the car a gardai who stopped me before even said to me that he knows its not feasible to always have 1 and personally he thought it was a stupid law anyway they, always pull me in for NO REASON at all and then go on about how its a violation of my license and my insurance etc etc it seems I cant even go out in the car any more without getting pulled in for the only reason I can think of being my car is not a 1 litre like most learners and because of the look of me (I wear hoodies a lot and football jerseys) Sorry about the rant just needed to get it out, thanks for listening!

    if you read the T&C of ur insurance ur prob not covered if on your first provisional licence. rules are there for a reason,,,, in this case for other road users safety.....have you applied for the test yet?:eek:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,193 ✭✭✭liamo


    omg whatever
    What a well thought out, incisive and cogent response. That's put me in my place.
    1 of the gardai who pulled me in even told me it was a stupid law and in his own words said "sure its not possible to have a fully licensed driver in the car at all times"
    Do you know what you do when you can't have a fully licenced driver in the car with you? You don't f***ing drive - that's what!!! What kind of universe do you live in where it makes sense that laws that inconvenience you don't actually apply to you?
    said by an enforcer OF the law so that throws your argument out the window
    WTF?? Yes, an "enforcer" of the law. Not a "maker" of laws.
    1. That's the job of Dail Eireann.
    2. The Judges interpret the laws that are passed.
    3. The Gardai are supposed to enforce those laws.
    Does that clarify things for you? Just because some silly Garda thinks that a law is stupid doesn't mean that you have the right to ignore it.
    not too mention there are 1000's of people who do what I do every day.
    Ah, yes. That makes it ok. How silly of me not to have drawn that very obvious conclusion. 1000's of people have been caught drink-driving over the last few years. By your logic, that makes it ok? If a Garda thinks that it's a stupid law and you can't possibly always drive sober, does that make it ok?

    Get off the road before you kill someone!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,144 ✭✭✭LundiMardi


    liamo wrote:
    There's a reason that you're supposed to be accompanied by a licenced driver. It's to stop you ending up as another statistic - dead in a ditch or dead wrapped around a tree or dead squashed against a wall at 3am on a dark road - or worse, dead with a few of your friends dead in the back seat.

    Get off the f***ing road, you maniac, before you kill yourself and/or someone else!!

    Get off your high horse will ya? jebus!!!! Yeah, because only provional licenced drivers end up dead in a ditch :rolleyes:

    If the OP was driving dangerously then the OP would have been arrested for dangerous driving... He was not, so we can only assume he wasn't driving dangerously.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,193 ✭✭✭liamo


    LundiMardi wrote:
    Get off your high horse will ya? jebus!!!!
    This guy thinks it's ok to drive unaccompanied after FOUR months experience? I think that kind of attitude is dangerous. If he thinks like that about a licence, I don't think it's unreasonable to believe that he has similar opinions about other areas of driving law. As a (fully licenced) road user, I have a right to expect that other drivers on the road are competent enough to be on the same roads as me. If they're not, then they shouldn't be on the roads. It's as simple as that. It's dangerous enough on the roads without having to share them with idiots who think that they have some kind of right to be driving around unlicenced.
    Yeah, because only provional licenced drivers end up dead in a ditch :rolleyes:
    Some people end up dead under the wheels of provisional drivers!
    And some experienced drivers drink and drive and kill people.
    And some very experienced drivers end up dead in a ditch.
    But the group of people most at risk of dying in a car at the moment are young male drivers. That's the group that the OP is in. He's been driving for FOUR months. He's not experienced enough to be driving on his own. He thinks he is. He's already in a high-risk group. He's a menace and shouldn't be on the roads on his own.

    If the OP was driving dangerously then the OP would have been arrested for dangerous driving
    One doesn't follow from the other.
    ... He was not, so we can only assume he wasn't driving dangerously.
    You may assume so, but it would be an incorrect conclusion. Not being arrested for dangerous driving would only mean that he wasn't arrested for dangerous driving.

    It's not necessarily about dangerous driving.

    My point is ....

    He's been driving for four months.
    He's inexperienced.
    He's breaking the law.
    He believes that it's ok to drive unaccompanied.
    He believes that because loads of other people are doing it, that it's somehow ok for him to do it.
    He doesn't think these laws should apply to him.

    Excuse me if I think he has a nerve to come into a motoring forum and complain about being pulled over in these circumstances. Pardon me for pointing out that he's a danger to himself and others. How dare I tell him get off the same roads that I use. B0ll0x!


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,144 ✭✭✭LundiMardi


    liamo wrote:
    This guy thinks it's ok to drive unaccompanied after FOUR months experience? I think that kind of attitude is dangerous. If he thinks like that about a licence, I don't think it's unreasonable to believe that he has similar opinions about other areas of driving law. As a (fully licenced) road user, I have a right to expect that other drivers on the road are competent enough to be on the same roads as me. If they're not, then they shouldn't be on the roads. It's as simple as that. It's dangerous enough on the roads without having to share them with idiots who think that they have some kind of right to be driving around unlicenced.

    Well, the OP does have a right to be on the road just like you or I. Do you know how competent the OP is on the road? Have you met the OP? Have you sat in their car and examined their driving skills? How do you feel about drivers on a second provisional? After all, they are not fully qualified, but are allowed drive on their own?
    liamo wrote:
    Some people end up dead under the wheels of provisional drivers!
    And some experienced drivers drink and drive and kill people.
    And some very experienced drivers end up dead in a ditch.
    But the group of people most at risk of dying in a car at the moment are young male drivers. That's the group that the OP is in. He's been driving for FOUR months. He's not experienced enough to be driving on his own. He thinks he is. He's already in a high-risk group. He's a menace and shouldn't be on the roads on his own.

    Yes, exactly, we are ALL at rist, i'm glad you see my point of view. You're right, he is in a high risk group, as am i, but that won't change the day he passes his test. In fact i think young male drivers who have JUST passed their test are a higher risk than the likes of the OP.

    How can one attain experience driving on their own if they are not allowed to drive on their own?
    liamo wrote:
    You may assume so, but it would be an incorrect conclusion. Not being arrested for dangerous driving would only mean that he wasn't arrested for dangerous driving.

    :eek: wow
    liamo wrote:
    My point is ....

    He's been driving for four months.
    He's inexperienced.
    He's breaking the law.
    He believes that it's ok to drive unaccompanied.
    He believes that because loads of other people are doing it, that it's somehow ok for him to do it.
    He doesn't think these laws should apply to him.

    Excuse me if I think he has a nerve to come into a motoring forum and complain about being pulled over in these circumstances. Pardon me for pointing out that he's a danger to himself and others. How dare I tell him get off the same roads that I use. B0ll0x!

    He's complaining because he's being pulled over for no reason, he is not driving dangerously otherwise he would have been arrested/cautioned/whatever. I personally don't believe he's being pulled over solely because he has L Plates up and is on his own, because the guards just don't do this. As others have explained, there could be multiple reasons why he is being pulled over, and when the guards realise there's nothing to be worried about they just give him the standard learner driver lecture.

    Personally, i don't think the driving test makes a blind bit of difference to your competency on the roads, and i think you're a fool to think so. The guy is just trying to get on with things, everyone has to start somewhere and the ONLY way he's going to improve is to get experience driving a damn car. It's not ideal, but it's just the situation he and THOUSANDS of others are forced into because of the current situation.

    So if you have a problem with this, instead of bashing every learner driver, why not do something a little more proactive like start a ''campaign'':rolleyes:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,193 ✭✭✭liamo


    LundiMardi wrote:
    Well, the OP does have a right to be on the road just like you or I.
    He doesn't have any such right. Driving on the roads is a privelege not a right. It's a privelege that you are supposed to earn by learning how to drive, by taking lessons, by passing your test, by obeying the appropriate laws. However he's driving around unaccompanied after only four months experience. He's breaking those laws. I understand that this happens. I even sympathise to a degree. However, the OP is so inexperienced that this borders on criminally dangerous.
    Do you know how competent the OP is on the road? Have you met the OP? Have you sat in their car and examined their driving skills?
    Obviously, "No" to all questions. However, I do know that he has only four months experience. Inexperience is a major contributor to road traffic accidents.
    How do you feel about drivers on a second provisional? After all, they are not fully qualified, but are allowed drive on their own?
    Actually, I have an issue with that as well but that's a completely separate argument. He's not on his second provisional, he's on his first!
    You're right, he is in a high risk group, as am i, but that won't change the day he passes his test. In fact i think young male drivers who have JUST passed their test are a higher risk than the likes of the OP.
    Yes, he will still be in a high-risk group when he (hopefully) passes his test. However, drivers in a high-risk group should observe the law precisely because they're in that group.
    How can one attain experience driving on their own if they are not allowed to drive on their own?
    You keep missing the point. He hasn't even reached the point where he's permitted to drive on his own. You seem to think that it's ok that he's driving unaccompanied after four months. If so, why not after only three months? Or two? Why not one week?

    Personally, i don't think the driving test makes a blind bit of difference to your competency on the roads, and i think you're a fool to think so.
    I never said that the test would improve competency, nor do I think so.
    The guy is just trying to get on with things, everyone has to start somewhere and the ONLY way he's going to improve is to get experience driving a damn car. It's not ideal, but it's just the situation he and THOUSANDS of others are forced into because of the current situation.
    He can get his experience by driving with a fully licenced driver. That's the law. That's how he can improve. By benefitting from the experience of someone who has been tested and judged competent to drive unaccompanied. He's not being forced into anything by any current situation.
    So if you have a problem with this, instead of bashing every learner driver, why not do something a little more proactive like start a ''campaign'':rolleyes:
    Enough of the amateur dramatics please :rolleyes:. I'm not "bashing every learner driver". What I am doing, however, is taking issue with someone who has only just started to drive and who thinks that the laws don't apply to him. These laws are not there to inconvenience him. They're there for safety reasons.

    FIVE people have died in the last couple of days on the roads. I believe four of them were in a single car. All four were young males. I'm sure obeying the laws would be inconvenient for the OP. I'm also sure that ending up dead was pretty damned inconvenient for those four young men. That's what the laws are there to prevent. That's why I feel strongly about this.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,672 ✭✭✭deman


    byte wrote:
    Yeah, but maybe he had no real intention of driving at 17. Nor maybe had the finances for a motor.

    Heck, I didn't get my full license or my first car until I was 26!

    At 17, I didn't have the finances to buy my own car. It didn't stop me from getting my provisional though. As soon as I got my provisional, I also applied for my test. Didn't get my own car until I was 24. I had my full licence 3 months after my 18th birthday.
    LundiMardi wrote:
    He's complaining because he's being pulled over for no reason

    But there is a reason. He's breaking the law. His insurance doesn't cover him. And if he has an accident, what then?
    LundiMardi wrote:
    I know, i know what you're thinking, and yes it is quite a retarded statement.

    Is it retarded to make long term plans?

    It's not a bit wonder that there are so many deaths on Irish roads when most people here think it's ok to drive alone with a provisional licence, and for when the OP has the nerve to complain about being stopped for breaking the law.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,464 ✭✭✭furtzy


    What a comment. The driving licence situation in Ireland is a farce. Yes they are the rules but christ breaking them is unavoidable when waiting for a test. Id hate to be in that situation.

    So any laws that inconvience you are to be broken? Thats the sort of idiotic thinking that has people drink driving because theres no taxis available or no insurance as its too expensive. I sincerely hope you don't drive as theres enough idiots on the road already.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,144 ✭✭✭LundiMardi


    liamo wrote:
    He doesn't have any such right. Driving on the roads is a privelege not a right. It's a privelege that you are supposed to earn by learning how to drive, by taking lessons, by passing your test, by obeying the appropriate laws. However he's driving around unaccompanied after only four months experience. He's breaking those laws. I understand that this happens. I even sympathise to a degree. However, the OP is so inexperienced that this borders on criminally dangerous.

    Do you ever break the speed limit? I'd say you do, just like every other driver, that is also ''criminally dangerous'', speed is the largest single factor contributing to road deaths... so unless you actually obey EVERY single law there is, you cannot preach to others. For all we know the guy has had a driving lesson every other day for the past 4 months, my point is YOU DO NOT KNOW how competent the OP is regardless of how long he has been driving.
    liamo wrote:
    Obviously, "No" to all questions. However, I do know that he has only four months experience. Inexperience is a major contributor to road traffic accidents.

    Alcohol is a factor in over a third of road deaths, should we ban alcohol? Because people are always going to drink and drive.
    liamo wrote:
    Yes, he will still be in a high-risk group when he (hopefully) passes his test. However, drivers in a high-risk group should observe the law precisely because they're in that group.

    Idealism much?
    liamo wrote:
    You keep missing the point. He hasn't even reached the point where he's permitted to drive on his own. You seem to think that it's ok that he's driving unaccompanied after four months. If so, why not after only three months? Or two? Why not one week?

    He can get his experience by driving with a fully licenced driver. That's the law. That's how he can improve. By benefitting from the experience of someone who has been tested and judged competent to drive unaccompanied. He's not being forced into anything by any current situation.

    Again with the laws, like i said, unless you actually follow every single law, then you're in no position to talk. As i also said, you don't know how competent the OP is or what kind of teaching he/she has received. Maybe he has already been tested and judged competent to drive unaccompanied by a driving instructor. Just because he hasn't past his/her test doesn't mean that they are incompetent!!! The fact that the law isn't even enforced shows that learner drivers are no more a threat to road users than fully licenced drivers.
    liamo wrote:
    Enough of the amateur dramatics please :rolleyes:. I'm not "bashing every learner driver". What I am doing, however, is taking issue with someone who has only just started to drive and who thinks that the laws don't apply to him. These laws are not there to inconvenience him. They're there for safety reasons.

    FIVE people have died in the last couple of days on the roads. I believe four of them were in a single car. All four were young males. I'm sure obeying the laws would be inconvenient for the OP. I'm also sure that ending up dead was pretty damned inconvenient for those four young men. That's what the laws are there to prevent. That's why I feel strongly about this.

    Speed limits are there for safety reasons, but you break em.

    Out of those people who died, who were provisional licences? Do you even know?

    The drivers most at risk are male, 17-25, and have held a licence for less than two years. This is always going to be the case......

    You drive around in a lethal weapon every day,. it's maybe time to realise that you are as big as a threat as everyone else on the road. [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 217 ✭✭keizer


    Lorax wrote:
    omg whatever. 1 of the gardai who pulled me in even told me it was a stupid law and in his own words said "sure its not possible to have a fully licensed driver in the car at all times" said by an enforcer OF the law so that throws your argument out the window not too mention there are 1000's of people who do what I do every day.


    You met one guard who thinks its a stupid law! Wait til you meet a guard who'll summons you because of it!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,193 ✭✭✭liamo


    LundiMardi wrote:
    Do you ever break the speed limit? I'd say you do, just like every other driver, that is also ''criminally dangerous'', speed is the largest single factor contributing to road deaths... so unless you actually obey EVERY single law there is, you cannot preach to others. For all we know the guy has had a driving lesson every other day for the past 4 months, my point is YOU DO NOT KNOW how competent the OP is regardless of how long he has been driving.

    Way to go with the assumption of every driver breaking the speed limits. That's not a bit of a sweeping generalisation. And no, we don't know how many lessons he has had. However, the point is (again) that he is VERY inexperienced and shouldn't be driving unaccompanied. It's dangerous and against the law. You seem to be making the point that if someone else is doing something they shouldn't that makes it ok for the OP to break a different law. How very logical.

    Alcohol is a factor in over a third of road deaths, should we ban alcohol? Because people are always going to drink and drive.
    Yes we should ban alcohol and driving - completely. If people are always going to speed (and, according to you, everyone's at it) should we, by an extension of your logic, drop speed limit entirely?

    Again with the laws, like i said, unless you actually follow every single law, then you're in no position to talk. As i also said, you don't know how competent the OP is or what kind of teaching he/she has received. Maybe he has already been tested and judged competent to drive unaccompanied by a driving instructor. Just because he hasn't past his/her test doesn't mean that they are incompetent!!! The fact that the law isn't even enforced shows that learner drivers are no more a threat to road users than fully licenced drivers.
    This is just complete and utter garbage and doesn't deserve any more comment.

    Speed limits are there for safety reasons, but you break em.
    So now you're stating, for a fact, that I break the speed limit? This is just getting ludicrous.
    Out of those people who died, who were provisional licences? Do you even know?
    No, and you're missing the point again (Deliberately, I suspect)
    You drive around in a lethal weapon every day,. it's maybe time to realise that you are as big as a threat as everyone else on the road.
    No, I'm not. I have many years of experience behind me. I don't drink and drive. I don't break the speed limit. I drive defensively. That makes me a lot safer than most people on the roads. It definitely makes me safer than someone with 4 months experience.

    You're deliberately (or stupidly) missing the point again and again and I'm not going to rise to any more trolling bait from you.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,055 ✭✭✭✭Wishbone Ash


    liamo wrote:
    I have many years of experience behind me. That makes me a lot safer than most people on the roads.
    That's a dangerous assumptiom to make liamo. I have many years driving experience and have a full, clean and unrestricted licence in all 14 categories and I've never been involved in an accident that was my fault (rear-ended twice). However, I wouldn't be so cavalier as to say that I'm 'safer than most people on the roads'. I could cause the death of someone today or be killed myself.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,144 ✭✭✭LundiMardi


    Liamo, it seems you're missing my point....

    As above, you seem very confident that you're a lot safer that ''most people''... This will probably lead to your downfall someday.

    Oh, and yes, everyone breaks the speed limit, if you say you don't or never have done so, then you're a liar. Plain and simple.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,834 ✭✭✭Sonnenblumen


    Lorax wrote:
    Im 21, male, and drive a 1.4 astra now I know a lot of ppl on their 1st provisional drive without fully licensed drivers in the car a gardai who stopped me before even said to me that he knows its not feasible to always have 1 and personally he thought it was a stupid law anyway they, always pull me in for NO REASON at all and then go on about how its a violation of my license and my insurance etc etc it seems I cant even go out in the car any more without getting pulled in for the only reason I can think of being my car is not a 1 litre like most learners and because of the look of me (I wear hoodies a lot and football jerseys) Sorry about the rant just needed to get it out, thanks for listening!

    I'm sick of L-plate drivers moaning about the law and when they're stopped they wonder "why you pick on me?".

    Solution is easy, respect the law and get your test.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 22,815 ✭✭✭✭Anan1


    LundiMardi wrote:
    Oh, and yes, everyone breaks the speed limit, if you say you don't or never have done so, then you're a liar. Plain and simple.
    Can you actually prove this, or is it just your own personal opinion?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,144 ✭✭✭LundiMardi


    Anan1 wrote:
    Can you actually prove this, or is it just your own personal opinion?
    :rolleyes:

    If you seriously think that there are people out there that have never EVER broken the speed limit, then i'm just wasting my breath here.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,173 ✭✭✭overdriver


    I'm sick of L-plate drivers moaning about the law and when they're stopped they wonder "why you pick on me?".

    Solution is easy, respect the law and get your test.


    Yeah, you can get a driving test slot on demand, at a day's notice. :rolleyes: Another helpful, understanding post from Bloomin' Sonnen.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,461 ✭✭✭Max_Damage


    overdriver wrote:
    Yeah, you can get a driving test slot on demand, at a day's notice. :rolleyes: Another helpful, understanding post from Bloomin' Sonnen.

    Good things come to those who wait.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,834 ✭✭✭Sonnenblumen


    overdriver wrote:
    Yeah, you can get a driving test slot on demand, at a day's notice. :rolleyes: Another helpful, understanding post from Bloomin' Sonnen.


    I've plenty of understanding but can also read: L-drivers stay off the Motorways!!


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