Question for the traffic garda amongst us and those that have had dealings with them

PCPhoto

bit of a strange one
- but -
do Gardai have generic sentences that they issue to motorists ?

Recently (in the last 12months) I've been in two situations where gardai used similar sentences which made me think they use specific sentences to make a person feel guilty or so they could put doubt in the persons mind and make them believe something that isnt true.

an example:

I was on my way to football a few months ago - 6.40ish (kick off was 7pm) .... I was going up a road which changed to a bus lane (I continued driving in the bus lane for a bit - all the time looking for a gap to join the traffic - eventually I managed to get into traffic and an unmarked car pulled up alongside me and told me to pull over)

I pulled back into the bus lane and the road widened a bit more - so I pulled up alongside some cars on the side of the road...the gardai pulled up and said I was driving in the bus lane - I didnt dispute that...but then the member said I almost hit a cyclist and I was on my mobile phone at the time.

(there was no cyclist on the road and I did not pass any while I was in the bus lane) .... I denied I was on the phone and even gave my mobile to the garda so he could check the history himself - I felt like he would not believe me unless I showed it to him and if the matter came to court - it would go against me if I didnt show it to the garda.....anyway.... fine was issued (driving in a bus lane) and paid !!

Second occasion - a while back - I was in traffic at a T-junction....slowly moving ..... some drivers taking an age to turn when the lights changed - eventually as I got to the junction the lights changed to red - I was following the car in front of me and said "funk this" and continued driving.... fair enough I broke a red light...whoop de doo - cyclists, busses, taxi's and other road users do it on a regular basis.

Anywoo - next thing I know a garda car pulled up alongside of me (I'm guessing was front of the queue of the other set of lights) ... starts telling me that I broke a red light and could have killed the cyclist (at max I was travelling 5-10km/hr) ... there was no cyclist in sight and if there was he would have had to break the lights in order for us to have had a collision.

I accept on both occasions I "broke" the law - and I hope the gardai continue to punish people like me.... unfortunately its not done on a regular basis - but my point is that once a person is "caught" they (in my experience) are accused of other crimes as the initial crime is petty - are they trying to make it into a more serious charge or are they trying to make a motorist feel like they need to second guess themselves ?

has anyone else out there had a similar experience ? or have the gardai out there been told to say certain things to knock a person off balance and create doubt in their own mind - or is it that the chance of a conviction is higher if the story sounds better (almost hitting a cyclist is a better story to tell back at base than some guy was in a bus lane and I did him)

Dermot Illogical

PCPhoto wrote: »

bit of a strange one
- but -
do Gardai have generic sentences that they issue to motorists ?

SNIP

There are no 'generic' sentences. Perhaps they are pointing out something obvious to them that might not be to you?
Your speed when you break a red light isn't the only factor. Whatever you might come into collision with also has a speed..
And you aren't going to be discussed back at the station. What's a big deal for you is just half a page in a busy notebook for whoever stopped you.

PCPhoto

RT66 wrote: »

There are no 'generic' sentences. Perhaps they are pointing out something obvious to them that might not be to you?
Your speed when you break a red light isn't the only factor. Whatever you might come into collision with also has a speed..
And you aren't going to be discussed back at the station. What's a big deal for you is just half a page in a busy notebook for whoever stopped you.

but there was no cyclist around in both situations - in the first situation the garda said I nearly knocked over a cyclist - I responded with "there was no cyclist" and his response was "and you were on the phone too"

with the second one I'm guessing they were trying to say what if a cyclist had broken the lights and went straight into me - I don't see the point of using a hypothethical situation in order to make a point.

Personally I admit I was wrong on both occasions and have paid the fine for driving in the bus lane and nothing came from the other situation...at least not yet.

I dont know if anyone else has thought about it or proposed it - but they could/should add licence plate readers to the top of traffic lights and these would activate once the lights turn red.... and anyone who goes through a red light - caught instantly....fine issued and hey presto...extra revenue for the taxman....assuming the fines are low enough (€10-€25) each time.... its amazing how many people break red lights (I've noticed myself since being pulled up on it)

goldie fish

Did they mention section x yz?

goldie fish

goldie fish wrote: »

Did they mention section x yz?

What difference would that make?

And PC, as you said yourself cyclist and others break red lights at times so to use a hypothetical situation is fine. The other thing is when you get red the others get green. Regular users of the same roads will have the traffic light sequence off and will be gearing up to go while you have amber and are legally supposed to stop.

Zambia

There are two options I can see here.

1: Somewhere in the Traffic Corp training centre there is a course on trying to get motorists to believe they have endangered cyclists.

2: Somewhere in dublin there is a boardsie that has trouble seeing cylcists.

With respect I would err on the side of 2.

arybvtcw0eolkf

OP, not to be flippant about it. But if your not seeing big ol' Garda vehicles your probably not seeing cyclists (and other road users) also.