2 check points in 2 minutes.

cascade35

Our local paper had an article on Thursday, saying the guards were going to be out in force this bank holiday weekend.

Left my house in Clonmel at 11pm last night, got to the convent bridge and met the first check point, then met a second one by woodies.

Friend of mine met a third one on the Heywood road, not sure what time but it shows they Clonmel guards mean business this weekend.

Fair play to the guards as they are trying to stop drink driving etc, i never mind been stopped.

Just wondering if they are out in force across the country.

Tipsy Mac

Hopefully they mount checkpoints between 1am and 5am, ie the time where most people actually drink drive and die.

KimHawkins

cascade35 wrote: »

i never mind been stopped.

i do.

Seth Brundle

KimHawkins wrote: »

i do.

Why? Would you not prefer that the gardai have a visible presence on the roads trying to make them safer?
Do you D&D?

AugustusMaximus

No problem with checkpoints.

I've got bagged 5 or 6 times at this stage and if it helps as a deterent to drink driving then I'm all for it.

Got bagged coming back from the gym once. Was in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and a bit sweaty. Garda still tested me mind.

mike65

Maybe he liked the look of you

TestTransmission

AugustusMaximus wrote: »

No problem with checkpoints.

I've got bagged 5 or 6 times at this stage and if it helps as a deterent to drink driving then I'm all for it.

Got bagged coming back from the gym once. Was in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and a bit sweaty. Garda still tested me mind.

You must have that look about you

flanzer

I collected the outlaws from the O2 last Saturday night/Sunday morning and got bagged on the Malahide Road. I then did some night work on Thursday night and got bagged again on the Oscar Traynor Road. That's twice in the space of 5 days and here's me thinkin that was a record!

Fair play to the Gards. Keep up the good work

johndaman66

I'm all for the guards bagging drivers too and anything that cuts road fatalities is to be welcomed as long as they get their priorites right and go after the scumbags terrorising and mugging old vulnerable peolpe in towns and cities also. My uncle who is now quite elderly was attacked by a group of youths while parked up and eating a fish and chip in his car some months back. He went to the guards and it was almost as if they didn't want to know about it. No revenue collection involved in catching these scumbags I'm thinking.

My point is gardai resources should be proiritised where needed. Roads need to be policed granted, but if this is at the cost of people getting mugged, beaten up, stabed on the streets etc. well...

Overature

you were obviously on a race track that the guards set up, not your fault though, gaurds were properly board

PirateShampoo

Good idea lets stop people on the way to the pub that way we can be home in time for X-Factor.

AugustusMaximus

jackncoke wrote: »

You must have that look about you

Trust me, I don't.

Absurdum

I still haven't been bagged in 14 years

It's good to see them out so much though, it's more than the roads that are kept safe too, it restricts/disturbs criminal elements from moving about the place.

Ian Beale

1st page and there's already Garda bashing,their damned if they do and damned if they don't,it's the traffic corps that's their job and for the sake of being inconveinced for 2 minutes I for one are glad to see them operating these checkpoints.

Dave147

Haven't been bagged in Cork in about a year, but was bagged about 10 times in the space of a month then, I don't mind being bagged at night time or up to 4-5am in the morning, but being bagged the next day is wrong, I was probably over the limit at 12pm today but I was driving and I felt fine, this crap they say about the smallest amount of drink affecting you is bull****, I spent 40 euro on taxi's last night because I won't drink and drive, however I will drive when I have had a nights sleep and sobered up.

Absurdum

Dave147 wrote: »

I spent 40 euro on taxi's last night because I won't drink and drive

yeah I spent €1.89 on a loaf of bread today cos I won't steal, life's a bitch isn't it

JHMEG

Absurdum wrote: »

yeah I spent €1.89 on a loaf of bread today cos I won't steal, life's a bitch isn't it

You were robbed!

Dave147

Absurdum wrote: »

yeah I spent €1.89 on a loaf of bread today cos I won't steal, life's a bitch isn't it

I don't know what's worse, you coming onto boards trying to be clever or the fact you remember exactly how much you spent on a loaf of bread.. Before you retort, I rounded my taxi expenses off to 40 euro.

Absurdum

Dave147 wrote: »

I don't know what's worse, you coming onto boards trying to be clever or the fact you remember exactly how much you spent on a loaf of bread.. Before you retort, I rounded my taxi expenses off to 40 euro.

You're in no position to admonish me.

Dave147 wrote: »

I was probably over the limit at 12pm today but I was driving and I felt fine, this crap they say about the smallest amount of drink affecting you is bull****

Anan1

Dave147 wrote: »

Haven't been bagged in Cork in about a year, but was bagged about 10 times in the space of a month then, I don't mind being bagged at night time or up to 4-5am in the morning, but being bagged the next day is wrong, I was probably over the limit at 12pm today but I was driving and I felt fine, this crap they say about the smallest amount of drink affecting you is bull****, I spent 40 euro on taxi's last night because I won't drink and drive, however I will drive when I have had a nights sleep and sobered up.

If you'd sobered up then you'd have no problem passing a breathylizer test. You're either sober or you're not, the time of day is irrelevant.

Dave147

Anan1 wrote: »

If you'd sobered up then you'd have no problem passing a breathylizer test. You're either sober or you're not, the time of day is irrelevant.

Where'd you get that from? What's your definition of sober? In fact I probably wasn't over the limit, but it's possible. I finished drinking at 1am and got up at 11.30, I had 5 pints of heineken 2 bottles and a bottle of cider, not a huge amount but if a Gard breathalised me this morning then I don't know if I'd be under, I drink about every 2 months and have never driven after drinking on a night out.

Point is, I may think I'm sober, feel perfect, drive somewhere safely and drive back no problem and not feel any different to any other day, however I may be over the limit, I've no way of knowing*

*without buying my own breathaliser.

Dave147

Absurdum wrote: »

You're in no position to admonish me.

Really.. because I drove at 12pm today after 11 hours rest from drinking the night before, when will all this ****e end? I'm not a drink driver, I have no problem paying for taxi's on a night out etc because I don't want to drive so I don't kill myself or someone else driving drunk, however I still believe breathalising someone going to work is wrong.

Queue Absurdum trying to come up with another clever response to improve his thanks count, pathetic, save it for after hours.

samsamson

Fair play to them, the more random testing the better. A more even presence across all areas rather than focussing intensely on an area for short periods of time would be better though.

Ian Beale

Dave147 wrote: »

I still believe breathalising someone going to work is wrong.

If your over the limit your over the limit regardless of what time it is.

Hooch

O/P this was more than likely operation surround.

The idea is for all divisional traffic units to converge on a town and surround it for a night covering all exit roads and preforming mandatory alcohol checkpoints on them. Very effective and very high vis.

Also on the other comments on next day breath tests etc. If you under your grand. If your over well then your over. It doesnt matter if its X amount of hours after your last drink....the readings never lie.

Not on my high horse but I dont drink very often but when I do I adopt a 12 hour rule. If I finish at 2am the I wont drive until after 2pm that day. Just my 2 cents.

Dancing_Priest

nice guy always wrote: »

I adopt a 12 hour rule. If I finish at 2am the I wont drink until after 2pm that day. Just my 2 cents.

I find that a revovery time of one hour per unit does me just fine. It's simpler than, well... I'm not sure really, WTF!

Ian Beale

nice guy always wrote: »

O/P this was more than likely operation surround.

The idea is for all divisional traffic units to converge on a town and surround it for a night covering all exit roads and preforming mandatory alcohol checkpoints on them. Very effective and very high vis.

Also on the other comments on next day nreath tests etc. If you under your grand. If your over well then your over. It doesnt matter if its X amount of hours after your last drink....the readings never lie.

Not on my high horse but I dont drink very often but when I do I adopt a 12 hour rule. If I finish at 2am the I wont drive until after 2pm that day. Just my 2 cents.

Fixed your post

Dancing_Priest

Aha!:D
Not a hitherto unheard of way of evading detection
Darn, it sounded fun though.
'Oh, It was a heavy one last night boss, Better neck a few at luch or I'll be over the limit on the way home':pac::pac::pac::pac:

Dave147

I hate this black and white attitude to drink driving, where does it end, what about when they introduce a 0 alcohol limit. Then they really catch people on Monday mornings, I've never blown anything more than 0 on a breathaliser, I really don't know how many pints I could have to be over the limit, I drink maybe one occasion every two months, I just have more important things to do, like playing computer games etc :P

I must get a breathaliser and test myself until I get over the limit to see how I feel, and do another test in the morning, I'd be really interested to see the results seeing as I'm a very occasional drinker and only weigh 68kg.

KC JONES

Dave147 wrote: »

I must get a breathaliser and test myself until I get over the limit to see how I feel, and do another test in the morning, I'd be really interested to see the results seeing as I'm a very occasional drinker and only weigh 68kg.

I am going to do that too just out of curiousity tho I never drink when driving. But the problem as I see it is that if there is a diference between the breathaliser we could buy differed in a reading from the garda's, it is their reading that would be official isn't it?

I wonder how accurate the ones to be bought are

cson

I'll say this much; its a fair long breath to be taking when your on the way home after playing a match!

Tragedy

Passed a checkpoint on Windmill Road in Crumlin at lunchtime on Friday, just seemed to be checking discs.

Passed the aftermath of a checkpoint just at the brow of the hill outside Mountrath heading inwards 90mins later(and thank you you tools for causing an even bigger tailback in a renowned traffic blackspot).

Passed a hairdryer on the N69 just before Mungret shooting fish in a barrel.

I feel extra safe this weekend from this smart, intelligent policing.

(Although the female gardai in the checkpoint was very nice and friendly )

coffey-16

cascade35 wrote: »

Our local paper had an article on Thursday, saying the guards were going to be out in force this bank holiday weekend.

Left my house in Clonmel at 11pm last night, got to the convent bridge and met the first check point, then met a second one by woodies.

Friend of mine met a third one on the Heywood road, not sure what time but it shows they Clonmel guards mean business this weekend.

Fair play to the guards as they are trying to stop drink driving etc, i never mind been stopped.

Just wondering if they are out in force across the country.

Went through 2 checkpoints in Clonmel also last night. One just before Tesco and one just off the moangarriff roundabout...they're out in force this holiday weekend

L1011

not had more than a disc check in 15 months, my car seems to suggest 'wave me through'. now that i've said that i'll be pulled tonight with my licence in the other car mind!

L1011

MYOB wrote: »

not had more than a disc check in 15 months, my car seems to suggest 'wave me through'. now that i've said that i'll be pulled tonight with my licence in the other car mind!

Bingo!

Checkpoint at Esso Maynooth just now, just wanted a few words, checked the discs and sent me on. Had there been licence issues at least it was outside my house basically not in town.

TheNog

Tragedy wrote: »

Passed a checkpoint on Windmill Road in Crumlin at lunchtime on Friday, just seemed to be checking discs.

Passed the aftermath of a checkpoint just at the brow of the hill outside Mountrath heading inwards 90mins later(and thank you you tools for causing an even bigger tailback in a renowned traffic blackspot).

Passed a hairdryer on the N69 just before Mungret shooting fish in a barrel.

I feel extra safe this weekend from this smart, intelligent policing.

(Although the female gardai in the checkpoint was very nice and friendly )

If you can enlighten us to a more intelligent way of policing we are all ears.

KimHawkins

kbannon wrote: »

Why? ?

I am not willing to give up what few freedoms I have remaining in the name of "safety".

kbannon wrote: »

Would you not prefer that the gardai have a visible presence on the roads trying to make them safer?

No. I don't like revenue generation exercises.

kbannon wrote: »

Do you D&D?

Don't even drink

KimHawkins

Tragedy wrote: »

Passed a checkpoint on Windmill Road in Crumlin at lunchtime on Friday, just seemed to be checking discs.

Passed the aftermath of a checkpoint just at the brow of the hill outside Mountrath heading inwards 90mins later(and thank you you tools for causing an even bigger tailback in a renowned traffic blackspot).

Passed a hairdryer on the N69 just before Mungret shooting fish in a barrel.

I feel extra safe this weekend from this smart, intelligent policing.

(Although the female gardai in the checkpoint was very nice and friendly )

Publicity campaign; "ROAD SAFETY"

Reality ; "REVENUE GENERATION".

Will the people ever learn?

Hooch

KimHawkins wrote: »

I am not willing to give up what few freedoms I have remaining in the name of "safety".

Last year there were about 50 murders in the state......

Last year there were 276 road deaths (down 62 from 2007)

So now.......road safety emmmm. Ya with the reduction in the deaths it must be all a revenue generating exercise!!

With the amount of road deaths in the country I will make no excuse for a Garda doing his job. Speeding is speeding. Drink driving is drink driving.

Sometimes I wonder would a lot of Irish People last in countries like Poland, Spain and Germany where the penalties are much much harsher and you cannot, in alot of cases, win any appeal.

Hooch

KimHawkins wrote: »

Will the people ever learn?

God would you believe every fatal accident I go to (and by god have I gone to too many) I think the EXACT same thing......

KimHawkins

nice guy always wrote: »

Speeding is speeding.

ANd shooting fish in a barrel is revenue generation.

nice guy always wrote: »

Sometimes I wonder would a lot of Irish People last in countries like Poland, Spain and Germany where the penalties are much much harsher and you cannot, in alot of cases, win any appeal.

So they are even more totalitarian, is that what you are saying. Look, have you ever seen the film "the departed". You should watch it, yer man Damon says "if there were no criminals , f'uck I'd just arrest innocent people".

nice guy always wrote: »

God would you believe every fatal accident I go to (and by god have I gone to too many) I think the EXACT same thing......

It's a numbers game. There are 500,000 cars on the raod in this country. YOu are going to get some crashes, if you can't accept that and move on then you should not travel. I have accepted this and I will not give up my rights to unrestricted travel in the name of "safety".

cascade35

Just reading down through the replys, and it would seem you are right.
they had the whole town covered as another op met two more check points at the far end of the town.

cascade35

I should of said that i was not stopped at the first check point but i was at the second one.

I presume that last night another town in the county would of had the same total enclousure.

Well if it took another drink driver off the road or saved someones life then its well worth the minute or so it takes to get through a check point.

Must also say ive told alot of friends about the checkpoints and im sure they told afew more people so the word will spread that the guards are out and about so this could help stop someone who was thinking of driving when they should'nt.

Hey next weekend is going to be a tough one for the boys in blue, bonfires,fireworks,drunken fools and what have you.

KimHawkins

cascade35 wrote: »

Just reading down through the replys, and it would seem you are right.
they had the whole town covered as another op met two more check points at the far end of the town.

These town lockdowns are getting practised over in the UK as well.

Makes one wonder, are they preparing for trouble in the future where towns will be locked down.

cascade35

Who knows?

Tragedy

TheNog wrote: »

If you can enlighten us to a more intelligent way of policing we are all ears.

Have checkpoints in areas people are actually likely to speed dangerously? I've never, not ONCE seen a gatso/speedgun anywhere that didn't seem to be a way to catch people out - rather than a way to make a dangerous road well known for speeding safer.
Not once.

Using a speedgun on a 60km/hr section of the N69 where there are no houses or schools or any real reason for it to be so slow is not making ANYONE safer, it just pisses people off and tarnishes AGS' reputation.

TheNog

KimHawkins wrote: »

ANd shooting fish in a barrel is revenue generation.

It is quite clear to every motorist out there that it is against the law to break the speed limits so in reality this "shooting fish in a barrel" are pretty stupid fish in the first place and these stupid fish are the "revenue generators".

It's a numbers game. There are 500,000 cars on the raod in this country. YOu are going to get some crashes, if you can't accept that and move on then you should not travel. I have accepted this and I will not give up my rights to unrestricted travel in the name of "safety".

Quite an immature view on driving to be honest. Of course there are going to collisions but why shouldnt we reduce deaths and serious injuries?

Tragedy wrote: »

Have checkpoints in areas people are actually likely to speed dangerously?

Checkpoints are not for catching speeders. Checkpoints are for tax, insurance, driving licence and to curb the movements of criminals.

I've never, not ONCE seen a gatso/speedgun anywhere that didn't seem to be a way to catch people out - rather than a way to make a dangerous road well known for speeding safer.
Not once.

If you look through several threads of this type you will find why locations are chosen for speed checks and why some locations are not suitable.

Using a speedgun on a 60km/hr section of the N69 where there are no houses or schools or any real reason for it to be so slow is not making ANYONE safer, it just pisses people off and tarnishes AGS' reputation.

But surely there is a reason why the speed is reduced in that area. Im sure if you think about it, the council would not spend money on signs, road markings etc for absolutely nothing. There has to be a reason for it.

Hooch

KimHawkins wrote: »

So they are even more totalitarian, is that what you are saying. Look, have you ever seen the film "the departed". You should watch it, yer man Damon says "if there were no criminals , f'uck I'd just arrest innocent people".

Yes yes of course....if it was in a hollywood film it must be true:rolleyes:

KimHawkins wrote: »

It's a numbers game. There are 500,000 cars on the raod in this country. YOu are going to get some crashes, if you can't accept that and move on then you should not travel. I have accepted this and I will not give up my rights to unrestricted travel in the name of "safety".

How are checkpoints restricting your travel?? If you have nothing to hide??

Road deaths are down a hell of a lot. And whether people here care to agree or not I really dont care, but the reduction is due to more Traffic Corps members, more speed checks, better legislation, penalty points and mandatory alcohol checkpoints.

Its a combination of breaches of the RTA that make up a fatal collision.......its a combination of inforcement of that same act that reduces the incidence of fatal collisions

Tragedy wrote: »

Have checkpoints in areas people are actually likely to speed dangerously? I've never, not ONCE seen a gatso/speedgun anywhere that didn't seem to be a way to catch people out - rather than a way to make a dangerous road well known for speeding safer.
Not once.

Using a speedgun on a 60km/hr section of the N69 where there are no houses or schools or any real reason for it to be so slow is not making ANYONE safer, it just pisses people off and tarnishes AGS' reputation.

Ok firstly 60 kmph zones are not just thrown up for the hell of it. There must be a reason. Councils and the NRA must have a reason. IE it may be entering a built up area, school zone, road works etc.

Now how can you say speed detection is not making anyone safer, pisses people off and tarnishes AGS?? I regularly do speed check on what the motorists I stop shout back is the "safest in the country".......I just turn and point at the headstone behind me......that generally shuts people up. Just because you cant see a danger doesnt mean there is no danger.

KimHawkins

nice guy always wrote: »

How are checkpoints restricting your travel?? If you have nothing to hide??.

I don't want to be backed up in traffic and I don't want to talk to any coppers.

Nothing to hide?? What are you on about?

nice guy always wrote: »

Road deaths are down a hell of a lot. And whether people here care to agree or not I really dont care, but the reduction is due to more Traffic Corps members, more speed checks, better legislation, penalty points and mandatory alcohol checkpoints.

You would claim anything as your doing. The fact of the matter is this, thanks to the collapse of the economy road usage is down considerably, probably reflected in a corresponding reduction in road deaths.

And all this gulit tripping, as I said before, I am NOT willing to give up my rights for some imaginary safety.

Ian Beale

KimHawkins wrote: »

I don't want to be backed up in traffic and I don't want to talk to any coppers.

Nothing to hide?? What are you on about?

You would claim anything as your doing. The fact of the matter is this, thanks to the collapse of the economy road usage is down considerably, probably reflected in a corresponding reduction in road deaths.

And all this gulit tripping, as I said before, I am NOT willing to give up my rights for some imaginary safety.

That's a good one, the recession has brought down car crash fatalities:rolleyes: and what rights are you giving up exactly?

Drummerboy08

More checkpoints FTW