Fines for no tax and broken indicator?

gnomer

Ok here whats happened:

My brother left the house to give my friend a lift home.
He made it about 1 minute around the road then the gardai stopped him.

They asked him to take a brethalizer (he had nothing to drink and was clearly not drunk)

They waited outside the car and talked to each other and then asked him to turn on every light on the car for no reason. One of the back indicators was broken.

They then asked for his insurance,tax and license. His tax expired recently and he had the papers for renewing it in his car.

They then had a short look around the car for anything suspicous before taking the car telling him he would hace to pay 150euro a day to keep it stored. He would have to pay fines and he may have to goto court over the outdated tax and left him on the side of the road to walk home.

Ok, my first question on this is are they allowed to randomly stop a car and get the driver done for everything they can think of?

What are the normal fines for something like this?

Do you think it is fair for a gardai to randomly stop something? (I'd say it was because he was 24, although he was only driving a peugeot 206)

Guy:Incognito

gnomer wrote: »

Ok, my first question on this is are they allowed to randomly stop a car and get the driver done for everything they can think of?

They are the gardai, it's their job.

They are doing him for no tax. You make it sound like they are making things up to do him for. It's very black and white and is made that way by having the date it expires in big numbers on it.

gnomer

Stekelly wrote: »

They are the gardai, it's their job.

They are doing him for no tax. You make it sound like they are making things up to do him for. It's very black and white and is made that way by having the date it expires in big numbers on it.

Well, from what I heard is that they drove up behind him and they checked for tax last. He was not stopped for outdated tax, I can't stress that point any more.

This only happened 20 minutes ago, they would barely have been able to see it in the dark.

I honestly think its the recession, they need the fine money.

jhegarty

How far gone was the tax ?

When you say "he had the papers for renewing it in his car" do you mean a receipt , or just the forms ?

galwaytt

gnomer wrote: »

Do you think it is fair for a gardai to randomly stop something? (I'd say it was because he was 24, although he was only driving a peugeot 206)

The tax is obviously more than 2 mths gone, so this w/end in particular, you're bunched - they're on a mission, this w/end.

As for the '24' thing - that's daft - they'd only have known this AFTER they pulled him, not before.........

gnomer

jhegarty wrote: »

How far gone was the tax ?

When you say "he had the papers for renewing it in his car" do you mean a receipt , or just the forms ?

He had the forms. I'm not sure how long the tax is gone but it was only recent, less than 2 weeks. My brother is in a really bad mood and wont speak to me about it (it was my friend he was giving a lift to, he blames me)

MarkR

If he was more then two months out they can take the car off him. They can pull you in at any stage. Misuse of drugs act can be sited for anything. Also random breath tests etc.

It's hard luck, but all legit.

gnomer

galwaytt wrote: »

The tax is obviously more than 2 mths gone, so this w/end in particular, you're bunched - they're on a mission, this w/end.

As for the '24' thing - that's daft - they'd only have known this AFTER they pulled him, not before.........

Very certain your wrong about the tax. Well, I can't really make every believe the story, but trust me,thats exactly how it happened.

Guy:Incognito

gnomer wrote: »

I honestly think its the recession, they need the fine money.

They didnt make him drive his car without tax.

It's their job to check for these things.

gnomer

MarkR wrote: »

If he was more then two months out they can take the car off him. They can pull you in at any stage. Misuse of drugs act can be sited for anything. Also random breath tests etc.

It's hard luck, but all legit.

Question, is the 2 months out rule a law or is it just practiced by the gardai?

Philush

AFAIK the car has to be without tax for 3 months for them to impound it, or have no insurance, as for the broken lights it could relate to classing the car as being in an unroadworthy condition, i think if not all the lights work they can technically do you. As for it being in the dark, the car that pulled him could have ANPR on it so it would have shown up on the computer in the car that the tax was out.

I agree with the above posters, they wouldnt know what age he was until he was stopped, it is their job, even if it does seem unfair and driving this weekend without everything in order on your car is asking for it.

gnomer

Stekelly wrote: »

They didnt make him drive his car without tax.

It's their job to check for these things.

Yes, it is their job to check these things, but I expect many (if not most) of the cars on the road has something not fully legal wrong with them. Whether it be faulty breaks, bad wiring, no nct,tax or insurance, provisional license without a full licensed person or whatever. Since when did the gardai decide to select a car and check every last detail of it. People would be getting fines for having low pressure in tires or whatever.

Guy:Incognito

gnomer wrote: »

Yes, it is their job to check these things, but I expect many (if not most) of the cars on the road has something not fully legal wrong with them. Whether it be faulty breaks, bad wiring, no nct,tax or insurance, provisional license without a full licensed person or whatever. Since when did the gardai decide to select a car and check every last detail of it. People would be getting fines for having low pressure in tires or whatever.

If having low pressure in your tyres was against the law then they might, but it isnt.

Gardai have been stopping and checking cars for as long as they have been around.

Watch Road wars on Sky one if you want an idea of what cops see and decide to pull cars for. One way or another, if they do decide to stop you and you end up having something glaringly obvious like no tax , you have no reason to moan.

They can stop you and do a random breath test, which they did. It's called a random test because they can stop you randomly and do it.

gnomer

Philush wrote: »

driving this weekend without everything in order on your car is asking for it.

Very sorry if I'm missing something obvious, but what is so special about this weekend?

gnomer

Stekelly wrote: »

If having low pressure in your tyres was against the law then they might, but it isnt.

Gardai have been stopping and checking cars for as long as they have been around.

Watch Road wars on Sky one if you want an idea of what cops see and decide to pull cars for.

I only used low pressure as an example.

Yes, I know gardai do stop cars, but would you like if your car was stopped and they asked you to pop the trunk while they make sure there isn't 1 wire out of place, if the gardai done what they did to my brother to other drivers, there would be alot less cars on the road for a while.

bladebrew

thankfully the gardai can stop any car on the road and "do" the driver for anything they can think of! that is their job,i think the fine for no tax is €60,then get the car taxed!!!,a breathalyser test is understandable but i have no idea why they checked all the lights,

taking a car off someone for having no tax is a bit extreme,i was stopped recently when my tax was 3 days out of date,the gardai just said get the tax sorted,

unless the tax was out by months this seems a bit heavy handed,

galwaytt

gnomer wrote: »

Very sorry if I'm missing something obvious, but what is so special about this weekend?

Hello ? - A Bank Holiday week-end ??

OP - I'm not making it up - my SO went through 2 checkpoints today with expired tax, and both gaurds commented on it, but no action. Reason ? It only went up in March, and you have 30 days after expiry of the tax before you're in default. Up to 30 days, you're only overdue, and that's allowed for in the Act. (look at your renewal notice, it says it there, too........)

Philush

no worries, just that its the easter bank holiday, they aways seem to go mad with their road safety campaigns, presence on the roads, checkpoints etc on bank holidays, or around xmas etc

gnomer

galwaytt wrote: »

Hello ? - A Bank Holiday week-end ??

OP - I'm not making it up - my SO went through 2 checkpoints today with expired tax, and both gaurds commented on it, but no action. Reason ? It only went up in March, and you have 30 days after expiry of the tax before you're in default. Up to 30 days, you're only overdue, and that's allowed for in the Act. (look at your renewal notice, it says it there, too........)

Ahh,yes bank holidy, I didnt think of that...

I can't be precise on details of expiry, all I know is it expired recently. When I heard it is expired recently I imagined in my head less than 1 month.

Guy:Incognito

gnomer wrote: »

I only used low pressure as an example.

Yes, I know gardai do stop cars, but would you like if your car was stopped and they asked you to pop the trunk while they make sure there isn't 1 wire out of place, if the gardai done what they did to my brother to other drivers, there would be alot less cars on the road for a while.

I have been stopped and they had a good look around my car. I have no issue with it. I had nothing to hide.

They wont be fineing you or impunding the car for somehting thats legal and in working order.

If the Gards are getting proactive and taking unroadworthy cars off the road then they have my full support.

I know plenty of people over the years who were driving around on shockingly worn tyres for instance, the more checks and subsequent fines etc that force people to sort things out then the better for all of us.

There are some of us that actually take care of our vehicles you know. Sort things because they need sorting and not just because and NCT/DOE is comign up or because the Gards might oull us up on it.

x in the city

My car hasnt been taxed since jan, I was out of the country alot and didnt bother with it

got a letter last week oro so saying if its not dealth with soon we can take further action blah blah, i was going to get it done around the time of the letter anyway so taxed it last week and got the cops to fill in the period it was unused

im all for the cops clamping out on tax, in the uk its taken away no questions asked

Philush

I agree, drivers shouldnt wait to be told that there's something wrong with their car, im lucky i no my way round a car so can check all these things easily, but its not too hard to ask a friend or a neighbour to give a hand. the classic excuse i hear regularly is "sure no one told me" in relation to cars with only one working headlight,or wire poking through a well worn tyre, ideally and it says in the rules of the road (not tat many drivers abide by it)

"As a driver, you must make sure that your vehicle is in good working order. You must ensure that the steering, brakes, front and rear lamps, reflectors, rear view mirrors, safety belts, speedometer, tyres, windscreen wipers, horn and silencer are checked regularly."

its the resposibilty of the DRIVER, but as this doesnt happen in many cases it is down to the Gardai to check up on it. I dont see the problem with it.

bladebrew

i would be more worried about people driving around with no insurance tbh,love road wars on sky1,people driving around with no insurance get stopped then pretend they have a policy with some company,until the police ring them to check and the car ends up being towed away,

Philush

bladebrew wrote: »

i would be more worried about people driving around with no insurance tbh,love road wars on sky1,people driving around with no insurance get stopped then pretend they have a policy with some company,until the police ring them to check and the car ends up being towed away,

its classic tv alright, and the excuses n stories they come up with are epic

mick.fr

In France if you have no insurance and unable to prove you car was insured the day of the offense within 15 days, they crush your car. No question asked
They don't even bother selling it, they crush it.
I think they do the same in UK if you have no tax or so.

c-note

pay your tax fix your lights stfu and gtfo

Vertakill

c-note wrote: »

pay your tax fix your lights stfu and gtfo

What an idiot.. hope you get at least a warning.

Anyways, to the OP, I'm pretty sure you've 1 months grace from when your tax has expired. There's plenty of people (myself included) who get the tax renewal in the post and it gets turned the blind eye and you end up right on top of the date it's due.

Having the forms in the car is of no use to the Gardai. Would be pretty easy to drive around untaxed with forms in your glove box claiming you were just about to get the car taxed. So unless it's a receipt, it's useless.

The indicator... I'm pretty sure that's just something you'd need to get fixed and go into the station to show them, so there's no reason for them to get picky about it.

L1011

gnomer wrote: »

(I'd say it was because he was 24, although he was only driving a peugeot 206)

24 is significantly too old for the Guards to stop anyone on the "looks too young to be driving that car" thing. Haven't had that myself since I was 20 and I've got a babyface and drive a (admittedly rare) boyracer-mobile.

Esel

Philush wrote: »

AFAIK the car has to be without tax for 3 months for them to impound it...

Changed to 2 months a while ago.

x in the city wrote: »

My car hasnt been taxed since jan, I was out of the country alot and didnt bother with it

got a letter last week oro so saying if its not dealth with soon we can take further action blah blah, i was going to get it done around the time of the letter anyway so taxed it last week and got the cops to fill in the period it was unused

No, you filled in the details, the 'cop' merely witnessed your signature.

peasant

c-note wrote: »

pay your tax fix your lights stfu and gtfo

Not exactly the way I would have put it, but technically correct nonetheless.

Vertakill wrote: »

What an idiot.. hope you get at least a warning.

How about a warning for yourself ...for calling another user an idiot?

Dabko

c-note wrote: »

pay your tax fix your lights stfu and gtfo

Well put - no sugar coating!

This is just another case of someone not wanting to take responsibility for their actions. Typical society.
If the car had being nicked, who would be the first people the OP's brother called - The Gardai. So now the tables turn, one can only ponder "Oh why me, what did little ol me do so that was so bad?" (or Op ponders on behalf of sibling)
You didn't pay your road tax, the light on you car that tells others where you are turning is not working - take responsibility for this!

Saying all that, im most certainly not the most law obeying citizen myself, but 1 thing i have learned is that if you get busted for something that's your responsibility (and you cant talk your way out of it!), deal with it!

leitrim lad

hello all, i have had a similar problem with 2 lowlife members of the gardai before, i have an old jeep and i dont use it regularly , but i tax it once a year for 12 months, and its always covered,

anyway i was in the local one sat morning eating the breakfast, new young gaurd in the area has a chip on his shoulder of course ,he knew i dont touch a drink ,so he radioed the station to send a patrol car,

i finished the breakfast ,got into my jeep and drove off,and literly out of the hedge up on the bonnet of my jeep jumps 2 members of what i called at the time the arse responce unit ,ordered me out of the jeep, and smashed my wrist in the mean time , my tax was out of date on the friday ,this was saturday morning, i got breathilized, and passed with flying colours, insurance was in date as was test, i told them i was entitled to tax my jeep on monday next available date, and the pair of bum bangers laughed back at me.

anyway long story short, they took my jeep, and when my solicitor contacted them they knew they had done wrong and were very apologetec ,especially with my wrist now in cast because of them, and it cost me nothen, infact it cost the pair of ass bandits their jobs,

but they can take a veichle for no tax if it is more than one month out of date , my one was only 1 day out, but if you argue with them you should get the fees waved, and complain to the ombudsman for harassment, if they were any good they would be fighting crime and drugs not ordinary decent people ,

in my opinion the gardai are a crowd of money wasting,wonkers who think they can bully whoever they think is an easy target, and they need to be taught a lesson, they are afraid to go after the real criminals because they might fight back

SV

leitrim lad wrote: »

in my opinion the gardai are a crowd of money wasting,wonkers who think they can bully whoever they think is an easy target, and they need to be taught a lesson, they are afraid to go after the real criminals because they might fight back

You get this horrible opinion from 2 members who were apparently out of line? Smart.

jhegarty

Has no one else giving out here ever let thier tax run out by 11 days ?

mikemac

If the gardai decide to seize your car do you lock it and tell them to call a tow company?
What's if it's rural area and it's Easter Sunday and it'd take hours for a tow truck to arrive, will they assume responsibility and mind the car until it's taken to a secure pound?

I'm hoping it wouldn't just be left at the side of the road, possibly in a dangerous place.

Or you expecting to hand over your keys? Just wondering what happens

Dabko

leitrim lad wrote: »

in my opinion the gardai are a crowd of money wasting,wonkers who think they can bully whoever they think is an easy target, and they need to be taught a lesson, they are afraid to go after the real criminals because they might fight back

That's a tad unfair. Only a small % of the cops are the little fat w4nkers at school who were bullied because they were cocks and then decided to join the guards as a way of getting back at society.

Most cops do a decent job. If you fall victim to the odd one or two who are there to bust your nuts, dont get angry, figure out a way to outsmart them. Have all your sh1t in order, 100% of the time, and force them to harass you. Then get a damm good solicitor to take a strong case against them. Once they get the boot, you have them on a level playing field.;)

leitrim lad

sv

they are all a crowd of shoulder chipped wonkers who are all for them selves, and consider themselves above the law,

and when hardy comes to hardy they are afraid to get out of the car when a real crime is being commited, as i said they target whoever they feel are easy targets, and when they do wrong they try to blame the innocent victim, they have beaten the crap out of,

torture is the only solution for the lot of them

Dabko

jhegarty wrote: »

Has no one else giving out here ever let thier tax run out by 11 days ?

2 months! Back payed it when i got a chance, was lucky not to get busted!

leitrim lad

your good badko,i agree with you

i honestly think if people think like you we would have a decent force, who would enforce the law on criminals not innocent people , and of course every thing from a breakin to a shooting is a civil matter if they think they can get away with it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,lazy usless bast4rds

mikemac

leitrim lad wrote: »

and when hardy comes to hardy they are afraid to get out of the car when a real crime is being commited,

This happened three month ago

Several garda units were sent to the scene and the first to arrive were two young, unarmed and uniformed gardai and a middle-aged reservist. The gardai attempted to block the Audi, which then rammed their patrol car. The two gardai then jumped out of the patrol car and used their batons to smash the driver and passenger windows of the Audi.

The two occupants had pulled on balaclava helmets but quick action by the gardai prevented them from producing a loaded Magnum revolver, which had been hidden under a seat.

Some are wasters, some are unsung heros and most are getting on with their job. Lose the bitterness

peasant

leitrim lad wrote: »

torture is the only solution for the lot of them

and on that highlight the thread is closed