More than 100 motorists penalised for tailgating on M50

godtabh

our special operations combining road side Garda patrols and eflow technology has led to 106 motorists penalised for tailgating offences on the M50, it has been revealed.

The act of tailgating – motorists driving within inches of HGVs in an attempt to hide their licence plate number from overhead toll cameras – is a dangerous practice and is putting lives at risk, according to Simon McBeth, Director of Communications and Customer Relations at eflow.

"Tailgating is a reckless act that puts lives at risk for the sake of avoiding a €3 charge," he said.

"eflow takes road safety very seriously. We have held discussions on this issue with the Road Safety Authority and have signed up to the EU Road Safety Charter as we are determined to do what we can to promote safe driving on the M50.

"Tailgating is a particular offence that we can play a practical role in addressing, specifically on two fronts.

"Firstly, we have combined our technology with Garda roadside patrols to identify tailgating offenders. This has resulted in 106 offenders being caught.

"Secondly, we have now installed new cameras that capture the rear licence plate number of all vehicles. The combination of both front and rear cameras now means that there is no hiding place for tailgating offenders."

More than 100,000 vehicles use the M50 free-flow system every day, of which 75% have registered for a tolling account to avail of lower toll charges.

Link

Prevention is better than cure. Just fix the stupid cameras and this isnt an issue (which appears what they have done)

Dymo

Good, I hate being tailgated, especially in wet weather.

Zubeneschamali

wtf?

They prosecute tailgaters only when they are dodging tolls? What about all the other tailgaters endangering lives every day?

More evidence that the Gardaí prefer revenue collection to safety.

Cuddlesworth

I suppose they will suddenly decide to start charging bikes for using the bridge now as well.

keithclancy

FFS ... Tailgating only became dangerous when people use it to skip tolls

KamiKazi

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

I suppose they will suddenly decide to start charging bikes for using the bridge now as well.

They'll need to get the magnifying glass out to read my plate

"The act of tailgating – motorists driving within inches of HGVs in an attempt to hide their licence plate number from overhead toll cameras "

Eh that's not exactly how I would define tailgating

Cookie_Monster

Why don't they concentrate on prosecuting the morons I have to tail-gait cos they won't get out of the way?









(joke- I don't do that)

MagicSean

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

wtf?

They prosecute tailgaters only when they are dodging tolls? What about all the other tailgaters endangering lives every day?

More evidence that the Gardaí prefer revenue collection to safety.

Maybe something to do with all the cameras on the m50 that provide them with the evidence?

Zubeneschamali

k_mac wrote: »

Maybe something to do with all the cameras on the m50 that provide them with the evidence?

How about putting up some actual "safety cameras" that are not just about toll collection?

biko

I was well happy until I realised it was only at the tolls they check.

johnos1984

godtabh wrote: »

Prevention is better than cure. Just fix the stupid cameras and this isnt an issue (which appears what they have done)

I was just listening to this on the news and they have in fact installed rear facing cameras so there is now no escape*

*Thats just what they said anyway on 2FM news

LookBehindYou

A cure for this would be to get rid of the toll and there would be no need to tailgate.

Guy:Incognito

LookBehindYou wrote: »

A cure for this would be to get rid of the toll and there would be no need to tailgate.

If we get rid of laws there'll be no criminals.

MagicSean

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

How about putting up some actual "safety cameras" that are not just about toll collection?

Who'll pay for that?

Zubeneschamali

k_mac wrote: »

Who'll pay for that?

I'll chip in.

Iwannahurl

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

If we get rid of laws there'll be no criminals.

And if we get rid of roads there will be no cars and therefore no tailgating, no tolls and no other nasty "revenue collection" conspiracies. Infinite extrapolation: the solution to all our problems.

edwinkane

My new business, "rolo-dex number plates" has been doing a roaring trade. The advantage of our "rolo-dex number plates" ™ are that you can just press the button as you approach an automatic toll, and your number plate revolves to display a different number. It's even possible to put in the number of someone who you don't like, so every time you go past the cameras, they get charged!

It's a must for everyone's christmas stocking in 2011.

Cookie_Monster

edwinkane wrote: »

My new business, "rolo-dex number plates" has been doing a roaring trade. The advantage of our "rolo-dex number plates" ™ are that you can just press the button as you approach an automatic toll, and your number plate revolves to display a different number. It's even possible to put in the number of someone who you don't like, so every time you go past the cameras, they get charged!

It's a must for everyone's christmas stocking in 2011.

do you have a website / phone number for that, I'd love one of them
(Do they play the James Bond music when you press the button?)
:D

edwinkane

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

do you have a website / phone number for that, I'd love one of them
(Do they play the James Bond music when you press the button?)
:D

No, I don't when I press the button, but I do keep a cat handy for stroking!

E39MSport

<Modnote: threads merged>

mickdw

Heard an interview on the radio about this. They say they now have cameras for rear reg too. I wonder is that bull****? The guy also admitted there had been no accidents to date.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jADLOe8HAi4

This would b ideal for the front facing cameras.

pcardin

Does the tailgatig actualy work? I've done that several times but was charged for all the times except one. But it was rain + fog that day so I thought that was the reason for camera not detecting number plate.

Twigster

LookBehindYou wrote: »

A cure for this would be to get rid of the toll and there would be no need to tailgate.

So if there were no tolls on the roads people wouldn't tailgate?

Absurdum

pcardin wrote: »

Does the tailgatig actualy work? I've done that several times but was charged for all the times except one. But it was rain + fog that day so I thought that was the reason for camera not detecting number plate.

uh oh....wait for it..............

pa990

tailgating works.. or worked.

on the rte news they show cameras that are rear facing

these rear cameras were installed 6months ago apparently

E39MSport

E39MSport wrote: »

Over 100 fixed penalty notices have been issued by AGS according to the news today. They (ags) were monitoring the toll area on the M50 looking for drivers tailgating large vehicles.



<Modnote: threads merged>

Oops - I checked but not hard enough. Sorry.

cursai

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

wtf?

They prosecute tailgaters only when they are dodging tolls? What about all the other tailgaters endangering lives every day?

More evidence that the Gardaí prefer revenue collection to safety.

Yeah! Because the gardaí make the laws and have cameras on every inch of every road!

edwinkane

cursai wrote: »

Yeah! Because the gardaí make the laws and have cameras on every inch of every road!

I think you'll find the gardai enforce the laws which are made by others.

Zubeneschamali

Absurdum wrote: »

uh oh....wait for it..............

Hang on, just putting the stepladder in place beside the horse...

Iwannahurl

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

Hang on, just putting the stepladder in place beside the horse...

Certain boardsies are going to be struck dumb if that animal ever becomes extinct.

dr.fuzzenstein

I used the toll at Xmas and never got a bill. I never realised that day that my front plates where filthy and unreadable.
Don't tailgate, buy a can of spray on mud!

Our man in Havana

I always finds a foreign registration works a treat.

cursai

edwinkane wrote: »

I think you'll find the gardai enforce the laws which are made by others.

You being serious!!!....sorry your being sarcastic because i was too!

acier

So are the Gardai now enforcing payment collection for all private companies or just those who are buddies of government?

jimmycrackcorm

acier wrote: »

So are the Gardai now enforcing payment collection for all private companies or just those who are buddies of government?

Nope. Having the toll cameras there caused regular incidences of it which was noticed. If you notice that for some reason there is a lot of tailgating on the road in front of your house and report it then I'm sure the Guards would act on that too.

Zubeneschamali wrote:

wtf?

They prosecute tailgaters only when they are dodging tolls? What about all the other tailgaters endangering lives every day?

More evidence that the Gardaí prefer revenue collection to safety.

Same as that - no one is going to tailgate in front of a Garda car.

bladebrew

just watching it on rte, that is bloody scary,
to add to the problem the truck driver has no idea the car is there either,

i can think of better ways to save €3 tbh,

tailgating really pisses me off, if anyone tailgates me i just slow down gently, 9 times out of 10 they get the message:mad:,
seems to happen on a daily basis in cork for some reason,


edit: stick up one of those hgv test brakes signs like in slane!!

GSF

pcardin wrote: »

Does the tailgatig actualy work?

Obviously not. If it did there would be a lot of dead morons by now.

Twigster

acier wrote: »

So are the Gardai now enforcing payment collection for all private companies or just those who are buddies of government?

correct me if i'm wrong, but did the government (last one) not spend silly money buying back the tolling rights for the m50, so the money isn't being collected for a private company, it goes to the state.

The guy on the news said that the average speed going through the toll was between 100 and 120 km/h, with a speed limit of 100, i reckon they should put average speed cameras along the motorway too and hit the gob****es a double whammy.

edwinkane

edwinkane wrote: »

My new business, "rolo-dex number plates" has been doing a roaring trade. The advantage of our "rolo-dex number plates" ™ are that you can just press the button as you approach an automatic toll, and your number plate revolves to display a different number. It's even possible to put in the number of someone who you don't like, so every time you go past the cameras, they get charged!

It's a must for everyone's christmas stocking in 2011.

Jamie Hyneman did it on Mythbusters, he had two custom reg plates. The main one was NODOUDT. When approaching the speed camera he pressed a button, causing the reg to flip, revealing the second plate "ENVY DIS"

Mr CJ

Twigster wrote: »

correct me if i'm wrong, but did the government (last one) not spend silly money buying back the tolling rights for the m50, so the money isn't being collected for a private company, it goes to the state.

The guy on the news said that the average speed going through the toll was between 100 and 120 km/h, with a speed limit of 100, i reckon they should put average speed cameras along the motorway too and hit the gob****es a double whammy.

little of topic...
if the gob****es did not reduce the speed limit to 100 they would not be speeding, the south section of the M50 should be changed to the N50, why is it called a motorway when it is illegal to do 120kph? does not make sense to me...

-Chris-

Twigster wrote: »

The guy on the news said that the average speed going through the toll was between 100 and 120 km/h

That;s some robust analysis there - an average figure that's a range of figures??

Hmmmm...

k123456

I'm not convienced about the new cameras to detect rear plates. I had a good look at the gantries and could not see any cams that would pick up rear plate ?

L1011

k123456 wrote: »

I'm not convienced about the new cameras to detect rear plates. I had a good look at the gantries and could not see any cams that would pick up rear plate ?

They're there. Mounted on the other side of the same gantry.

edwinkane

MYOB wrote: »

They're there. Mounted on the other side of the same gantry.

Thats great and means the sales projections for my new "roll-a-matic" numberplates have just doubled, because every customer will now need them on both the front and back. Yippee!