speed checks at mid night

Bearcat

jeez, they must be desperate for something to do. Another well fed member of the traffic corp with a camera pulling in traffic. At mid night at the point on the east wall road going towards the east link. Taxi radio were clattering with warnings the garda was doing anyone doing over 5 kph the limit.

Firstly was is the speed limit here? 50kph??

Second....where else are the traffic corps favorite spots for moon lighting during the dark hours?

Never thought I'd see dedicated spped checks at midnight

smashey

Heh, I got caught in Donegal at 11.30pm one night. :mad:

L1011

I pulled over behind what I thought was a drink driving checkpoint at 4am - and it was a pulled over car for speeding. On a backroad in Meath, at that (Summerhill->Trim).

jaggiebunnet

imagine checking speeding at night - do they not know that it is ok to speed after midnight

Sizzler

I'm just waiting for the gush of holier than thou merchants with the "If you werent speeding you have nothing to worry about" line :rolleyes:

ZiabR

Same here, they were pulling near the south exit from the M1 at Dundalk at all hours of the morning....

Sigh

javaboy

Sizzler wrote: »

I'm just waiting for the gush of holier than thou merchants with the "If you werent speeding you have nothing to worry about" line :rolleyes:

Duly obliged. If you weren't speeding then you have nothing to worry about.

ednwireland

considering when and where most of the crashes are i would have thought it would make perfect sense to have speed and drink checks at that time of night i'm always amazed at how few gardai are around early in the morning up hee in donegal

Tony Danza

Don't know where it is your talking about. But since most major accidents happen at night, doesn't it make sense to do this?

ImDave

I got stopped at 11.45pm coming back from Cork one night. I didnt even know that they done speed checks at night

Wishbone Ash

Many of the posters on this forum who have been done for speeding during the day, whinge that the gardai should be checking speed at night when our young people are being slaughtered.

Good to see that they are!

Bearcat

ahh must be having a bit of bad luck.....done 4 times for breath testing since decemeber, once by customs looking for the cherry coke diesel and yer man last night at the point. Did'nt get done but police state comes to mind....they are around every corner now. Latest is they were stopping cars in and out of my housing estate checking for tax. IMO pure harrassement and f off the goodie too shoes who say you've nothing to worry about if your clean.....there's a time and place, not 2 in the afternoon with kids all lined up taking the piss as your interogated.

beerbaron

MYOB wrote: »

On a backroad in Meath, at that (Summerhill->Trim).

That road is lethal - absolute lunatics overtaking with traffic coming in the opp direction.

Duckjob

Makes a whole lot more sense than sitting on an M1 overpass snapping people doing a steady 130kph on a bright sunny afternoon.

GHGW

If you think midinight is late how about 2.30 on the Arklow bypass on the N11 I had just flown home after a business trip and was on my way to Gorey Wexford and once I saw the dual carriageway open ahead of me I put the boot down. Not a car in sight apart from the one behind me that apeared magically, must have come from a gateway and chased me for 5 mins before putting on the lights. I got suspicious immediately and slowed down but he had gunned me already. He was very friendly and said if I had been going 1 KM faster he would have to issue me with a summons to court. I deserved the points but was amazed that he was there at that hour of the night!!

Im not annoyed about it as I was definitely speeding and deserved it but I am annoyed about my other two point offences one for doing 67k in a 60k zone on the Swords road my car reads miles and the needle is 7 KM wide so how am I to know exactly what KM speed im doing if the KM markers are tiny and on the inner dial I actually knew the van was there and thought I was doing 60 and the other for an illegal right turn in Blackrock while operation freflow was on last christmas. That one annoys me cause the Garda appeared to wave me fwd and through a junction while I was happily waiting for the lights to turn Green for a RH turn. He then jumped in front of me and did me for illegal turn but changed his mind when I told him I tought he had waved me on, said he would just fine me for crossing white line but fine arrived in post with 2 points for illegal turn.

Go figure. I rarely speed and have 6 points now only really feel I deserved 2.

R

Rowley Birkin QC

Bearcat wrote: »

there's a time and place.

Enlighten us...

L1011

beerbaron wrote: »

That road is lethal - absolute lunatics overtaking with traffic coming in the opp direction.

Not that many of them at 4am! Worst problem at that time is likely to be the deceptive curves on the rebuilt bit - some of them seem wider than they are, doing them at speed could have very, very bad consequences. The constraints seem a fair bit better on the still under construction Kilcock->Summerhill upgrade thankfully.

javaboy

GHGW wrote: »

Im not annoyed about it as I was definitely speeding and deserved it but I am annoyed about my other two point offences one for doing 67k in a 60k zone on the Swords road my car reads miles and the needle is 7 KM wide so how am I to know exactly what KM speed im doing if the KM markers are tiny and on the inner dial I actually knew the van was there and thought I was doing 60 and the other for an illegal right turn in Blackrock while operation freflow was on last christmas. That one annoys me cause the Garda appeared to wave me fwd and through a junction while I was happily waiting for the lights to turn Green for a RH turn. He then jumped in front of me and did me for illegal turn but changed his mind when I told him I tought he had waved me on, said he would just fine me for crossing white line but fine arrived in post with 2 points for illegal turn.

Go figure. I rarely speed and have 6 points now only really feel I deserved 2.

R

If you can't read the speedo on your car, either err on the side of caution or get it modified so the dial is in km.

Sounds like a genuine misunderstanding on the RH turn though. Should have used the ole' hand signals.

Bearcat

bigkev49 wrote: »

Enlighten us...

garda checks in a housing development........kids palying and laughing their heads off as cars are stopped. Thats what I mean time and place. I am sure you are going to say they have a right to check me in my drive way next. Country now is a police state like it or not. Further every time with out fail, every member of the gardai that has pulled me in has been gruff and rude, no pleases, thanks you's, common courtesy. They treat us as common criminals....even if your marginally over a speed limit......must have been stopped by a dour batch.

Seth Brundle

GHGW wrote: »

the other for an illegal right turn in Blackrock while operation freflow was on last christmas. That one annoys me cause the Garda appeared to wave me fwd and through a junction while I was happily waiting for the lights to turn Green for a RH turn. He then jumped in front of me and did me for illegal turn but changed his mind when I told him I tought he had waved me on, said he would just fine me for crossing white line but fine arrived in post with 2 points for illegal turn.

Whatever about the other two, I would have definitley appealed that one.

Rowley Birkin QC

No offence intended but is it a "known" housing dev., would they have reason to be specifically targetting it?

Also, I think your point about the kids is skewed, IMO its good for them to see a Garda prescence in their locality.

wildsaffy

My workmate was really upset this morning - got pulled over on the Trim - N3 road - doing 70 in a 50.

I know that road and have often sped on it myself

Just wonder what benefit there is in stopping decent hard working people - when the boy races are out on the N3 clocking 150 mph of night time - there are no police around!!!

sigh*

Stereophonic

The law applies to every citizen in the state. If you break the law, face the consequences. Don't bring in "boy racers"... Every driver at any age is capable of causing a crash on our roads. There are check points at all hours now.

javaboy

Bearcat wrote: »

garda checks in a housing development........kids palying and laughing their heads off as cars are stopped. Thats what I mean time and place. I am sure you are going to say they have a right to check me in my drive way next. Country now is a police state like it or not. Further every time with out fail, every member of the gardai that has pulled me in has been gruff and rude, no pleases, thanks you's, common courtesy. They treat us as common criminals....even if your marginally over a speed limit......must have been stopped by a dour batch.

"They treat us as common criminals"

Correct me if I'm wrong but is speeding not a crime? And one of the most common? In my book that makes you a common criminal.

Any time I've been stopped the Garda was polite and courteous but then I'm not breaking the law when I'm stopped.


Commence comments about high horses.

She Devil

Lads, I really can not believe what i am reading in here!!!!!
First of all the "Why can't they stop real criminals other than us decent people" line is a little tiring! If you are breaking the law you are breaking the law! The people that are answering this thread seem to think its totally wrong of the gardai to be on the road at night or even day with speed cameras !!!! What other way can they clamp down on speed?
Seriously ... if one of yer own was involved in an accident, hit by a speeding car etc ... you would be the first to point your finger at the guards and blame them .. there is no need to break the law, and if you do face the consequences!!!

su_dios

wildsaffy wrote: »

My workmate was really upset this morning - got pulled over on the Trim - N3 road - doing 70 in a 50.

I know that road and have often sped on it myself

Just wonder what benefit there is in stopping decent hard working people - when the boy races are out on the N3 clocking 150 mph of night time - there are no police around!!!

sigh*

70 on a speedo would read as almost 80. 30 over the limit is a good bit over and justifies him getting done. Although we have all done it we know what we're doing. The guy who got pulled for 67 in a 60 is a bit harsh! What about the speedo saftey margin? Surely if you were doing 67 you would have been into the 70s? I do think its unfair as half the cars on the road if not more still have mph dials and the difference is almost impossible to tell especially when you're supposed to be keeping your eye on the road.

biko

Get those boy racers!
*shakes cane at passing Hondas*

I've been caught and fined myself but was totally in the wrong (waaay over the speed limit) so fair play to them.

TwoShedsJackson

Bearcat wrote: »

Did'nt get done but police state comes to mind....they are around every corner now.

:rolleyes:

astraboy

javaboy wrote: »

"They treat us as common criminals"

Correct me if I'm wrong but is speeding not a crime? And one of the most common? In my book that makes you a common criminal.

Any time I've been stopped the Garda was polite and courteous but then I'm not breaking the law when I'm stopped.


Commence comments about high horses.

I like that going 5kph over the speed limit, which may be stupidly low and does not take into account changing road conditions, makes you a "common criminal" in your books. Most speeders don't hurt anyone, its general bad driving that does(and that includes inappropriate speed too, not 'speeding'!). A common criminal is a scumbag that robs cars and steals. But these people don't face justice until they have done it many many times, speeders get done on the spot and are often hard-done by. Don't oversimplify by saying your a common criminal for breaking the speed limit.

spockety

Speed check on the N2 in finglas yesterday morning at 8.20am .. 3 gardai standing on the road just outside power city pointing their laser device at non moving commuter traffic.

TwoShedsJackson

spockety wrote: »

Speed check on the N2 in finglas yesterday morning at 8.20am .. 3 gardai standing on the road just outside power city pointing their laser device at non moving commuter traffic.

Didn't you hear it's illegal to do over 8km/h during Dublin rush hour now?

--amadeus--

I always figured that the point of speed traps should be to deter those who routinely use inapropriate speed, with inapropriate being too fast for teh conditions.

Now since it seems most accidents take place on minor roads at night I'm delighted to see that they have started to put checks there. I don't agree with them checking on duel carriageways or motorways but if they are on a backroad between midnight and 6am then they might catch some of teh real dangers on the road.

javaboy

astraboy wrote: »

I like that going 5kph over the speed limit, which may be stupidly low and does not take into account changing road conditions, makes you a "common criminal" in your books. Most speeders don't hurt anyone, its general bad driving that does(and that includes inappropriate speed too, not 'speeding'!). A common criminal is a scumbag that robs cars and steals. But these people don't face justice until they have done it many many times, speeders get done on the spot and are often hard-done by. Don't oversimplify by saying your a common criminal for breaking the speed limit.

Once again. Breaking the speed limit is a crime. It is common. People who break the speed limit are perpetrating a common crime. That makes them common criminals.

I know a lot of places where the speed limit is too low but you need to nag your local authorities etc. about things like that.

Criminals stealing cars are obviously a lot worse than speeders and I won't argue that they're getting off lightly. In fact I agree that more effort should be put into catching them than into the fish in a barrel speeders. But that still doesn't justify breaking the law. The reason many joyriders etc. don't face justice until they are caught many times is often because of an inept court/justice system. I know a lot of Gardai and they hate nothing more than putting all the legwork into catching a scumbag only for the judge to give them a suspended sentence or similar.

And anyone who is worried about revenue generation, stop speeding and the revenue will dry up. Then they might direct their efforts more towards the 'serious' crimes.

Steve

javaboy wrote: »

Correct me if I'm wrong but is speeding not a crime? And one of the most common? In my book that makes you a common criminal.

Once again. Breaking the speed limit is a crime. It is common. People who break the speed limit are perpetrating a common crime. That makes them common criminals.

Sorry for being pedantic but,

technically it's not a crime, it's a civil offence. As is illegal parking, littering etc..

Burglary, trug trafficking and murder are criminal offences and you get a criminal record when convicted - you don't for speeding.

astraboy

stevec wrote: »

Sorry for being pedantic but,

technically it's not a crime, it's a civil offence. As is illegal parking, littering etc..

Burglary, trug trafficking and murder are criminal offences and you get a criminal record when convicted - you don't for speeding.

Exactly, speeding is a civil offense, not a crime. If you think they are going to let the revenue "Dry up" your wrong, they will just implement more cameras on flat straight stretches of road.
However I agree with Javaboy, judges need to be harsher on real criminals.

javaboy

astraboy wrote: »

Exactly, speeding is a civil offense, not a crime. If you think they are going to let the revenue "Dry up" your wrong, they will just implement more cameras on flat straight stretches of road.
However I agree with Javaboy, judges need to be harsher on real criminals.

Fair enough I stand corrected on the common criminal one. It's an offense. How about habitual offender?

Seriously though I'm not trying to wind anyone up on this and I don't consider (m)any of the people who routinely break the speed limit to be on a par with your average Joe Scumbag. I know that most of the people on here that admit to 'speeding' probably only break the speed limit when they deem it safe etc. and I know that those people should be fairly low on the priorities of the Gardai. But I'm sure the Gardai get a lot of political pressure put on them re speeding. I'm not suggesting they are given targets or anything but you would wonder..... personally I can see the logic to the argument that the person they catch speeding on the M50 is likely to be the same person that speeds on a dodgy backroad, it's just easier to catch a lot of them on the M50.


Anyway....... after all that blathering...... what I meant when I said the revenue would dry up was that if people stopped speeding altogether including the flat straights, then there would be less speed checks/revenue. Obviously that's not gonna happen in a million years and especially while the limits on some stretches are so inappropriately low.

Steve

javaboy wrote: »

...... personally I can see the logic to the argument that the person they catch speeding on the M50 is likely to be the same person that speeds on a dodgy backroad, it's just easier to catch a lot of them on the M50.

you could also say that the person they catch driving dangerously / stupidly / on the phone / kids unrestrained on the M50 is likely to be the same person that drives dangerously / stupidly / on the phone / kids unrestrained on a dodgy backroad.
Yet they dont even seem to try.

Speed checks don't catch these muppets as they aren't speeding, yet they are 10 times more likely to add to road death statistics.

The amount of times I wish I had a set of blue lights :mad::mad:

javaboy

stevec wrote: »

you could also say that the person they catch driving dangerously / stupidly / on the phone / kids unrestrained on the M50 is likely to be the same person that drives dangerously / stupidly / on the phone / kids unrestrained on a dodgy backroad.
Yet they dont even seem to try.

Speed checks don't catch these muppets as they aren't speeding, yet they are 10 times more likely to add to road death statistics.

The amount of times I wish I had a set of blue lights :mad::mad:

Agreed