What are your rights/obligations?

sogood

I was wondering if there is a guide available as to your rights/obligations in respect of what to do if you are stopped for any reason by the Gardai. Lets say you are driving along, within the speed limit, doing nothing silly and the blue lights appear in your rear view mirror. So you assume you have to pull over, but wait until you find a place that you deem to be safe. Car is taxed, insured, nct'd and all is in order, but you get a Garda having a bad day. They are human after all. If you feel you are being treated harshly, like say he/she is going over your car LOOKING for something to find wrong. Can he search your car without just cause or is his say so good enough? Can he ask you to go to the station with him to help further his enquiries? If so, can you drive your own car and refuse to alllow a Garda to drive it? After all it might be fine there at the side of the road but not so by the time it gets to the station. Can you insist on locking it up where it is and take a lift from the Garda? Where is the line between exercising your rights and "obstruction"? I'm not in favour of, or suggesting that you act the clown in such a situation, but many people, like myself, just dont know their rights, or when liberties are being taken. Any thoughts?

Mycroft H

Gardai have common law power to stop people at random in order to detect and prevent crime. So in short they can stop you if they feel like it.

In addition to common law powers, a member of AGS can stop you under section 109 of the Road Traffic Act, however under that they can only stop you for motoring offenses there.

drunkmonkey

That scenario wouldn't happen for no reason, they would be suspecting your of something. The don't order you out of your car and take you to the station randomly, it's not the SS your dealing with.
You've nothing to fear if just pulled randomly but it's rarely random.

Anan1

AFAIK the Misuse of Drugs Act gives the Gardaí wide-ranging powers to detain and search both people and vehicles. They do need reasonable grounds for suspicion, but I can't see how you could prove that a Garda didn't have that. Personally, i'd co-operate fully at the time and make a complaint afterwards if I felt that i'd been unfairly treated.

unkel

Anan1 wrote: »

AFAIK the Misuse of Drugs Act gives the Gardaí wide-ranging powers to detain and search both people and vehicles. They do need reasonable grounds for suspicion, but I can't see how you could prove that a Garda didn't have that.

I think it would be up to the Gardai to convince a judge that they did

Remember before the random breath testing, a Garda had to form the opinion that you were drink driving, before they could even breathalyse you. If you drove normally, spoke coherently, didn't have a car full of empty bottles/ cans and didn't stink of alcohol there was nothing they could do...

Anan1 wrote: »

Personally, i'd co-operate fully at the time and make a complaint afterwards if I felt that i'd been unfairly treated.

+1