So Annoyed at being Wrongly Pulled Over!

lifelonglufc

A warning that this is a bit of a rant but I cannot believe what has just happened, and I need advice and views!

So I was on my way home in Shannon from work at about 22.20 tonight. Now I drove through the local town centre car park, at which I noticed the garda van driving around. The van proceeded to follow me as I pulled out of the car park and then down the main road in Shannon for a few moments.

Next thing is the van pulls me over with blue flashing lights. I had no idea why, this was at 22.30.
Garda arrives to my window and says: "You were on the phone there"
I was shocked! I had not taken my phone out of my pocket since I had been at work and I never do while driving!

So I told him that I had not been on the phone at all! He looked at me surprised and said: "Ah lad we saw you on the phone"
I couldn't believe the way he said it as if I was lying, and he was condescending about it. Now I understand they have a job to do but this really took me aback.
I then showed him my call history, which showed my last active call being at 20.10! Yet he still insisted that I was on the phone and said how: "I could easily just give you a ticket right now"
He then took my license to the van and checked it out. He arrived back and then said that the other Garda in the Van had taken my details and if I wanted to somehow prove that I was not on the phone, that I could produce it in the Garda Station next Monday or Tuesday. I told him that I would come straight down with it in the next few minutes.
It was at this point he seemed to change his attitude to; "oh right you can come down straight away with it?! ah no lad, you're ok leave it till next week if you want, sure you're probably going out tonight anyway".

And then that was it, he walked away from the car and I took off again, I left feeling quite annoyed and upset, I'm only 20 and have never stepped out of line or done anything wrong!
Now I didn't wait till next week to show that I was not on the phone, I went home, printed off a call history log from meteor and went down to the station with it and explained what had happened. The Garda there simply took my name, looked at the call history sheet, and apologized. I left again.

I'm very very annoyed with this as I was not on the phone at all and can prove it. This has really put a dent in the integrity and respect I have for the Gardai, I completely understand that they have a job to do, but wrongly accusing me of something, and insisting on it?! Very very bad.
However in the moment of it all happening, I was too shocked to even think to get the Garda's names!

What can I possibly do now though without names, I fully intend on making a complaint and making sure nothing will be brought against me.
Can I do this without their names? Surely they were the only Garda on duty in Shannon driving the van at that time?

I'm thinking about just making a complaint at the station tomorrow morning, but I'm not ruling out complaining to the Ombudsman yet either.

Opinions? Am I over reacting here? Have I any grounds to complain without names? Is it even worth my while?!

Thanks, and apologies for such a long post and bit of a rant but I'm very upset over this!

eth0_

You're not overreacting but unfortunately (or fortunately?) because they didn't ticket you there and then, you have no proof of what they accused you of or even that they pulled you over.

Ring and ask to speak to the sergeant on Monday and let him/her know what happened. But you might not get very far without their badge numbers or proof of the incident.

bravestar

lifelonglufc wrote: »

...The Garda there simply took my name, looked at the call history sheet, and apologized. I left again...

...I completely understand that they have a job to do...

...Am I over reacting here?..

Firstly, most people deny being on the phone when pulled over, when you hear it a hundred times you tend to get a bit fed up. You could have been scratching your ear and thats why the Garda concerned here thought you were on the phone. Maybe you werent on the phone, maybe you looked at it and had it in your hand. Im not saying your lying when you said it was in your pocket but maybe you had a peek at it.

RTA 2006, sec 3 "A person shall not while driving a mechanically propelled
vehicle in a public place hold a mobile phone."

You dont have to be using it.

You got an apology from a Garda in the station, what more do you want?

You obviously dont understand the job Gardai do if your here posting about such a trivial matter that has already been cleared up.

Yes you are over reacting. I would imagine you have better things to do with your time than complain about a matter as trivial as this after it has already been resolved with no harm done to anyone.

Harpy

bravestar wrote: »

Firstly, most people deny being on the phone when pulled over, when you hear it a hundred times you tend to get a bit fed up. You could have been scratching your ear and thats why the Garda concerned here thought you were on the phone. Maybe you werent on the phone, maybe you looked at it and had it in your hand. Im not saying your lying when you said it was in your pocket but maybe you had a peek at it.

RTA 2006, sec 3 "A person shall not while driving a mechanically propelled
vehicle in a public place hold a mobile phone."

You dont have to be using it.

You got an apology from a Garda in the station, what more do you want?

You obviously dont understand the job Gardai do if your here posting about such a trivial matter that has already been cleared up.

Yes you are over reacting. I would imagine you have better things to do with your time than complain about a matter as trivial as this after it has already been resolved with no harm done to anyone.

well he showed him his phone which showed he wasn't on the phone like..
the garda just sounds like an ass to be honest your always gonna get one that's not gonna listen to you and be on a power trip..
I'd complain if you want to the station if you want to and then just put it down to a bad experience and try not to hold it against all gardai.

we'llallhavetea_old

they made a mistake....? nothing unjust was done to you, build a bridge.

bravestar

Harpy wrote: »

well he showed him his phone which showed he wasn't on the phone like..

Read my original post or the road traffic act 2006, you dont have to be "on" the phone...

artielange

bravestar wrote: »

Firstly, most people deny being on the phone when pulled over, when you hear it a hundred times you tend to get a bit fed up.

That's on the Gardia. A guy shovelling **** all day gets tired of it after the first shovel, but thats his job.

bravestar wrote: »

You could have been scratching your ear and thats why the Garda concerned here thought you were on the phone. Maybe you werent on the phone, maybe you looked at it and had it in your hand. Im not saying your lying when you said it was in your pocket but maybe you had a peek at it.

And maybe he didn't,wasn't and is actually telling the truth

bravestar wrote: »

RTA 2006, sec 3 "A person shall not while driving a mechanically propelled
vehicle in a public place hold a mobile phone."

Not applicable OP said he wasn't. You explained why the Gardia might have done what they did if the OP is not telling the whole story. But what if he is and these Gardia do this every night? What would your response be ?

bravestar wrote: »

You got an apology from a Garda in the station, what more do you want?

Maybe an apology from the Gardia that pulled him over or even better yet assurance this isn't policy and shouldn't be done.

bravestar wrote: »

You obviously dont understand the job Gardai do if your here posting about such a trivial matter that has already been cleared up.

Why is it his job to understand another persons job, shouldn't the Gardia have that covered

bravestar wrote: »

Yes you are over reacting. I would imagine you have better things to do with your time than complain about a matter as trivial as this after it has already been resolved with no harm done to anyone.

Resolved to who's satisfaction not to OP the next driver that get's pulled over

ste88m

It would have been fairly dark,so even just scratching your ear for a few secconds can make it look like you're holding a phone to your ear. It probably was just an honest mistake. Believe it or not, gardai are human too.

bravestar

artielange wrote: »

That's on the Gardia. A guy shovelling **** all day gets tired of it after the first shovel, but thats his job.



And maybe he didn't,wasn't and is actually telling the truth



Not applicable OP said he wasn't. You explained why the Gardia might have done what they did if the OP is not telling the whole story. But what if he is and these Gardia do this every night? What would your response be ?




Maybe an apology from the Gardia that pulled him over or even better yet assurance this isn't policy and shouldn't be done.



Why is it his job to understand another persons job, shouldn't the Gardia have that covered



Resolved to who's satisfaction not to OP the next driver that get's pulled over

Maybe the OP was telling the truth, thats why I did not accuse him of lying. I was just trying to explain it from the Garda's perspective that pulled him over.

Do you honestly think that Gardai go around pulling people over for alledgedly talking on mobile phones when in fact they were not and that same Gardai do this every night?... :rolleyes: my god... I think someone has a wee chip on their shoulder...

As for my response, response to what exactly? This fantasy, vic mackie style, Garda you created who stiches people up on a regular basis for using their phones while driving? My response is that I'm sure the rest of the strike team would be proud.

If he had of got the Garda's shoulder number then maybe he might be able to have a chat with him about it and maybe get an apology, but he didn't so he has to make do with what he has got.

What assurances are you talking about? Assurances that Gardai will not investigate a suspected offence by pulling over a car or otherwise? LOL might as well leave the drug dealers/murderer's/rapists/smugglers be while were at it

I never said it was his job to understand the Gardai's job. He stated that he did in his OP, go read it. I only said that he didn't. Not that he should.

By the way, its GARDAI. Not GARDIA

Shin Bet

Theres a security alert on in shannon atm due to a high profile visit today
it could be a possibility you were just being checked out op.
why not just live with it nothing to worry about if you havent done anything wrong.

Esel

I use a bluetooth headset while driving. When either switching it on, off, or pressing the button to initiate (voice dial) or end a call, I would have my right hand at my ear for anything from one second (start or end a call) to five seconds (switch on or off). I have often thought that this might look to an outside observer that I had a phone at my ear, and have wondered how the situation might develop if a Garda formed the opinion that I was holding a phone. It is easy, and natural, to feel intimidated in a scenario like this, and being assertive might not help, as some members, let's face it, have an attitude that could best be summarised as "I'm right, you're wrong."

I wonder do many members approach situations like this with an open mind - i.e. they saw a driver with their hand at the side of their face, but can still keep open the possibility that that does not necessarily mean that the driver was holding a phone to their ear.

OP, as SB said above, you should also consider the distinct possibility that the member in question wanted to check you out, and was using the phone angle as a pretext. They're crafty feckers, you know! I understand that you are upset by the incident and aggrieved by the apparent 'guilty until you prove yourself innocent' vibe you felt. Maybe in the morning you will have a more chilled out view of the whole thing.

Trojan911

lifelonglufc wrote: »

Opinions? Am I over reacting here? Have I any grounds to complain without names? Is it even worth my while?!

OP,

Not over reacting as it is not a nice thing to be accused of something you haven't done. I would be of the same opinion if it happened to me.

I wouldn't bother complaining to the skipper as it would probably go in one ear and out the other, bounce off a wall & disappear. Put it in writing to the Ch/Supt stating the day, date, time & place of the incident. It should be logged on the duty state where each officer was deployed. Keep a copy of your letter and send it by registered post. Consider the Garda Ombudsman if this dosen't get acknowledged, but bear in mind the time limits for making a complaint.

No one is going to lose their jobs over this but it may put manners on the officer concerned and make him realise that he cannot bully decent members of the public. He either has it right from the start or he hasn't and if he hasn't then the best choice is to leave it.

If or when you do find this officers name/station you could then get him a voucher from Specsavers for Christmas...

guil

had a similar thing a few months ago in a truck
i'm in court over it on monday

esel

esel wrote: »

I use a bluetooth headset while driving. When either switching it on, off, or pressing the button to initiate (voice dial) or end a call, I would have my right hand at my ear for anything from one second (start or end a call) to five seconds (switch on or off). I have often thought that this might look to an outside observer that I had a phone at my ear, and have wondered how the situation might develop if a Garda formed the opinion that I was holding a phone. It is easy, and natural, to feel intimidated in a scenario like this, and being assertive might not help, as some members, let's face it, have an attitude that could best be summarised as "I'm right, you're wrong."

I wonder do many members approach situations like this with an open mind - i.e. they saw a driver with their hand at the side of their face, but can still keep open the possibility that that does not necessarily mean that the driver was holding a phone to their ear.

I think it would be fairly obvious to a member that you had an earpiece on your ear and that is what you were at.

OP and others, offence is holding a mobile not using it. This then covers sending a text, using speaker phone and just holding it in your hand.

As for making a complaint, rather than going straight to the chief super maybe just try speaking to whichever sergeant is on duty when you call into the station and find out who was on the van that night. Ask to speak to the member who stopped you and maybe it will be sorted to your satisfaction.

If that doesn't happen or you are not happy with the outcome then maybe make it official. You have six months with the ombudsman.

lifelonglufc

Original poster here, could mod please close this thread now.

Garda involved admitted being wrong and issue has been dealt with.

Thanks for all replies.

Shield

As requested...

Closed.