can guards do this??

sean1141

a mate of mine got stopped by a guard in town saturday night. he was driving around the town (not in a wreckless manner or anything like that) just driving in circles true the town. he was after having a row with his girlfriend and went for a drive to clear his head. he reckons he was in the town for about an hour. he was stopped behind a taxi letting off people when a guard knocks on the window and ask him to pull in. he done so and the garda asks him why he is driving around. he told him he was after having a row with the gf and went for a drive to clear his head. guard then says you have enough driving done for one night go on home with yourself. mate did so. can the guard do this?? he wasn't doing any harm to anyone. his car is taxed tested and insured. he said the garda never even asked him for his licence.

is this not a bit unfair? he hands out money to have his car roadworthy and puts diesel in it so why can a guard tell him he has enough driving done for one night??

Peyton Manning

I reckon it was more helpful advice than an order tbh. Not a big deal.

Pot Noodle =

I would say no he was doing no harm so Guard was wrong

sean1141

how was it helpfull advice??

bladebrew

i think the guard may have just been curious as to why the same car was driving around the town for an hour, it would look a bit suspicious to a guard,

TestTransmission

What's the car?

sean1141

pretty standard 00 green skoda octavia tdi. has a set of 17 alloys thats all AFAIK. would understand it there was some sort of loud exhaust or something.......

PCPhoto

a garda can ask you to move on .... failure to do so can result in being arrested for failing to follow directions of a garda.... in this case the garda was curious as to why the guy was driving around in circles (its typical dealer behaviour... driving around before making a deal)

why didnt your mate drive away from the city/town .... no point in going in circles if you are frustrated (arguing with GF)

sean1141

never thought of that.. good point. think he just went to the 24hour to get smokes and prob just stayed driving around till he cooled off a bit...

tommyhaas

The Guard was probley taking your mates bird out that night, didnt want your mate around to catch them...

sean1141

tommyhaas wrote: »

The Guard was probley taking your mates bird out that night, didnt want your mate around to catch them...

lol very helpfull! tanx:D

Gary ITR

I don't know why men argue with women, the women always win

sean1141

lucky it wasnt a ban garda so!! she prob would have put him in the cells for the night lol

BostonB

sean1141 wrote: »

pretty standard 00 green skoda octavia tdi. has a set of 17 alloys thats all AFAIK. would understand it there was some sort of loud exhaust or something.......

You're not thinking this through. A boy racer would only be suspicious if was driven normally. If you don't want to attract attention, you don't drive around in a clowns car.

PrettyBoy

PCPhoto wrote: »

a garda can ask you to move on .... failure to do so can result in being arrested for failing to follow directions of a garda

Please explain how a guard can arrest you for driving around aimlessly? What harm was he doing?

If that happened to me I would have respectfully told the gaurd thanks for the advice but I'll keep driving for as long as I want. My car is taxed, insured and NCT'd, I have a driving licence, I haven't been drinking or doing drugs and there's nothing illegal in my possession or on my car, I'm not disturbing or interfering with anyone.

What could he arrest me for?

antocann

its amazing how people always refer to the person in question as there friend,
and they can discribe everything that happend even when they werent there

well op you friend:rolleyes: just recieved some advice by the sounds of it nuthing more

corktina

perhaps the gard thought that in his emotional state he might have posed a danger to other road users.... id say it was good advice too

cyrusdvirus

corktina wrote: »

perhaps the gard thought that in his emotional state he might have posed a danger to other road users.... id say it was good advice too

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

seconded

Cabaal

Driving while emotionally upset...doesn't seem like an excellent plan by any means, you may not be thinking clearly so that may affect your decision making.

Between that and the driving around in circles ...well the driving in circles looks like your watching something or looking for trouble, either way I see nothing wrong with what the Gardai did.

Ironman Collie

I totally agree with the last couple of posts. When driving after the row with gf, his concentration would not be as normal and that could lead to a horrific outcome if his concentration lacked at the right moment.

I do however see exactly why he felt like getting out. The Garda in my opinion made the right decision.

P.S. I hope your mate and the girlfriend sort it out.

vectra

Wasnt there a piece of motoring advice around somewhere before advising people when NOT to drive
1) When Tired
2) if you are after having an argument..
3) etc
4)etc.


The Garda was giving some friendly advice to go home as his mind was pre-occupied and therefore was possibly a danger to other road users.
I was obvious the Friend driver was not thinking straight when he was driving round in circles like a muppet.:pac:

Mitch Connor

Maybe the Gardai simply did not believe him, and was telling him, in a diplomatic way, to stop driving round town in circles.

MagicSean

PrettyBoy wrote: »

Please explain how a guard can arrest you for driving around aimlessly? What harm was he doing?

If that happened to me I would have respectfully told the gaurd thanks for the advice but I'll keep driving for as long as I want. My car is taxed, insured and NCT'd, I have a driving licence, I haven't been drinking or doing drugs and there's nothing illegal in my possession or on my car, I'm not disturbing or interfering with anyone.

What could he arrest me for?

I think he was referring to Section 8 of the public order act.

corktina wrote: »

perhaps the gard thought that in his emotional state he might have posed a danger to other road users.... id say it was good advice too

Agreed.

Murt10

PrettyBoy wrote: »

Please explain how a guard can arrest you for driving around aimlessly? What harm was he doing?

If that happened to me I would have respectfully told the gaurd thanks for the advice but I'll keep driving for as long as I want. My car is taxed, insured and NCT'd, I have a driving licence, I haven't been drinking or doing drugs and there's nothing illegal in my possession or on my car, I'm not disturbing or interfering with anyone.

What could he arrest me for?

Failing the attitude test.

He could follow you round for a few mins. I don't know if this has ever happened to you before, but it is very difficult to drive, completely within the law, when being tailgated by a garda car.

A breath test, followed by being brought to the station for a drugs test, the garda formint the impression that you may be driving under the influence, would soften your cough for you.

Why get into a fight you cannot win?

old_aussie

The guard had no right, you can drive around as much as you want, as long as you're not breaking any laws.

The guard should have kept his opinion to himself, I would have told him to be on his way and do some real policing.

After all, it's Ireland, not China.

metzengerstein

maybe he was picked up on the cameras ,and they thought suspicious and had him checked out ,

Lando Griffin

Well done Garda I say.
Another mindless thug in a high powered sports car off the street probably on one of thse fancy highs bought in the head shop.
And to say he approached this criminal by himself.
Bravo.

vectra

old_aussie wrote: »

The guard had no right, you can drive around as much as you want, as long as you're not breaking any laws.

The guard should have kept his opinion to himself, I would have told him to be on his way and do some real policing.

After all, it's Ireland, not China.

And you think for one minute he would have left it at that :rolleyes:

Cookie_Monster

they can do whatever they want.


That said, all you do is drive off somewhere else, I doubt they'll follow you home.

Why would you drive around a town to cool off, you'd just get more frustrated I would have thought with all the drunken idiots, lights, stopping and starting. A blast around the back roads is much more effective.

sean1141

antocann wrote: »

its amazing how people always refer to the person in question as there friend,
and they can discribe everything that happend even when they werent there

well op you friend:rolleyes: just recieved some advice by the sounds of it nuthing more

im only posting what he told me. i wasnt there but i do know this chap for over 20 year and he is not the sort to make something out of nothing. he probaly would have said nothing about it except when i was over in his house yesterday i said there was a checkpoint out the road and then he told me the story. if it was me in that position i would have prob told the guard to f off with himself and i dont think i would be posting that i done something that stupid on boards!!

sean1141

corktina wrote: »

perhaps the gard thought that in his emotional state he might have posed a danger to other road users.... id say it was good advice too

that was exactly what i thought. just wanted to see if anyone else thought the same.. when he said he had a row with the gf maybe the guard thought it took place in a pub in the town and my mate was waiting to spot her and have it out on the middle of the street....

still he was never breathilised (spelling) or asked to show his licence even

sean1141

Lando Griffin wrote: »

Well done Garda I say.
Another mindless thug in a high powered sports car off the street probably on one of thse fancy highs bought in the head shop.
And to say he approached this criminal by himself.
Bravo.

WTF you think a skoda octavia diesel is a high powered sports car??? please tell me im reading this wrong??:eek:

so how well do you know my mate?? im guessing you dont know a thing about him so where do you get off calling him a mindless thug...
:mad:

Cuddlesworth

sean1141 wrote: »

WTF you think a skoda octavia diesel is a high powered sports car??? please tell me im reading this wrong??:eek:

so how well do you know my mate?? im guessing you dont know a thing about him so where do you get off calling him a mindless thug...
:mad:

I detected a large smack of sarcasm in his post. Plus a whopping chip on his shoulder towards authority.

sean1141

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Why would you drive around a town to cool off, you'd just get more frustrated I would have thought with all the drunken idiots, lights, stopping and starting. A blast around the back roads is much more effective.

each to there own. i said the same. i would have went for a run on the back roads but he said he wanted to take his mind off things and there was more stuff around town to distract him...........

mikemac

The car was probably picked up on the traffic cameras, the garda asked a few questions to figure out was anything up.
Not worth worrying over

And if I was doing the same I'd have headed out to a national road, dealing with traffic lights and pedestrians will probably increase your frustration, not cool you down

baalthor

In the UK, if the police see a car circling a red light district, they can record the number and send a letter to the owner's address telling them they were seen in an 'area of ill-repute'.
Imagine the row with the wife/girlfriend then ...

BostonB

PrettyBoy wrote: »

Please explain how a guard can arrest you for driving around aimlessly? What harm was he doing?

If that happened to me I would have respectfully told the gaurd thanks for the advice but I'll keep driving for as long as I want. My car is taxed, insured and NCT'd, I have a driving licence, I haven't been drinking or doing drugs and there's nothing illegal in my possession or on my car, I'm not disturbing or interfering with anyone.

What could he arrest me for?

The answer to your question is in what you quoted.

Xcellor

ffs. If your friend was arrested or hassled then I might have issue with this but look at it this way.

Your friend was:
1) Circling around the same area multiple times - suspicious
2) Emotional / tired - dangerous to drive.

Gard was doing his job.

X

BostonB

Xcellor wrote: »

ffs. If your friend was arrested or hassled then I might have issue with this but look at it this way.

Your friend was:
1) Circling around the same area multiple times - suspicious
2) Emotional / tired - dangerous to drive.

Gard was doing his job.

X

++1 its a simple as that.

I don't see why any one would have a problem with that unless you have a problem with the Guards or something.

mikemac

sean1141 wrote: »

if it was me in that position i would have prob told the guard to f off with himself

Realy now, we all know you wouldn't

bigjohnny80

It looks odd to be driving around up and down a town late at nite for a long period.

I think the garda did the right thing. Gently enough told your mate to move on.

djimi

Doesnt sound like the guard did anything wrong. Your mate was acting suspiciously (albeit innocently) and the guard politely enquired as to what he was up to. By the sounds of it he didnt get heavy handed or anything like that and just gave him some friendly advice. Nothing to get upset about.

He could have been following up on a call from someone who saw your friend driving around suspiciously. I was once approached by a guard when parked up in a car park eating a chinese because someone in a house near where I was parked rang the guards and said I was parked there and was just sitting in the car. He just asked me what I was at, laughed about it and drove off. Just doing their job tbf.

bazzachazza

Garda initially thought either a dealer or someone trying to do a deal. Someone looking for a female "entertainer" or someone trying to cause some harm. Garda did their job after seeing the same car repeatedly driving around and decided to have a word.

Result : GARDA DOING THEIR JOB END OF STORY.

jjmearse

As someone who has had many dealing with the Garda in the past I found the best line of approach when dealing with them no matter if you're in the wrong or the right is to use "Yes Sir , No Sir" due to the fact no one likes a smart arse.

Bob the Builder

sean1141 wrote: »

pretty standard 00 green skoda octavia tdi. has a set of 17 alloys thats all AFAIK. would understand it there was some sort of loud exhaust or something.......

That's like the Gardaí driving an unmarked Corolla garda car. It's not suspicious, not supposed to look suspicious but because it's not supposed to look suspicious, it is suspicious :P

PCPhoto wrote: »

... was driving around in circles (its typical dealer behaviour... driving around before making a deal)

What PCPhoto said. Drug dealers circle around multiple times before making a swoop. And they would engage in that sort of behavior.

corktina wrote: »

perhaps the gard thought that in his emotional state he might have posed a danger to other road users.... id say it was good advice too

Yeah, good advice I think. Also, if you looked angry and you were driving around in circles, a Garda may have thought you were looking for someone, and did the naturally normal thing to do, and that was tell him to go home. I don't think any Garda sets out destroy someone's night even further, and this Garda certainly wasn't playing the interrogation game.

jjmearse wrote: »

As someone who has had many dealing with the Garda in the past I found the best line of approach when dealing with them no matter if you're in the wrong or the right is to use "Yes Sir , No Sir" due to the fact no one likes a smart arse.

. I hate to say it, but the times I've been in the worst trouble with Gardaí was when I didn't listen to their advice.

bazzachazza wrote: »

Garda initially thought either a dealer or someone trying to do a deal. Someone looking for a female "entertainer" or someone trying to cause some harm. Garda did their job after seeing the same car repeatedly driving around and decided to have a word.

Result : GARDA DOING THEIR JOB END OF STORY.

And maybe the Garda didn't think of any of these things at all? Maybe the Garda was just looking at the bigger picture.

Personally OP, I don't think there was any offence intended really. If there was, the Garda would have probably interrogated the driver by nailing into drug searches and checking tyre depth, etc.

Maruney

Obviously the Guard saw it as suspicious behavior, that's part of his job.
But its a typical unprofessional way he dealt with it just telling someone they have driven around enough.
Why cant Guards ever be professional and state the reason and section of law you are being stopped under.

I have friends that are Guards and I ask them these things, all I get is "ah sure, whats the point..." and all this. Joke like most state bodies in this country unfortunately.

Anan1

I honestly think the Garda was doing the OP's friend a favour. And (no offence intended) I think the OP's friend will come to realize this in the fullness of time.

djimi

Maruney wrote: »

Obviously the Guard saw it as suspicious behavior, that's part of his job.
But its a typical unprofessional way he dealt with it just telling someone they have driven around enough.
Why cant Guards ever be professional and state the reason and section of law you are being stopped under.

I have friends that are Guards and I ask them these things, all I get is "ah sure, whats the point..." and all this. Joke like most state bodies in this country unfortunately.

Guard approaches situation in more friendly manner; gets told off for not being more professional.

Guard sticks to the letter of the law and approaches everything in cold professional manner; gets told off for being too cold and not friendly enough.

They cant win tbf. Personally I prefer guards that talk to me like a person as opposed to a potential criminal that they just havent found to be doing anything wrong yet. From my experience most of them are absolutely fine, talk to you in a very down to earth way and never give much hassle. Then again I dont go on the immediate defensive and start giving them grief; if Ive done something wrong Ill apologise, and if I havent then Ill wait for them to start getting heavyhanded before Ill start to put my guard up.

Of course some of them are utter pricks, probably about as many as youll find in most lines of work, but for the most part they are fine. I think the way the guard handled the situation in the OPs case was the way I would like for them to operate when dealing with the general public.

Cookie_Monster

djimi wrote: »

Guard approaches situation in more friendly manner; gets told off for not being more professional.

Guard sticks to the letter of the law and approaches everything in cold professional manner; gets told off for being too cold and not friendly enough.

Guard minds his own business, everybody's happy :D:D

Anan1

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Guard minds his own business, everybody's happy :D:D

Guard is paid by all of us to protect people, not to 'mind his own business'.

Michael 09

I'd be surprised if the guard TOLD him to go home... He may have just suggested it for his own good. In that driving with something like that on your mind means you're distracted etc and may cause an accident (this being the extreme case).

Technically he pays his tax he can drive all he wants but I'd guess it was a helpful friendly suggestion by the guard. All depends on the manner in which it was said