Any garda checkpoints out today?

snafu, why should a change in the law change anything :rolleyes:

Wertz

Why would the toll booth operators not let an L-plater on to the motorway? They're not law enforcement, they're tax collectors...

SheroN

Also if you're not an L driver yourself, why does it bother you so much?

The_Conductor

Wertz wrote: »

Why would the toll booth operators not let an L-plater on to the motorway? They're not law enforcement, they're tax collectors...

Its a toll, not a tax
They work for a private company......

Fighting Irish

The Artist wrote: »

Went to cork today and used the motorway.
I saw a few learner driver on the motorway and thought bloody ejits as they have to go through the toll checkpoint and surely they be caught there.
Came acrooss to pay the toll and a learner driver was behind me and said to meself no luck for this guy now.
once away from the barrier and looked at my mirror.
They left him through?
1 mile on as there is no turn off there was a motorcycle guardi ahead.
This fellas still behind me and surely the guardi have to stop him now.
Nope the fella passed me out with his L plates clear to see and never got stopped.
i thought wtf????:(

i use to drive my brothers car which had L plates when i was a full license driver :eek:

Fighting Irish

Wertz wrote: »

Why would the toll booth operators not let an L-plater on to the motorway? They're not law enforcement, they're tax collectors...

by what he was saying i presumed that there were gardai at the toll booths

if he taught that toll booth operates were gonna stop someone with L plates driving on the motorway then lol @ him

Wertz

The only reason there should be gardaí around the toll booth is to arrest NTR officials for crimes against humanity...

smccarrick wrote: »

Its a toll, not a tax
They work for a private company......

Same difference in my eyes, however wrong the terminology. It's our public representatives that have allowed a private company to build critical infrastructure and price it accordingly to Jo Public who has probably already paid for it multiple times...so to me it's a tax, just the kind of tax for which there is little return benefit...

j1smithy

Wertz wrote: »

The only reason there should be gardaí around the toll booth is to arrest NTR officials for crimes against humanity...




Same difference in my eyes, however wrong the terminology. It's our public representatives that have allowed a private company to build critical infrastructure and price it accordingly to Jo Public who has probably already paid for it multiple times...so to me it's a tax, just the kind of tax for which there is little return benefit...

The benefit is that it doesn't take as long to get from A to B before the road was built

The_Conductor

j1smithy wrote: »

The benefit is that it doesn't take as long to get from A to B before the road was built

Depending on the length of the stretch of road, and people's driving habits, its entirely possible that you may pay for the toll in fuel saved by cruising at an economical speed on the good road.........

smccarrick

smccarrick wrote: »

Depending on the length of the stretch of road, and people's driving habits, its entirely possible that you may pay for the toll in fuel saved by cruising at an economical speed on the good road.........

The way fuel prices are going that may well be true..

Wertz

j1smithy wrote: »

The benefit is that it doesn't take as long to get from A to B before the road was built

O rly?

In many cases the new route is the only feasible method to get between those two points as well, due to state of repair of the older route, bottlenecks and resultant traffic delays due to volume, so motorists are faced with having to use the tolled road, as the alternative is not viable...this whilst they pay tax through the nose on the purchase of their vehicle, it's taxation and tax on fuel...meanwhile many of the motorways that have tolled sections or bridges were paid for using structural grants from the EU for which the country gave up other benefits.
On a particular stretch of road I used use, one which anyone travelling from the North to Dublin would use, I was paying 3.60 a day, every day...that's 18 quid a week or 900 a year...almost 3 times the car tax I was paying at the time...for one section of road. God forbid you then had to use the east link or the M50...
This whole PPP building bullsh*t is jobs for the boys facilitated by both local and national government and is an insult to the normal guy who gets to pay twice and sometimes thrice for a vital piece of infrastructure. Oh yeah and they also get to keep paying for it long after any initial cost borne by the provider of the route has since been paid off...

Sorry for the OT but the structure and implementation of tolled road system in this country gets on my wick...

j1smithy

The problem with the M50, was that it was too successful. The only way they can fix is to increase capacity (which they are doing) and vastly increase tolls. Hopefully the latter will come soon, thats the traffic engineer in me talking. Unless people are forced to use the alternative route (and there is always an alternative route to tolled roads under an EU directive) congestion will only get worse (transport economics 101)

Apologies to the OP for going off topic, just annoys me when people say the tolls are the problem, when reality its the volume and tolls are the solution.

The Artist

SheroN wrote: »

Also if you're not an L driver yourself, why does it bother you so much?

it dosent bother me at all its just the way they are getting away with the new law that has been brought in.

The Artist

Fighting Irish wrote: »

by what he was saying i presumed that there were gardai at the toll booth

exactly the point.

Steve

j1smithy wrote: »

The problem with the M50, was that it was too successful. The only way they can fix is to increase capacity (which they are doing) and vastly increase tolls. Hopefully the latter will come soon, thats the traffic engineer in me talking. Unless people are forced to use the alternative route (and there is always an alternative route to tolled roads under an EU directive) congestion will only get worse (transport economics 101)

Apologies to the OP for going off topic, just annoys me when people say the tolls are the problem, when reality its the volume and tolls are the solution.

What alternative route exists to the west link?

DenMan

Still no sign of anybody getting caught in Sligo. Plenty of cars and bikes going past but no arrests....as of yet!!!

JupiterKid

I was stopped at a gardai checkpoint tonight in West Dublin and (I have my full licence BTW) I was asked for my driving licence, and told that they were prosecuting L drivers to the full extent. Several cars were pulled over to the side of the road. The traffic jam for the checkpoint was very slow as they were checking ALL cars.

L drivers ... be warned.

j1smithy

SteveC wrote: »

What alternative route exists to the west link?

I'm not overly familiar, but i believe a route exists somewhere between lucan leixlip and chapelizod. Then again for certain you can definitely travel through the city centre for free.

The_Conductor

SteveC wrote: »

What alternative route exists to the west link?

Take the road through Lucan village towards Clonee, branch at Westmanstown for Blanchardstown, keep going straight the backroad for the Navan Road, or go inbound and then through Finglas/Santry for the airport/M1 north.

You would either need to be just a little mad to do it- or have no alternate......

Miss Pinky

My brother was pulled On Saturday night on the Claremorris By-pass around twelve at night asked for his full licence and had to do a breath test funny considering he dosent drink!!:D
I think its the third time he been "bagged"!!!
Just hope there are checking the ones that do drink and drive

Saint_Mel

There was a checkpoint outside Dans Tavern in Athlone on Thursday night and one somewhere around Delvin/Mullingar too.

techdiver

smccarrick wrote: »

Sorry- it was techdiver who called it a joke......

I meant "joke", as in a ridiculous stupid law and I stick by that.

Other examples where this works:

1). As soon as you apply and pay for insurance you are insured regardless of whether you are in possession of an insurance disk or not.

2). Same for tax etc.......

You may have to prove this at a later time, but you are not considered to be breaking the law.

kerry4sam

Covering all angles in Killarney for the races ... into and out of the town and I met with 3guards in the town centre at 11:20pm last night when on my way home from work ... Came across another one this evening on my way home from work at 3:30 ... Definitely making presence felt in Killarney; if it'll quieten down again once the Races are over is to be seen but at the moment they are out in force and out on the roads

sam34

kerry4sam wrote: »

Covering all angles in Killarney for the races ... into and out of the town and I met with 3guards in the town centre at 11:20pm last night when on my way home from work ... Came across another one this evening on my way home from work at 3:30 ... Definitely making presence felt in Killarney; if it'll quieten down again once the Races are over is to be seen but at the moment they are out in force and out on the roads

thanks for the tipoff, i'm heading there tomorrow!;)

kerry4sam

sam34 wrote: »

thanks for the tipoff, i'm heading there tomorrow!;)

I'd say the odds of you not meeting a guard or garda check-point are about the same as the odds of some-one successfully backing every winner for the remainder of the races :P (highly unlikely)