Garda car or impersonator?

Wilde_37

Was driving on the bypass earlier and a car comes up behind me - no light on except what appeared to be a flashing red/blue LED on the windscreen. I was barely doing the speed limit so he must have been pushing it to get up past me. As he got to me he started beeping. He passed and waved at me to slow down and then pointed to his flashing light. As I say - I was doing the limit so he had to be doing 120 to go past me. I assumed he was a cop - but the car was a RED 06 D mondeo. (I didn't get the full number) He just drove off and left the bypass at the WIT exit - I was carrying on to the toll bridge.

Anyone know who this guy is? The light appeared to be something like a strobe light like the app you can get for your iphone. He has absolutely no other lights on in the car - and it was dark at this stage. So is this guy a cop or just some impersonator?

Dan133269

Almost all the unmarked Garda cars I've seen have been Mondeos. Possibly a Garda.

Wilde_37

Dan133269 wrote: »

Almost all the unmarked Garda cars I've seen have been Mondeos. Possibly a Garda.

I agree that most are Mondeos but this was 06 - a bit old - also if an unmarked car wants you to know he is on to you he has loads of flashing blue lights. i have never seen a Garda car in Ireland use a red/blue light. also this was clearly attached like a Sat Nav or iphone. and he only had one light which I barely saw.

Lavattack

Wilde_37 wrote: »

I agree that most are Mondeos but this was 06 - a bit old - also if an unmarked car wants you to know he is on to you he has loads of flashing blue lights. i have never seen a Garda car in Ireland use a red/blue light. also this was clearly attached like a Sat Nav or iphone. and he only had one light which I barely saw.

Most cop cars are either mondeo's or corollas granted but 95% of them are 06 reg'd so its not to be considered too old

Can you remember anything else??

Like the absense of hubcaps. the lack of a tax disc on show, A CB aeriel on the roof??

All of the above are common in unmarked cars.

But I have seen guys do what you described just for fun before. I wouldnt worry about it much either way

mgbgt1978

NOT a guard....just a w*nker .
Pity you didn't get get his full reg. They (the real guards) love to hear about gob****es like this.

PS Lavattack, I think you probably mean "insurance disc". All cars on Irish roads are meant to be taxed.

rescue16

Wilde_37 wrote: »

I agree that most are Mondeos but this was 06 - a bit old - also if an unmarked car wants you to know he is on to you he has loads of flashing blue lights. i have never seen a Garda car in Ireland use a red/blue light. also this was clearly attached like a Sat Nav or iphone. and he only had one light which I barely saw.

Gaurds in Ireland do not use Red and Blue flashing lights and if he wanted you to slow down he would of using a siren not a horn. There is a website were you can buy these lights and alot of boy racers and girl racers have them unfortunally. I have to admit garda cars have lights on there dash boards but these are always blue I am a member of the rescue services and when we get called out we have to respond fairly quickly so I have a red led light on my dash but I only use it when I very badly need too and I had to get premission from the super in or local station only had to use it once so far only this guy you came accross seems to me he was not a garda only a guy acting the fool.

wellbutty

There is an 06 D red Mondeo in Waterford the last few weeks, additional aerials can be retracted which makes the car blend in even more.

man.about.town

rescue16 wrote: »

Gaurds in Ireland do not use Red and Blue flashing lights and if he wanted you to slow down he would of using a siren not a horn. There is a website were you can buy these lights and alot of boy racers and girl racers have them unfortunally. I have to admit garda cars have lights on there dash boards but these are always blue I am a member of the rescue services and when we get called out we have to respond fairly quickly so I have a red led light on my dash but I only use it when I very badly need too and I had to get premission from the super in or local station only had to use it once so far only this guy you came accross seems to me he was not a garda only a guy acting the fool.

ive seen marked cars with red/blue lights, though i think they were 11 d or 10d cars. maybe the mondeo got fitted with the new lights

Lavattack

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

NOT a guard....just a w*nker .
Pity you didn't get get his full reg. They (the real guards) love to hear about gob****es like this.

PS Lavattack, I think you probably mean "insurance disc". All cars on Irish roads are meant to be taxed.

Quite right

They do have tax disc and not insurance disc. Well spotted

Hoffmans

Yes motoring is all bout tax tax taxing

marlin vs

There's a motorbike fella doing the same thing,I rekon he's a blaaguard

seanybiker

One of the lads I know got caught years ago pulling people over lol.

STIG83

Where are the guards when you need them the most? if it was a boyracer no harm if he was caught pretending to be the guards, them f**kers kept me awake last night going up the N25 towards Dungarvan with their stupid noisy exhausts :mad:

shinikins

OP i highly doubt it was a Garda, there would have been far more lights flashing than just the one on his dash. Sounds to me like it was someone who downloaded an App to his Iphone/smartfone and tried out on you. My ex was pulled once by plainclothes Gardai for giving them the finger as they passed. They had been acting like absolute dicks, trying to push him along the road and beeping and flashing before dangerously overtaking. It was only as he flashed the finger at them that they put the blue lights on and they pulled him. But there were plenty of blue flashing lights on the front and rear of the car.:D

Sully

Waterford has such a car. Where were the lights positioned?

angry_fox

Wilde_37 wrote: »

and then pointed to his flashing light. ?

That is an impersonator, plenty of tools out there get a kick out of doing stuff like that. Just a pity you did not get the full reg

Coriolanus

Lavattack wrote: »

Like the absense of hubcaps.

Why would that be? I always knew to look for the cb and the insurance, newver crossed my mind to look at the wheels.

ziedth

Garda or not I think it might be worth considering maybe phoning them about it.

Either it's fellas acting the Maggot or it's a Garda card that behaved not exactly professionally.

Lavattack

Nevore wrote: »

Why would that be? I always knew to look for the cb and the insurance, newver crossed my mind to look at the wheels.

I Have no idea of the reason but next time you see an unmarked look at the wheels. I bet they wont have hubcaps!!! As I say I have no idea of the logic its just a tool I and others use to spot the boys in blue when they come around

Coriolanus

Lavattack wrote: »

I Have no idea of the reason but next time you see an unmarked look at the wheels. I bet they wont have hubcaps!!! As I say I have no idea of the logic its just a tool I and others use to spot the boys in blue when they come around

Yeahm I'll have to keep it in mind alright.

opinion guy

OP why don't you just call the Waterford guards and ask them nicely. If its one of their own they will know the car and if its an imposter then they will want to know all about it.

u2gooner

Try the ES forum, some serving Gardai might have an opinion on it

rescue16

man.about.town wrote: »

ive seen marked cars with red/blue lights, though i think they were 11 d or 10d cars. maybe the mondeo got fitted with the new lights

I will find out and get back to ye with a answer. Were these lights on the dash or the back of the car ?

man.about.town

rescue16 wrote: »

I will find out and get back to ye with a answer. Were these lights on the dash or the back of the car ?

they were on the back of the car and i think it was a traffic corp car but cant i cant be sure

rescue16

man.about.town wrote: »

they were on the back of the car and i think it was a traffic corp car but cant i cant be sure

Hi again i rang a mate thats in the traffic corps he said this was a garda car they are around alright some of them have one blue and red light on the back of them so maybe it was a garda after all .

STIG83

rescue16 wrote: »

Hi again i rang a mate thats in the traffic corps he said this was a garda car they are around alright some of them have one blue and red light on the back of them so maybe it was a garda after all .

But why they beep and have light flashing and they didnt stop you?

Sully

Nothing worse for a member of the Emergency Services having lights flashing and cars in their way and refusing to budge. Firmly believe this should be a criminal offense. There are many reasons why Guards don't use their sirens and in this cased used their horn - one reason being they did not wish to draw attention. A siren can be heard in more places then a horn, and the use of such would alert the person they are attending to which they may not wish.

Its simple - if you see emergency lights and are indicated to move, then move. Don't sit there and hold them up because you want to be either ignorant, or you feel you shouldn't move because you have every right to be where you are, etc. If in doubt, move and call the Gardai and ask.

Every second counts.

nkay1985

Sully wrote: »

Nothing worse for a member of the Emergency Services having lights flashing and cars in their way and refusing to budge. Firmly believe this should be a criminal offense. There are many reasons why Guards don't use their sirens and in this cased used their horn - one reason being they did not wish to draw attention. A siren can be heard in more places then a horn, and the use of such would alert the person they are attending to which they may not wish.

Its simple - if you see emergency lights and are indicated to move, then move. Don't sit there and hold them up because you want to be either ignorant, or you feel you shouldn't move because you have every right to be where you are, etc. If in doubt, move and call the Gardai and ask.

Every second counts.

Didn't the OP say he was driving on the bypass? That's two lanes and he didn't say anything about holding the car up. The way I read it, he was driving along, a car came up behind him with a couple of flashing lights and beeping the horn, made a few motions, then overtook him and drove on.

Mr Simpson

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

PS Lavattack, I think you probably mean "insurance disc". All cars on Irish roads are meant to be taxed.

But if you take a look at the tax disc it says €0.00

mecco

Sully wrote: »

Nothing worse for a member of the Emergency Services having lights flashing and cars in their way and refusing to budge. Firmly believe this should be a criminal offense. There are many reasons why Guards don't use their sirens and in this cased used their horn - one reason being they did not wish to draw attention. A siren can be heard in more places then a horn, and the use of such would alert the person they are attending to which they may not wish.

Its simple - if you see emergency lights and are indicated to move, then move. Don't sit there and hold them up because you want to be either ignorant, or you feel you shouldn't move because you have every right to be where you are, etc. If in doubt, move and call the Gardai and ask.

Every second counts.

Emergency Services vehicles are usually in big bright colours and are lit up like a christmas tree. I think most people would hop out of their way without being need to be told. In fact, I dont even think anyone has mentioned or suggested not allowing them on ahead.

Anyway, back to the OP. As nkay says, on a dual carraigeway you'd have to figure the guy was just a numpty.

Sully

mecco wrote: »

Emergency Services vehicles are usually in big bright colours and are lit up like a christmas tree. I think most people would hop out of their way without being need to be told. In fact, I dont even think anyone has mentioned or suggested not allowing them on ahead.

Anyway, back to the OP. As nkay says, on a dual carraigeway you'd have to figure the guy was just a numpty.

Have you never heard of the unmarked Garda cars? They are unmarked for a reason. They generally have lights at the side of the car and in front and back windows. Big hint there - move out of the way or do as requested.

mecco

Sully wrote: »

Have you never heard of the unmarked Garda cars? They are unmarked for a reason. They generally have lights at the side of the car and in front and back windows. Big hint there - move out of the way or do as requested.

Somewhere along the line, I've managed to hear of them alright and you are agreeing with me via the bit in bold. As i say, they are lit up like a christmas tree so it's obvious you should comply/let them through. I'm in need of neither the hint nor the preaching to do as i said previously and allow them through.

tankbarry

I have 1 of those set of lights..... I have taken the piss before with them but not on a public road..... Drove into a housing estate in Waterford once turned them on the Place emptied in about 2 seconds some crack

fitzeyboy.

Wilde_37 wrote: »

Was driving on the bypass earlier and a car comes up behind me - no light on except what appeared to be a flashing red/blue LED on the windscreen. I was barely doing the speed limit so he must have been pushing it to get up past me. As he got to me he started beeping. He passed and waved at me to slow down and then pointed to his flashing light. As I say - I was doing the limit so he had to be doing 120 to go past me. I assumed he was a cop - but the car was a RED 06 D mondeo. (I didn't get the full number) He just drove off and left the bypass at the WIT exit - I was carrying on to the toll bridge.

Anyone know who this guy is? The light appeared to be something like a strobe light like the app you can get for your iphone. He has absolutely no other lights on in the car - and it was dark at this stage. So is this guy a cop or just some impersonator?

OP were you in the overtaking lane not overtaking anything?

Icky Thump

they prob felt the op was going a little fast. i know the op said they where doing the limit but if you where coming upto the toll or if there was a high volume of traffic not far ahead they might have just thought you where going a little too fast. at the end of the day its about road saftly. they didnt pull you over because you wherent breaking the law but they asked you to slow down because they felt that you should.

ive see unmarked cars with red and blue lights.

ive also seen unmarked cars without the second anthena or with the insurance disk with hub caps.

some unmarked cars you wouldnt be able to recognise at all. the drive around in every type of car now so they wont be detected. some of them dont even have lights while others have makeshift lights.

when in doubt just comply. use your common sense keep to the law and dont push your luck. getting cheeky is not the answer. if you feel you need to question the legitimisy then call your local garda station and make sure the car was actual garda. if it was no worries. if it wasnt then you would have ridden us from a menace.


as for tankbarry........... mate grow up. i hope if you do use these again you are caught red handed. these are not toys and its not a game. the roads are not a playground.

OP, where were the lights, exactly?

Gardaì only use red lights when rear facing (that is, if the lights were facing forward, on the dash board for example, then they'd not be allowed to use red). If the lights are rear facing (out the back window) then they can use red (though I've not seen red used on an unmarked car, personally).


There's a red Mondeo around here (Drogheda) but it's rarely got it's lights or siren turned on (it's a detective car I believe, so not used for petty crime or speeding or such).


In such a scenario, if you think some cowboy is acting the fool, let them overtake you, but speed up behind them to get the reg number off the car, and ring the local station.

If it's an actual Garda car, and they see you speed up behind them, they may stop and pull you over, but in such a scenario, I'd say they'd fully understand if you were checking their legitimacy and were ringing the station (ultimately; you're trying to assist them, after all).


Morons on the road with flashy lights are the sorta fools that'll end up doing a lot of damage by speeding around and acting like idiots. Exactly the kinda people I'd report, personally.

Cabaal

tankbarry wrote: »

I have 1 of those set of lights..... I have taken the piss before with them but not on a public road..... Drove into a housing estate in Waterford once turned them on the Place emptied in about 2 seconds some crack

The housing estate is still a public road...

tankbarry

i wouldnt use them for moving traffic out of the way thats just wrong and I dont have them wired to my car only done that on 1 occasion... I have them for use in work on different vehicles...... Have to admit it still was really funny....

Biggles1980

man.about.town wrote: »

ive seen marked cars with red/blue lights, though i think they were 11 d or 10d cars. maybe the mondeo got fitted with the new lights

Traffic Patrol cars have been using red lights on the rear of the light bars since 2006. This has been extended to all marked patrol cars in the new 2011 cars. But they are on the rear only. They are called warning lights. They are used when a Garda has a car pulled in. They can activate the red flashing lights and turn off the blues. Its less distracting while still warning approaching motorists of their presence.

Some marked and unmarked patrol cars have red flashing lights fitted to their rear fog lights.

There are NO patrol cars, marked or unmarked, that have red flashing lights to the front. Its white and blue only. This was definitely not a Garda car!

seanybiker

Just asked the brother and he said there is a red light. He was running out the door so I didn't explain to him properly what the op explained.
*edit* explained it properly and he said no. I know someone else already said it wasn't right but no harm asking him anyways

rescue16

tankbarry wrote: »

i wouldnt use them for moving traffic out of the way thats just wrong and I dont have them wired to my car only done that on 1 occasion... I have them for use in work on different vehicles...... Have to admit it still was really funny....

What kind of job are you in?

lanno25

Seen this lad today going past masons with the sirans on going through the lights, and i doubt very much his a cop he looked about 22-23.

Sully

lanno25 wrote: »

Seen this lad today going past masons with the sirans on going through the lights, and i doubt very much his a cop he looked about 22-23.

A lot of young Gardai in Waterford, even had me wondering their age. Young Gardai tend to be in the unmarked cars a bit from what I saw also.

Faq

Seen many 22-23 garda but its not the first time someone went around with lights in there car i remember reading in the Munster of to guy caught using lights in town received massive fines

Coriolanus

There was a fella pulled on HArcourt St in Dublin last year. Drunk driving in an imitation Specials car. Had the sirens, antennae etc. :rolleyes:

seanybiker

Nevore wrote: »

There was a fella pulled on HArcourt St in Dublin last year. Drunk driving in an imitation Specials car. Had the sirens, antennae etc. :rolleyes:

My father was stationed there years ago.

Coriolanus

seanybiker wrote: »

My father was stationed there years ago.

Apparently this fella was known to the Gardai as being a bit of a fanboy. Failed to get in or whatever and was living vicariously.

seanybiker

Nevore wrote: »

Apparently this fella was known to the Gardai as being a bit of a fanboy. Failed to get in or whatever and was living vicariously.

Lol the poor chap. Ah sure at least he tried

puppetmaster

Cabaal wrote: »

The housing estate is still a public road...

Private housing estates arent considered "public" roads.

Biggles1980,

You seem to know what your talkin bout, But im positive I saw Two cops in a black astra pull over Two guys and arrest them late at night about 3 years ago in Waterford. The only flashing lights on the car was a fairly will fitted Blue and red flashing LED strobe. If they weren't Gardaí They went to alot of troble buyin uniforms and Radios to pull two fella's out of a car in the dead of night. Didint look like a traffic violation seemed to be more serious.

CantGetNoSleep

A public place is any place to which the public have access

Sully

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

A public place is any place to which the public have access

Don't think so. You can get access to my land, but its still private property.

Housing Estates are either Private or Public -- if public, the council own them (more so the estate land in terms of maintenance rather than council houses)