Noticed this on M7 today

maxwell smart

I was heading to Cork, had just passed Monasterevin, when going towards Dublin on opposite side on motorway was a squad car, lights flashing and an 03-C-13xxx Merc with blue light in front window following close behind at high speed...thought it a bit strange.
I thought all cars were registered in Dublin castle?

tossy

Ive seen at least 3 LS reg cop cars (all unmarked) was stopped at a check point by one!

david

Possibly an escort/state car with removable blue strobe?

TheNog

Would have been a state car alright with a Garda driver and no not all vehilces are registered in Dublin. About 10 yrs ago I saw a NI reg unmarked BMW operating on the M7 between Naas and Newbridge. Heard it was always catching out motorists.

Berty

I have seen many different Garda registration vehicles. There was a Camry on the Dublin Cork road around Fermoy. There is an Isuzu Trooper in Limerick with a CE reg.

Im never too bothered about unmarked cars because their job is not traffic so they will not give chase or pull you over unless you do something absolutely insane on the road or p*ss them off good.


Nog - Ni reg, how is that possible?

On the north south thing. I was listening to a Garda mouthing off about bad relationships between their station and the PSNI because there is a speed checkpoint on the southbound M1 between Dundalk and Newry at Jonesbrough but in order for them to get to it they must use the flyover at Jonesbrough which is technically the North and they have been told they are never allowed enter another country unless they have written permission by the parliment each and every time. :rolleyes:

miju

Berty wrote: »

they have been told they are never allowed enter another country unless they have written permission by the parliment each and every time. :rolleyes:

thats a complete waffle tbh. they dont need written permission from Parliament or the Dáil at all

DMC

Berty wrote: »

Nog - Ni reg, how is that possible?

With the amount of NI imports, I wouldn't be surprised that the state cars are doing what the rest of us have been doing for ages!

It's about being patriotic, don't cha know

As for the border thing at the N1, the central median is broken at either side of the border (about 100m either side) to allow for PSNI and Gardaí to slip out to the other carriageway without creating a border incident.

mike65

Well thankgood for that we wouldn't want an incident would we.

mickdw

There was someone posting on here a while back who said its not uncommon for unmarked cars to have 2 or 3 sets of plates in the boot to swap often to aid in undercover work.

rebel.ranter

I know one guy who even has the "Up Meath!" or "Kerry Radio" stickers & matching insurance/tax disc to match the 2nd/3rd reg plate.

donvito99

DMC wrote: »

With the amount of NI imports, I wouldn't be surprised that the state cars are doing what the rest of us have been doing for ages!

I think the guards have to import the 3l traffic mondeos as they are not available here. Am open to correction on that of course.

McSpud

The Guard was 100% wrong. It doesn't matter what the OP did as he did not deserve someone ranting at him when driving alongside. If the Guard was so sure the OP had done something illegal he should have pulled him in.

IMO the worse for this type of behaviour when on duty are the Motorcycle Gardai. Shouting at someone no matter what they did is wrong & shows up a lack of professionalism in certain sectors of the force. I have sure many posters here have seen this occur or been at the brunt of it.

A good few years ago a gut cut we off with illegal turn & when I honked the horn at him he followed me up the road & got out shouting at me flashing his badge. I kept me car door/window shut but as is usual in these cases in hindsight I should have got his badge number. If he really thought I was in the wrong he would have charged me.

People who get wound up like this for the smallest events should find a new job.

YourCourier.ie

mickdw wrote: »

There was someone posting on here a while back who said its not uncommon for unmarked cars to have 2 or 3 sets of plates in the boot to swap often to aid in undercover work.

I was reliably informed about 7 or 8 years ago by a member of the gs that they do this on unmarked bikes too. At the time they were using plates from different European countries.

unkel

TheNog wrote: »

About 10 yrs ago I saw a NI reg unmarked BMW operating on the M7 between Naas and Newbridge. Heard it was always catching out motorists.

That seems 'unusual'. Wouldn't the illegal reg be the perfect loophole to avoid a conviction?

TheNog

unkel wrote: »

That seems 'unusual'. Wouldn't the illegal reg be the perfect loophole to avoid a conviction?

a loophole to escape a speeding conviction?? I cant see how tbh. The reg of the state car doesnt come into any type of conviction unless of course you were unlucky to crash into one!!!

TheNog

McSpud wrote: »

The Guard was 100% wrong. It doesn't matter what the OP did as he did not deserve someone ranting at him when driving alongside. If the Guard was so sure the OP had done something illegal he should have pulled him in.

IMO the worse for this type of behaviour when on duty are the Motorcycle Gardai. Shouting at someone no matter what they did is wrong & shows up a lack of professionalism in certain sectors of the force. I have sure many posters here have seen this occur or been at the brunt of it.

A good few years ago a gut cut we off with illegal turn & when I honked the horn at him he followed me up the road & got out shouting at me flashing his badge. I kept me car door/window shut but as is usual in these cases in hindsight I should have got his badge number. If he really thought I was in the wrong he would have charged me.

People who get wound up like this for the smallest events should find a new job.

does no one else think this post is a bit out there on this thread??

tossy

I think that poster was meant to reply to this thread bless him

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055110808

He obviously got confused looking at the sign posts,ended up in the south bound lane and got lost!

poreilly101

Saw a White BMW 3 series outside Dorrow yesterday, full lights integrated into the grill/back window etc.
IT had a Dublin reg, The car was filthy, it looked hadn’t had a wash in weeks. So much so It was also difficult to see the number plate. What I could just about see was the 07 D , the rest was covered in muck/dirt.
I saw the silver BMW 3 series several times on my around in a similar area but is the white BMW new or a replacement?

Terrontress

TheNog wrote: »

a loophole to escape a speeding conviction?? I cant see how tbh. The reg of the state car doesnt come into any type of conviction unless of course you were unlucky to crash into one!!!

Just tell the judge that you saw uniformed cops in a foreign vehicle, you thought it highly suspicious and were trying to get away from them to the local Garda station to report it there. Their lack of professionalism, in driving an illegal car which should have been reregistered on its first day in the state, caused you to speed.

stealthyspeeder

TheNog wrote: »

a loophole to escape a speeding conviction?? I cant see how tbh.

Plenty of them! if you can afford to pay a good enough lawyer for enough time, its more than likely he'll turn up something which isnt exactly as the letter of the law says it should be, if he's good enough, he'll exploit this in court and the prosecution may have to drop the case or the judge may dismiss it.

A recent example - the speeding cases in Dublin all getting thrown out of court as the guards had failed to put notification of the change of limit in some sh*tty local rag! I think its fair to say all those who escaped prosecution got off on a loophole!

Del2005

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

Plenty of them! if you can afford to pay a good enough lawyer for enough time, its more than likely he'll turn up something which isnt exactly as the letter of the law says it should be, if he's good enough, he'll exploit this in court and the prosecution may have to drop the case or the judge may dismiss it.

A recent example - the speeding cases in Dublin all getting thrown out of court as the guards had failed to put notification of the change of limit in some sh*tty local rag! I think its fair to say all those who escaped prosecution got off on a loophole!

Not knowing the law is no excuse.

If it's a good enough reason to get a conviction why not for getting off a conviction? They are supposed to follow the law as well as the general public and if they don't then they haven't done their job properly. If printing a notice in a sh*tty local rag is the law then they have to do, they should contact their super or TD and get the law changed if it they don't like it. Sorry for going OT.

skibum

Berty wrote: »

Im never too bothered about unmarked cars because their job is not traffic so they will not give chase or pull you over unless you do something absolutely insane on the road or p*ss them off good.

I got pulled while doing about 135Km/ph (ish :rolleyes:) on the M4, the conditions were perfect, very few cars on the road, I was tipping along in the left hand lane, got pulled by an unmarked car, usual speil, gave me a warning and let me go

Rowley Birkin QC

TheNog wrote: »

does no one else think this post is a bit out there on this thread??

No not at all, sure the Guards are always wrong, no exceptions, ever. Surely you know that at this stage, and as for that shower on the motorbikes......







:pac:

donvito99

Berty wrote: »

Im never too bothered about unmarked cars because their job is not traffic so they will not give chase or pull you over unless you do something absolutely insane on the road or p*ss them off good.

Traffic Corps have plenty of unmarked cars. ANPR is being equipped to unmarked cars.

CharlieCroker

donvito99 wrote: »

Traffic Corps have plenty of unmarked cars. ANPR is being equipped to unmarked cars.

We have ANPR in marked and unmarked TC cars at the moment.
Havent had a chance to look at it yet

TheNog

Terrontress wrote: »

Just tell the judge that you saw uniformed cops in a foreign vehicle, you thought it highly suspicious and were trying to get away from them to the local Garda station to report it there.

Ok but how do you explain your actions re: speeding before you saw the highly suspicious car with uniformed Gardai in it??!!

Their lack of professionalism, in driving an illegal car which should have been reregistered on its first day in the state, caused you to speed.

Can you prove it is illegal? Bet not

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

A recent example - the speeding cases in Dublin all getting thrown out of court as the guards had failed to put notification of the change of limit in some sh*tty local rag! I think its fair to say all those who escaped prosecution got off on a loophole!

Del2005 wrote: »

Not knowing the law is no excuse.

If it's a good enough reason to get a conviction why not for getting off a conviction? They are supposed to follow the law as well as the general public and if they don't then they haven't done their job properly. If printing a notice in a sh*tty local rag is the law then they have to do, they should contact their super or TD and get the law changed if it they don't like it. Sorry for going OT.

Do you know years ago people complained about other people not reading enough newspapers, now we have the problem of people not reading newspapers properly!!!

It was the local County Council that feck up not the guards.

I demand a 500 word report explaining your comments above!!

700 drivers avoid fines for speeding in by-law bungle
Independent.ie WebSearch
Thursday November 20 2008

Tom Brady Security Editor

ALMOST 700 speeding summonses have been dismissed because the relevant by-law did not exist due to an administrative mistake.

Last night urgent talks were under way to prevent a dramatic increase in the number of errant motorists who are avoiding fines and penalty points because of the error.

The escape clause for the motorists arose from the failure of three local authorities to publish changes in the speed limits in the official Government publication, Iris Oifigiuil.

The councils involved are Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council and South Dublin County Council.

The authorities are required to publish the changes before the necessary by-law can be implemented in the courts.

The oversight is understood to have involved some changes introduced when the speeding limits were being converted from miles into kilometres.

The stretches of road where the offences were alleged to have taken place included the M1 motorway northbound from the Coolock flyover to the airport roundabout and the M50 from Lucan to the Liffey Valley shopping centre. The problem began to emerge last week in Dublin District Court, number 51, which deals with traffic offences.

Gardai sought an adjournment of the speeding cases listed for that hearing but their application was refused by Judge Clare Leonard, who pointed out that no by-law existed if the amendments were not declared in Iris Oifigiuil and the procedures could not be made retrospectively.

More than 200 speeding offences were thrown out by Judge Leonard at that court and the judge adopted a similar stance when other cases came up for hearing before her last Tuesday and yesterday in the district court.

It is understood that a total of 697 cases have so far been affected by the absence of the by-law in the three local authority areas.

Apart from the court dismissals, the lack of the relevant law will also have other implications.

It is likely that motorists who have paid their speeding fines in the three areas will now be entitled to seek reimbursement.

The flaw is also expected to impact on the penalty points imposed on the motorists as a result of their convictions and these will have to be adjusted.

Briefed

The Courts Service last night confirmed that around 700 speeding summonses had been affected so far. Senior garda officers in the national traffic policy bureau are being briefed on the developments in the courts.

And talks are under way between representatives of the Chief State Solicitor's office and the Director of Public Prosecutions to sort out the current problem and prevent wholesale chaos in the future.

Source

Terrontress

Circular arguments both of those.

How do they know I hadn't spotted them before I started speeding?

And the letter of the law is fairly plain when it comes to importing vehicles. They have to be registered, or presented to the relevant authority for registration, on their first day in the state.

I'm sure this law applies to everyone.

TheNog

Terrontress wrote: »

Circular arguments both of those.

How do they know I hadn't spotted them before I started speeding?

Wouldnt you have slowed down then rather than speeding to the local station as you described. Can you see and read a 2 inch wide epaulette from 500m away? Unless you have had your eyes replaced with binoculors I wouldnt think so.

You are right its a circular arguement so admit it you were wrong and I am right!!! :pac::D

Terrontress wrote: »

And the letter of the law is fairly plain when it comes to importing vehicles. They have to be registered, or presented to the relevant authority for registration, on their first day in the state.

I'm sure this law applies to everyone.

You are sure or you are fairly sure. Im not well up on the whole laws governing registration of foreign vehicles but I am fairly sure it exempts the State for exactly this reason.

What makes you automatically think the AGS would do something illegal?

Del2005

TheNog wrote: »

Ok but how do you explain your actions re: speeding before you saw the highly suspicious car with uniformed Gardai in it??!!



Can you prove it is illegal? Bet not





Do you know years ago people complained about other people not reading enough newspapers, now we have the problem of people not reading newspapers properly!!!

It was the local County Council that feck up not the guards.

I demand a 500 word report explaining your comments above!!




Source

I didn't know;)

Terrontress

TheNog wrote: »

Wouldnt you have slowed down then rather than speeding to the local station as you described. Can you see and read a 2 inch wide epaulette from 500m away? Unless you have had your eyes replaced with binoculors I wouldnt think so.

You are right its a circular arguement so admit it you were wrong and I am right!!! :pac::D



You are sure or you are fairly sure. Im not well up on the whole laws governing registration of foreign vehicles but I am fairly sure it exempts the State for exactly this reason.

What makes you automatically think the AGS would do something illegal?

I'm not sure I believe that, as posted, there were Gardai on any road in a Northern registered vehicle. It just sounds plain wrong. I give you my word that if blues and twos came on a Northern Reg car behind me, I would not stop. Even if it subsequently pulled alongside and had two uniformed cops inside. I'd call 999 and explain what was happening but not stop. As an official in an Irish retail bank, I need to be a bit more aware of my security.

There must be many more like me. Surely therefore it would be counter productive for AGS to consider such a car.

That's before we consider VRT, ownership, tax and insurance.

TheNog

Terrontress wrote: »

That's before we consider VRT, ownership, tax and insurance.

Government doesnt pay itself VRT, ownership would be the State, tax is not paid on any state vehicle and insurance is covered by whatever insurance comany (cant remember off the top of my head)

So in all you make some valid points about identification alright but yor core arguement of it being illegal is just not true