Idiotic RTE journalist reports on 'fast lane'.

Atlantic Dawn

Really not much hope for the general public in educating them how to drive correctly on the motorways of our country when the state run broadcaster calls the overtaking lane the 'fast lane'.

"Despite efforts by gardaí and passing motorists to alert her to the danger, she proceeded to drive eastward in what was the fast lane of the westbound motorway before a head-on collision occurred."

www.rte.ie/news/2012/0130/gonoudeh.html

smash

big deal

DaveNoCheese

So two people die in a tragic and avoidable accident and your only grievance is the RTE reporter making a simple mistake? Well done :cool:

Max Power1

smash wrote: »

big deal

DaveNoCheese wrote: »

So two people die in a tragic and avoidable accident and your only grievance is the RTE reporter making a simple mistake? Well done :cool:

Perhaps if the general public was better educated vis a vis driving & overtaking lanes (and that there is NO fast lane) we would have less accidents.

DaveNoCheese

Calling it an overtaking lane or fast lane makes no difference when you're going the wrong way down the motorway!

-Corkie-

She was drunk FFS. It didnt matter what lane she was in.

maximoose

Max Power1 wrote: »

Perhaps if the general public was better educated vis a vis driving & overtaking lanes (and that there is NO fast lane) we would have less accidents.

Atlantic Dawn

DaveNoCheese wrote: »

So two people die in a tragic and avoidable accident and your only grievance is the RTE reporter making a simple mistake? Well done :cool:

Its the Motors forum I posted this in as my comment was motoring related, feel free to post a tragic accident thread elsewhere on my behalf :rolleyes:

seabre

maximoose wrote: »

I really did have to laugh at this!

Max Power1

seabre wrote: »

I really did have to laugh at this!

Unfortunately I only see a Red X there (could be a work filter?)

Atomic Pineapple

I think the OP's thread is about a motor related article and incorrect terminology rather than what the article is about, in that respect it's a valid point, if motoring journalists aren't educated enough to use the correct terminology then the general public simply won't learn.

DaveNoCheese

draffodx wrote: »

I think the OP's thread is about a motor related article and incorrect terminology rather than what the article is about, in that respect it's a valid point, if motoring journalists aren't educated enough to use the correct terminology then the general public simply won't learn.

That I can understand and is fair enough. Alot of people are clueless when it comes to the basic rules of the road, indicating, right of way at roundabouts etc.

And yea, a motoring journalist should have more cop on.

Atomic Pineapple

DaveNoCheese wrote: »

That I can understand and is fair enough. Alot of people are clueless when it comes to the basic rules of the road, indicating, right of way at roundabouts etc.

And yea, a motoring journalist should have more cop on.

And that clueless-ness is brought about by a whole half hearted attitude to driving unless its the great devil that is speeding whether it be uneducated motoring journalists or unenforced basic rules of the road. For me attitudes have to change, most people think they can drive however they want and ignore everything around them as long as they're not speeding.

CiniO

I can't see why people are so paranoid on this forum about this particular thing (overtaking lane / fast lane).

Obviously according to ROTR, Road Traffic Regulations, and general logic, overtaking lane is correct while fast lane isn't. But it's not really a big deal, as everyone understands anyway what's it all about.

It's funny while almost everyone is so peculiar about this issue here on this forum, why almost no one is using a correct nomenclature of metric units?
Like correct form of speed unit is "km/h" while I always see forms kph, kmh, kmph, km/hr, kmhr, etc.. I see them all the time, but almost never the correct form "km/h".

BostonB

CiniO wrote: »

I can't see why people are so paranoid on this forum about this particular thing (overtaking lane / fast lane).....

Because people use it as a fast lane not an overtaking lane as is intended?

It is what is says on the tin...

CiniO

BostonB wrote: »

Because people use it as a fast lane not an overtaking lane as is intended?

It is what is says on the tin...

My imagination shows me that fast lane should travel at something like at least 160km/h. Don't agree so, that people are using it as a fast lane

opinion guy

BostonB wrote: »

Because people use it as a fast lane not an overtaking lane as is intended?

It is what is says on the tin...

do you seriously believe that people do that because it is commonly referred to as a fast lane ?

do you think people are so thick as to be misled by this one small word. I mean they all pass the theory test at least which means they should understand they are not supposed to stay in that lane regardless of what its called.

People drive in the "fast" lane because they can do so without consequences - simple as. Its another case of the driving laws just not being enforced.

Seriously people here get their knickers stuck so far up their holes on this 'issue'. Get real.


Back on topic. Someone died. Yes by their own foolishness but its a tragedy none the less. My sympathies for here family

Max Power1

CiniO wrote: »

I can't see why people are so paranoid on this forum about this particular thing (overtaking lane / fast lane).

Obviously according to ROTR, Road Traffic Regulations, and general logic, overtaking lane is correct while fast lane isn't. But it's not really a big deal, as everyone understands anyway what's it all about.

It's funny while almost everyone is so peculiar about this issue here on this forum, why almost no one is using a correct nomenclature of metric units?
Like correct form of speed unit is "km/h" while I always see forms kph, kmh, kmph, km/hr, kmhr, etc.. I see them all the time, but almost never the correct form "km/h".

Wow. Just WOW.

A massive LOL at that post sir.

A leading candidate for misinformed post of the year tbh.

Guy:Incognito

CiniO wrote: »

Obviously according to ROTR, Road Traffic Regulations, and general logic, overtaking lane is correct while fast lane isn't. But it's not really a big deal, as everyone understands anyway what's it all about..

Thats the whole point, they dont. People dont know what the lanes are and what they are for. A large proportion (around 85-90%) of the traffic on the M50 is in the middle and outside lanes from what I see . These people are either stupid, ignorant or just dont care. Of the first 2 groups I'd imagine theres plenty that think "oh I'm doing over x speed I should be in the fast lane". Calling the driving lane a "slow lane" also gives the impression they dont have to be in it.

BostonB

opinion guy wrote: »

do you seriously believe that people do that because it is commonly referred to as a fast lane?

do you think people are so thick as to be misled by this one small word. I mean they all pass the theory test at least which means they should understand they are not supposed to stay in that lane regardless of what its called....

I don't "think" I "know" from experience in training and system design. It applies to roads the same as everything across all walks of life. Use the wrong word for something and it gets stuck in people head and their mindset. Besides which, its lazy journalism to use the wrong for something. Another simple example is people confusing wipe and format, when talking about hard drives.

Atomic Pineapple

opinion guy wrote: »

do you seriously believe that people do that because it is commonly referred to as a fast lane ?

do you think people are so thick as to be misled by this one small word. I mean they all pass the theory test at least which means they should understand they are not supposed to stay in that lane regardless of what its called.

No need to think, its evident on the roads and in talking to people who drive, also only a small percentage of people on the roads have done a theory test, I haven't for example and I'm only 28.

opinion guy wrote: »

People drive in the "fast" lane because they can do so without consequences - simple as. Its another case of the driving laws just not being enforced.

This is true but they are also ignorant of the fact they are doing it through both a lack of education and enforcement.

opinion guy wrote: »

Back on topic. Someone died. Yes by their own foolishness but its a tragedy none the less. My sympathies for here family

Actually that's off topic, this thread has nothing to do with the content of the article.

Alun

CiniO wrote: »

It's funny while almost everyone is so peculiar about this issue here on this forum, why almost no one is using a correct nomenclature of metric units?
Like correct form of speed unit is "km/h" while I always see forms kph, kmh, kmph, km/hr, kmhr, etc.. I see them all the time, but almost never the correct form "km/h".

+ 1000, plus my own favourite example .... km/ph !!!!!

garancafan

Max Power1 wrote: »

Perhaps if the general public was better educated vis a vis driving & overtaking lanes

In the interests of better educating myself I would be grateful to learn of the Irish documentation/legislation defining these terms.

BostonB

Alun wrote: »

+ 1000, plus my own favourite example .... km/ph !!!!!

Sure why not be correct. What issue does that cause though?

Reg'stoy

I really love the duplicitousness of some of the posters on this forum, people in overtaking/fast/outside lane are the spawn of the devil "burn em" because they can't obey rules of the road. People getting caught speeding (ahem rules of the road also) are innocent drivers constantly hounded by the evil doers in their sneakily hidden/dangerously parked revenue generator vans.

I travel the M50 twice a day and I happily travel in the left/slow/truck lane occasionally venturing into the centre/overtaking lane to allow traffic filter on when the centre lane is free or pass out a slower car. Life is to short to worry or stress out about other drivers holding me up. I still get to work on time, accidents have caused me to be late and I can count the number of times thats happened on one hand in the last couple of years.

The really sad thing about it is that, the time difference in traveling the M50 at 120 and being 'held' up to maybe 80 is less than 2 mins and thats if you were held up all the way from say the airport to the old toll bridge.

Personnally I get more annoyed with non-indication at roundabouts/lane change.

opinion guy

Alun wrote: »

+ 1000, plus my own favourite example .... km/ph !!!!!

You do know if you are going to be fussy you should't put both / and p in ?
They both mean the same thing. The / is more correct. you could also put ^-1. But thats impractical



:pac:

Atomic Pineapple

Reg'stoy wrote: »

Personnally I get more annoyed with non-indication at roundabouts/lane change.

Your missing the point then, the lack of education/enforcement is causing such issues.

CiniO

opinion guy wrote: »

You do know if you are going to be fussy you should't put both / and p in ?
They both mean the same thing. The / is more correct. you could also put ^-1. But thats impractical



:pac:

km*h^(-1)

I like that

opinion guy

CiniO wrote: »

km*h^(-1)

I like that

Yes I agree. We should bring up this point every time someone brings up the 'fast' lane issue.

jimmyw

A minor point TBH, I am sure we all know what lane they are talking about.

Reg'stoy

draffodx wrote: »

Your missing the point then, the lack of education/enforcement is causing such issues.

What was the point?

I have seen adverts ran by the RSA on both staying left on motorways/dual carriageways and correct indication at roundabouts, unfortunatly you can bring a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

I'm not going to lose sleep over either, to be honest even if a driver was indicating his exit off a roundabout before me, I'd still wait till he has actually left before I'd take the chance; Irish drivers being what they are.

People get too stressed over things with which they have little control over.

opinion guy

Reg'stoy wrote: »

I'm not going to lose sleep over either, to be honest even if a driver was indicating his exit off a roundabout before me, I'd still wait till he has actually left before I'd take the chance; Irish drivers being what they are.

+1
Its the same as when someone at a junction waves you on but you can't see - never take the other driver's word for it.

Satanta

opinion guy wrote: »

do you think people are so thick as to be misled by this one small word. I mean they all pass the theory test at least which means they should understand they are not supposed to stay in that lane regardless of what its called.

the theory test was introduced in 2001. Not everyone took it my boy.

SilverBell

Reg'stoy wrote: »

What was the point?

I have seen adverts ran by the RSA on both staying left on motorways/dual carriageways and correct indication at roundabouts, unfortunatly you can bring a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

I'm not going to lose sleep over either, to be honest even if a driver was indicating his exit off a roundabout before me, I'd still wait till he has actually left before I'd take the chance; Irish drivers being what they are.

People get too stressed over things with which they have little control over.

I enjoyed your two posts Reg'stoy. Nice to read sensible posts for a change!

dr.fuzzenstein

draffodx wrote: »

And that clueless-ness is brought about by a whole half hearted attitude to driving unless its the great devil that is speeding whether it be uneducated motoring journalists or unenforced basic rules of the road. For me attitudes have to change, most people think they can drive however they want and ignore everything around them as long as they're not speeding.

Makes sense, doesn't it?
You can drive really badly as long as you drive really slow.
Once everyone drives everywhere at 40 km/h, we can dispense with the whole driver education nonsense because no one is going fast enough to have an accident in the first place, brilliant!:(

CiniO

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Makes sense, doesn't it?
You can drive really badly as long as you drive really slow.
Once everyone drives everywhere at 40 km/h, we can dispense with the whole driver education nonsense because no one is going fast enough to have an accident in the first place, brilliant!:(

When I first came to Ireland (to be precise: West of Ireland) it really worked and actually works up till now

Atomic Pineapple

Reg'stoy wrote: »

What was the point?

I have seen adverts ran by the RSA on both staying left on motorways/dual carriageways and correct indication at roundabouts, unfortunatly you can bring a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

I'm not going to lose sleep over either, to be honest even if a driver was indicating his exit off a roundabout before me, I'd still wait till he has actually left before I'd take the chance; Irish drivers being what they are.

People get too stressed over things with which they have little control over.

The point is that Ireland is full of people who can't drive, who are not educated on how to drive and have no interest in improving this as long as they don't have to, this attitude is being fed by poor quality journalism highlighted in the OP.

Not everyone watches TV, there's no obligation to watch adverts and anyone who does is unlikely to pay attention. In this case you can make the horse drink from the water by making it an obligation to sit down and do a course on motorway driving as part of a license renewal and then enforcing the basic rules of the roads.

I also don't lose sleep over it nor does it cause me stress, is your point simply that its grand as it is and we should just get on with it?

Max Power1

garancafan wrote: »

In the interests of better educating myself I would be grateful to learn of the Irish documentation/legislation defining these terms.

Really?

Do you drive? Are you familiar with the RTA acts governing the activities of motorists, or are you just another Irish driver who, when it comes to driving, doesnt know his arse from his elbow.

The keep left if not overtaking rule (yes its in statute also )for one, governs this. Also there are various ROTR, which, although they are not statute, provide a good enough interpretation of the statutes relevant to this situation.

pred racer

jimmyw wrote: »

A minor point TBH, I am sure we all know what lane they are talking about.

Exactly!

smash

drove 8km down the wrong side of the Galway to Dublin road
...
Mrs Gonoude, who had never driven on a motorway before

So she was driving in the left lane!

Fighting Irish

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Really not much hope for the general public in educating them how to drive correctly on the motorways of our country when the state run broadcaster calls the overtaking lane the 'fast lane'.

"Despite efforts by gardaí and passing motorists to alert her to the danger, she proceeded to drive eastward in what was the fast lane of the westbound motorway before a head-on collision occurred."

www.rte.ie/news/2012/0130/gonoudeh.html

callin it the "fast lane" means fook all tbh, and he's not in charge of teaching the plebs the rules of the road

Atomic Pineapple

Fighting Irish wrote: »

callin it the "fast lane" means fook all tbh, and he's not in charge of teaching the plebs the rules of the road

It doesn't help, most motorists won't see/read anything motoring related outside of national news so they should at least be professional about their job.

johnos1984

Personally I refer to the lane furthest on the left as the fast lane as there is never any bloody traffic in it

wiseguy

CiniO wrote: »

My imagination shows me that fast lane should travel at something like at least 160km/h. Don't agree so, that people are using it as a fast lane

Only 160 km/h some of us get Galway City to Dublin (airport) in 1hr 15m :eek:

Max Power1

johnos1984 wrote: »

Personally I refer to the lane furthest on the left as the fast lane as there is never any bloody traffic in it

There are occasionally, probably posters in the motors forum who actually know the ROTR

I happily can drive the N/M7 from Kildare to Red Cow right down the leftmost lane quicker than the middle lane hogging idiots and the "Fasht" lane felt spec drivers/ BMW Hedgehogs.

Our man in Havana

Satanta wrote: »

the theory test was introduced in 2001. Not everyone took it my boy.

Nor have many taken the driving test.

-Corkie-

wiseguy wrote: »

Only 160 km/h some of us get Galway City to Dublin (airport) in 1hr 15m :eek:

The last time I used the M8 it was a fast lane. In fact it was a very fast lane..

Reg'stoy

draffodx wrote: »

The point is that Ireland is full of people who can't drive, who are not educated on how to drive and have no interest in improving this as long as they don't have to, this attitude is being fed by poor quality journalism highlighted in the OP.

Not everyone watches TV, there's no obligation to watch adverts and anyone who does is unlikely to pay attention. In this case you can make the horse drink from the water by making it an obligation to sit down and do a course on motorway driving as part of a license renewal and then enforcing the basic rules of the roads.

I also don't lose sleep over it nor does it cause me stress, is your point simply that its grand as it is and we should just get on with it?

I really don't know what you're expecting, do you deny someone a renewed licence because they fail a multiple choice style test. I along with the majority of drivers passed a test as laid down by the regulatory authorities at the time. To do what you're asking costs money, which these days is in short supply.

I think this particular problem of outside/middle lane hogging as a wee bit over the top, is it because people are being held up that they feel so strongly. As for proper enforcement what do you mean by this, are you saying that gardai routinely ignore this type of driving.

As I said in my post I have seen TV and newspaper adverts along with road signage pointing out the stay left rule of the road. I personally have no problem with people using the term second/outside/overtaking/fast lane as long as they know this stay left rule; these adverts etc highlight this. Most people would know it, but along with speed limits, tyres and lights; chose either to ignore it or are just selfish pricks (I vote for this one).

I'd much rather see people being re-educated on the more important safety aspects of driving as in proper servicing of their cars be it tyres, brakes, lights and driving safely re road conditions. Everyone of us knows that speed limits are enforced yet the majority of us (myself included) regularly exceed them where we feel it is safe to do so. I can't really complain when knowing all of this if I get caught. We can't really demand that those drivers who for what ever reason stay right and by stay right I include not only those who hold up other drivers but also those who believe they are ok to stay right because they are speeding; should be punished (1 point and a fine) while viewing the enforcement of other rules of the road as unfair when it happens. All rules of the road should be equally enforced.

I believe the new system for learner drivers is a step in the right direction, maybe qualified drivers should get a booklet along with their re-newed licence. A re-test every ten years as I've seen mentioned elsewhere is a bit excessive, so really all we are left with it is multi media be it TV, print and social networks (I have seen RSA adverts both here on boards and also on facebook) as for the older driver maybe the RSA give safety talks to Active Retirement groups like the one my father is a member off.

Atomic Pineapple

Reg'stoy wrote: »

I really don't know what you're expecting, do you deny someone a renewed licence because they fail a multiple choice style test. I along with the majority of drivers passed a test as laid down by the regulatory authorities at the time. To do what you're asking costs money, which these days is in short supply.

No one in this country is ever tested on their motorway driving as its only recently we have built many of them, a test on licence renewal is needed to bring people up to scratch, fail this and remove that drivers right to drive on motorways. As for money the 65 million on speed cameras would have went a long way to covering it as would an increase in the fee to renew your licence.

Reg'stoy wrote: »

I think this particular problem of outside/middle lane hogging as a wee bit over the top, is it because people are being held up that they feel so strongly.

No, being held up is not my issue, my issue is the inconsistent, ignorant and dangerous driving that takes place in front of me every time I drive the M50, even more concerning is these people aren't aware they are doing it.

Reg'stoy wrote: »

As for proper enforcement what do you mean by this, are you saying that gardai routinely ignore this type of driving.

Yes, not only do Gardai ignore it I've even seen Garda drive in such a manner.

Reg'stoy wrote: »

As I said in my post I have seen TV and newspaper adverts along with road signage pointing out the stay left rule of the road. I personally have no problem with people using the term second/outside/overtaking/fast lane as long as they know this stay left rule; these adverts etc highlight this. Most people would know it, but along with speed limits, tyres and lights; chose either to ignore it or are just selfish pricks (I vote for this one)..

I disagree in that I think most people don't know the stay left rule and actually think of the lanes as fast and slow lanes, why else would you constantly see people travelling at 80 - 90 km/h in the overtaking lane?

I agree that the adverts highlight them and that since they started airing there has been an improvement in driving in motorways but they aren't enough to bring the driving standards on are motorways up to scratch.

Reg'stoy wrote: »

I'd much rather see people being re-educated on the more important safety aspects of driving as in proper servicing of their cars be it tyres, brakes, lights and driving safely re road conditions. Everyone of us knows that speed limits are enforced yet the majority of us (myself included) regularly exceed them where we feel it is safe to do so. I can't really complain when knowing all of this if I get caught. We can't really demand that those drivers who for what ever reason stay right and by stay right I include not only those who hold up other drivers but also those who believe they are ok to stay right because they are speeding; should be punished (1 point and a fine) while viewing the enforcement of other rules of the road as unfair when it happens. All rules of the road should be equally enforced.

I agree with this but I think proper lane discipline would be included under driving safely for the road conditions.

Reg'stoy wrote: »

I believe the new system for learner drivers is a step in the right direction, maybe qualified drivers should get a booklet along with their re-newed licence. A re-test every ten years as I've seen mentioned elsewhere is a bit excessive, so really all we are left with it is multi media be it TV, print and social networks (I have seen RSA adverts both here on boards and also on facebook) as for the older driver maybe the RSA give safety talks to Active Retirement groups like the one my father is a member off.

Why would a test every ten years be excessive?

Duiske

Max Power1 wrote: »

I happily can drive the N/M7 from Kildare to Red Cow right down the leftmost lane quicker than the middle lane hogging idiots and the "Fasht" lane felt spec drivers/ BMW Hedgehogs.

Undertaking in the "slow" lane ? Pure shock'in.

BostonB

Repeat something enough and you remember it.