Guards on M50 driving the 60k/h speed limit - with blue lights a flashing

KeRbDoG · 13-03-2007 8:48pm #1

Heh, just saw the guards driving with both hazards and blue lights flashing driving down the M50 at the 60k/h speed limit. After about 2min gathering traffic behind them they speed off at 80-90k/h up to the toll plaza where they again put their lights on... wierd, messing or seeing if that speed limit makes sence?

Guy:Incognito · 13-03-2007 9:00pm

Last week (sat iirc) I came onto the m50 at liffey valley heading soutbound, All of a sudden the traffic bunched up and pretty much stopped. After 10 mins of crawling a guy in one of those sign trucks (big huge flashing arrowtelling people to keep left , he was in the inside lane

) that had been leading the procession turned the sign off and continued driving.

unklerosco · 13-03-2007 9:07pm

I think, in order to keep ur sanity, its best not to think about what goes on on the M50... It'd melt ur head the things that go on on it. I go up n down it early in the morn(4-5am) n its bizarre the layouts they have... 90% of the time for no visable reason....

Altreab · 13-03-2007 9:11pm

unklerosco wrote:

I think, in order to keep ur sanity, its best not to think about what goes on on the M50... It'd melt ur head the things that go on on it. I go up n down it early in the morn(4-5am) n its bizarre the layouts they have... 90% of the time for no visable reason....

Not to mention the last few miles south is 100 instead of 125 :mad: Whats with that???

Turner · 13-03-2007 9:17pm

Probably looking for a hazard on the road after somebody called it in.

Ready to do stop all the traffic get out and shift it.

As for the 60 km/hr limit its not really enforced. Its only there for when people do kill themselves on that stretch or for the 150 people who crash on the m50 every week.

Only they are responsible because if they had been going 60km/hr they would not have crashed in the first place.

unklerosco · 13-03-2007 9:18pm

Those signs need to be changed.... The speed limit on the sliproads down that end are 125km. Where's the logic(or safety) of allowing people to do 125 on the sliproad n 100 on the motorway..... I love this country

KeRbDoG · 13-03-2007 9:19pm

Altreab wrote:

Not to mention the last few miles south is 100 instead of 125 :mad: Whats with that???

I was told that was got to do with the locals, traffic driving at 100k/h are less noisy as traffic driving 120k/h. Crazy logic, in countries where the local authorities get complaints that the traffic might be noisy to the locals, they build high walls with covers that arch over the motorway to keep the sound from leaking over the wall.

Stark · 13-03-2007 9:20pm

The road curves more sharply in that section.

unklerosco · 13-03-2007 9:25pm

Stark wrote:

The road curves more sharply in that section.

There aint one curve on that sections thats as sharp as the one on the leapardstown sliproad....

$Leon$ · 13-03-2007 9:26pm

Altreab wrote:

Not to mention the last few miles south is 100 instead of 125 :mad: Whats with that???

Think you mean 120km/h?

Its due to the bends in the road. The road needs to be straighter to have a 120km/h limit. They could have made it straighter but that would have increased the cost of the road dramatically. So instead they saved money (for a change) and lowered the limit.

Altreab · 13-03-2007 9:47pm

$Leon$ wrote:

Think you mean 120km/h?

Its due to the bends in the road. The road needs to be straighter to have a 120km/h limit. They could have made it straighter but that would have increased the cost of the road dramatically. So instead they saved money (for a change) and lowered the limit.

FFS 30 years in the planning and construction phases and they still decided to put "slow them down" curves in an area they blasted through :mad:

Yeah meant 120km/h not 125km/h ..... then again (looks over at "points for speeding" thread) i might mean an indicated 125km/h

Altreab · 13-03-2007 9:51pm

unklerosco wrote:

Those signs need to be changed.... The speed limit on the sliproads down that end are 125km. Where's the logic(or safety) of allowing people to do 125 on the sliproad n 100 on the motorway..... I love this country

*scratches head* i always thought it was 60km/h on the slip roads.

Guy:Incognito · 13-03-2007 9:51pm

Altreab wrote:

FFS 30 years in the planning and construction phases and they still decided to put "slow them down" curves in an area they blasted through :mad:

I think you'll find land issues dictate the lie of roads as opposed to them deciding to build windy motorways.

MarkR · 13-03-2007 9:55pm

I was wondering about that. It is 120, not 125, right?

Altreab · 13-03-2007 9:59pm

MarkR wrote:

I was wondering about that. It is 120, not 125, right?

Yeah it is 120 ...when they changed the speed limits a while back motorway limits were revised upwards from the old 70MPH to nearly 75MPH

TheNog · 13-03-2007 10:00pm

kerbdog wrote:

Heh, just saw the guards driving with both hazards and blue lights flashing driving down the M50 at the 60k/h speed limit. After about 2min gathering traffic behind them they speed off at 80-90k/h up to the toll plaza where they again put their lights on... wierd, messing or seeing if that speed limit makes sence?

Possibly a rolling road block as they do in England. Probably a danger on the road or at least a report of one. Rolling road blocks are much safer to do on a motorway as opposed to stopping traffic completely. Although traffic on the M50 usually is stopped anyways.

_Kaiser_ · 13-03-2007 10:04pm

TheNog wrote:

Possibly a rolling road block as they do in England. Probably a danger on the road or at least a report of one. Rolling road blocks are much safer to do on a motorway as opposed to stopping traffic completely. Although traffic on the M50 usually is stopped anyways.

Ah, the Garda equivalent of an F1 pace car then!

Altreab · 13-03-2007 10:19pm

It will be interesting to see how much faster traffic moves on the M50 when the toll booths come down. my guess is that there will be an improvement when travelling from end to end but that there will be tailbacks at the airport round about and same at the southern end.
The tail backs to get off the M50 will remain the same since the problem there has nothing to do with the M50.

KeRbDoG · 13-03-2007 10:20pm

Kaiser2000 wrote:

Ah, the Garda equivalent of an F1 pace car then!

But with this one, the lights went off an no one accelerated only the guard/pace car

_Kaiser_ · 13-03-2007 10:24pm

Thats cause the pace cars dont come chasing after you if they're in a mood to do so!

(though it i an example of the fear some people have of overtaking Garda cars in general. Not me though, if it's safe and legal to do so I'll overtake at will).

Altreab · 13-03-2007 10:25pm

Kaiser2000 wrote:

Ah, the Garda equivalent of an F1 pace car then!

talking of which ....just 4 days 4 hours 32 minutes to go

green123 · 14-03-2007 5:44am

Altreab wrote:

It will be interesting to see how much faster traffic moves on the M50 when the toll booths come down. my guess is that there will be an improvement when travelling from end to end

the toll bridge isnt the problem
its the sheer volume of people merging from the poorly designed junctions that causes the slowdowns on the m50

Stark · 14-03-2007 9:33am

The toll bridge is a problem. But yes, those junctions are also a problem.

Jip · 14-03-2007 9:42am

Chief--- wrote:

As for the 60 km/hr limit its not really enforced. Its only there for when people do kill themselves on that stretch or for the 150 people who crash on the m50 every week.

The Gatso van parked up most weekends will beg to differ.

Seth Brundle · 14-03-2007 9:43am

unklerosco wrote:

There aint one curve on that sections thats as sharp as the one on the leapardstown sliproad....

I presume you are referring to the turn just as you exit the roundabout heading northbound - the camber on that is terrible - leaning the wrong way. The engineers must have been pi$sed when they came up with that!

Lord Nikon · 14-03-2007 10:28am

Altreab wrote:

Not to mention the last few miles south is 100 instead of 125 :mad: Whats with that???

Crosswinds, road surface and eh deers apparently :rolleyes:

blastman · 14-03-2007 12:01pm

Are there really 150 crashes a week on the M50? I find that hard to believe.

Altreab · 14-03-2007 12:22pm

neuromancer wrote:

Crosswinds, road surface and eh deers apparently :rolleyes:

All problems that with good planning design and construction would be avoidable. But then they only had 30 years for the project!!!

drdre · 14-03-2007 12:29pm

blastman wrote:

Are there really 150 crashes a week on the M50? I find that hard to believe.

Thats not true:eek:

Stark · 14-03-2007 1:02pm

He meant crashes involving people doing 150km/hr.

C_Breeze · 14-03-2007 2:33pm

This is a ridiculous . On friday just gone I got done for speeding on the M50 northbound just where RedCow roundabout Merges.

Get this .... it was 2am , and there was a guard there with a speed gun .

80Euro fine and my first 2 penalty points.

2am / M50 / limit was apparantly 60kph , i got clocked at 101kph.

Again ... M50 AT 2 IN THE MORNING AND THERE WAS A GUARD WITH A SPEED GUN .

Its a F#&*G scam

Eoin · 14-03-2007 3:05pm

C_Breeze wrote:

This is a ridiculous . On friday just gone I got done for speeding on the M50 northbound just where RedCow roundabout Merges.

Get this .... it was 2am , and there was a guard there with a speed gun .

80Euro fine and my first 2 penalty points.

2am / M50 / limit was apparantly 60kph , i got clocked at 101kph.

Again ... M50 AT 2 IN THE MORNING AND THERE WAS A GUARD WITH A SPEED GUN .

Its a F#&*G scam

Is that not the most common time of the day that people crash and/or kill themselves?

NeMiSiS · 14-03-2007 3:05pm

Not on Motorways.. country backroads.. locked drunk.. would be more realistic..
TK

Stark · 14-03-2007 3:06pm

eoin_s wrote:

Is that not the most common time of the day that people crash and/or kill themselves?

Pissed people...

I haven't been breath tested once since they introduced the legislation for random breath testing. I've passed a **** load of speed checks though.

Jip · 14-03-2007 3:48pm

C_Breeze wrote:

This is a ridiculous . On friday just gone I got done for speeding on the M50 northbound just where RedCow roundabout Merges.

Get this .... it was 2am , and there was a guard there with a speed gun .

I'm not defending the gardai but there is construction work at that time (not sure about everynight) in that area which is the reason why the limit is reduced to 60kph so it's for the safety of the construction workers.

Hobbes · 14-03-2007 4:26pm

I'd go with one of the following.

1. Debris on the road reported and they were checking.

2. Some EU VIP up ahead about to enter the M50.

3. Some muppet joyrider being chased that would of been heading for the M50 and they held up the traffic to stop them from killing people.

ballooba · 14-03-2007 7:23pm

I thought the above figure for 150 crashes per week on the M50 did not sound that unrealistic. Is this actually what you meant though?

NBar · 15-03-2007 8:46pm

C_Breeze wrote:

This is a ridiculous . On friday just gone I got done for speeding on the M50 northbound just where RedCow roundabout Merges.

Get this .... it was 2am , and there was a guard there with a speed gun .

80Euro fine and my first 2 penalty points.

2am / M50 / limit was apparantly 60kph , i got clocked at 101kph.

Again ... M50 AT 2 IN THE MORNING AND THERE WAS A GUARD WITH A SPEED GUN .

Its a F#&*G scam

At this stage we all know of the 60kph limit on the M50 I bet there were workers on the road tying to do their job and to let you know on last Friday night a worker was killed on a Motorwayin the Uk while doing his job, So stop complaining and slow down . I would nopt work on that road at night with all the lunatics on it

OldmanMondeo · 20-03-2007 10:21am

Anyone else get caught by the Gatso van parked before the Liffey Valley exit in the road works? To date I have been lucky, never been stopped for speeding, came across maybe 4 check points and never been asked if I had drink on me, not that I ever had. Only ever got 2 tickets, one for the tax being out, 6 weeks, the other for parking, time ran out. Reckon there will be a fine and 2 PP's in the post, feck it anyway, no one to blame but myself.

Kimbot · 20-03-2007 10:27am

C_Breeze wrote:

This is a ridiculous . On friday just gone I got done for speeding on the M50 northbound just where RedCow roundabout Merges.

Get this .... it was 2am , and there was a guard there with a speed gun .

80Euro fine and my first 2 penalty points.

2am / M50 / limit was apparantly 60kph , i got clocked at 101kph.

Again ... M50 AT 2 IN THE MORNING AND THERE WAS A GUARD WITH A SPEED GUN .

Its a F#&*G scam

Not trying to be smart but the speed limit is 60kmph not apparantly!! There is signs everywhere on the M50 to say that and as a driver you ahould have seen the signs and dropped your speed!!
Even if it was at 2AM and there was a gard there it was for a good reason.... to catch people like you that think they don't have to obey the law!!

I have seen one of the most horrific accidents on the M50 when on the southbound side just after the redcow flyover a Civc was actually flying!!! It hit a barrier and shot up through the air and landed on its roof!! It was lucky it didn't come across to my side of the road and hit oncoming traffic!!
The car was doing well over the speed limit and he hit a bump in the road afaik!!

There is always a sensible reason they have speed limits on roads!! Well roads that have roadworks on them!!

overdriver · 20-03-2007 10:33am

jonny24ie wrote:

There is always a sensible reason they have speed limits on roads!!

You were doing SO well up to that point...
There's NOT always a good reason for a dumb speed limit - unless you count generating revenue. In this case, I reluctantly agree that the limit on the M50 should be lower when the workers are there. I do feel 60 is a bit slow, but people's safety is more important than the OP's need for haste, or want to speed.

Kimbot · 20-03-2007 10:38am

overdriver wrote:

You were doing SO well up to that point...
There's NOT always a good reason for a dumb speed limit - unless you count generating revenue. In this case, I reluctantly agree that the limit on the M50 should be lower when the workers are there. I do feel 60 is a bit slow, but people's safety is more important than the OP's need for haste, or want to speed.

Sorry I should re-edit that to say

Where there is roadworks!!

John Mason · 20-03-2007 10:46am

C_Breeze wrote:

This is a ridiculous . On friday just gone I got done for speeding on the M50 northbound just where RedCow roundabout Merges.

Get this .... it was 2am , and there was a guard there with a speed gun .

80Euro fine and my first 2 penalty points.

2am / M50 / limit was apparantly 60kph , i got clocked at 101kph.

Again ... M50 AT 2 IN THE MORNING AND THERE WAS A GUARD WITH A SPEED GUN .

Its a F#&*G scam

i got done for speeding on the M50 at 8am on a sunday morning at ballymount where the road works are, i was 98 instead of the road work speed of 60 - now i am the only gobshi.te in the whole of ireland who sticks to the 60kph limit at the road works, i cant afford the points and i think its a total scam ..............there wasnt one fecker on the road :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

DonJose · 20-03-2007 10:57am

jonny24ie wrote:

Not trying to be smart but the speed limit is 60kmph not apparantly!! There is signs everywhere on the M50 to say that and as a driver you ahould have seen the signs and dropped your speed!!
Even if it was at 2AM and there was a gard there it was for a good reason.... to catch people like you that think they don't have to obey the law!!

Well said Jonny. The problem with Irish drivers is they think they have a licence to speed, not a licence to drive. Some don't even have a full licence and still complain. The current state of the M50 makes it a very dangerous stretch of road.

Kimbot · 20-03-2007 11:02am

irishbird wrote:

i cant afford the points and i think its a total scam ..............there wasnt one fecker on the road :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

If you can't afford the points then don't break the law!!

John Mason · 20-03-2007 11:06am

jonny24ie wrote:

If you can't afford the points then don't break the law!!

i dont break the law, i stick bang on 60kph at that stretch of road and from what i can see, i am the only person who does this, i had a horse box overtake me on sunday, i have had people flashing me, beeping me, sitting right up my arse and scream abuse out the window at me and for what because i am abidding by the law???? i think 60kph should be enforced when there are people working on on the road but as they all finish at 6pm, i dont see the point of having it so low

Kimbot · 20-03-2007 11:39am

irishbird wrote:

i dont break the law, i stick bang on 60kph at that stretch of road and from what i can see, i am the only person who does this, i had a horse box overtake me on sunday, i have had people flashing me, beeping me, sitting right up my arse and scream abuse out the window at me and for what because i am abidding by the law???? i think 60kph should be enforced when there are people working on on the road but as they all finish at 6pm, i dont see the point of having it so low

Well if you obeyed the law then you wouldn't have been clocked at ballymount at 98kmph!! You stated that you were caught then you say that you always stay at 60 on that strech of road!! It can't be both!!
The workers don't stop @6pm they work throughtout the evening and the night aswell.
The reason the limit is so slow on the road is:
A: The lanes are a hell of alot narrower!
B: The workers on the road!
C: The road surface is in bits because of the roadworks!!

John Mason · 20-03-2007 11:43am

jonny24ie wrote:

Well if you obeyed the law then you wouldn't have been clocked at ballymount at 98kmph!! You stated that you were caught then you say that you always stay at 60 on that strech of road!! It can't be both!!
The workers don't stop @6pm they work throughtout the evening and the night aswell.
The reason the limit is so slow on the road is:
A: The lanes are a hell of alot narrower!
B: The workers on the road!
C: The road surface is in bits because of the roadworks!!

i now stick to the the speed limit of 60kpm - they finish at 6pm, it is part of the planning conditions because of noise pollution to the surrounding houses.

Kimbot · 20-03-2007 11:49am

irishbird wrote:

i now stick to the the speed limit of 60kpm - they finish at 6pm, it is part of the planning conditions because of noise pollution to the surrounding houses.

Sorry but I know a few of the lads that work on it and they do not finish at 6pm!!
If you drive northbound @ the ballymount exit you will see work going on there during the night on a number of occassions!! I seen them there only last week at 10pm!!

You now stick to the limit because you were caught over it which indicates you are a good adaptable driver!! You learnt from your mistakes! There is many people out there that don't!!

Slutmonkey57b · 20-03-2007 11:56am

jonny24ie wrote:

Sorry but I know a few of the lads that work on it and they do not finish at 6pm!!
If you drive northbound @ the ballymount exit you will see work going on there during the night on a number of occassions!! I seen them there only last week at 10pm!!

You now stick to the limit because you were caught over it which indicates you are a good adaptable driver!! You learnt from your mistakes! There is many people out there that don't!!

Strange. I drive home every night through the roadworks and I've yet to see ANY work going on after 10pm or on a weekend since it started.

In any case, I was stopped on a tax ROADBLOCK on the m50 once. I'd love to hear how having a roadblock on a motorway makes it a safer driving experience.

NBar · 20-03-2007 1:17pm

That Road block was done at the Toll Bridge which has a speed limit approaching and leaving and the lads on the Road Works often work until 6am in the morning to get jobs done that would otherwise cause even worse congestion during the day, if people did not get points only a fine they would not be complaining and from what I have heard it is going to be enforced even more from now on

Guards on M50 driving the 60k/h speed limit - with blue lights a flashing

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