Garda to bring out the guns on Friday

_Kaiser_

...speed guns that is.

Reported on the RTE News this evening that the Gardai are to deploy every "speed enforcement device" they have this Friday between 7AM and 7AM Saturday in the latest effort to get people to slow down (because "speed (alone) kills" don't ya know!) :rolleyes:

Expect to see squad cars camped in the usual spots so.

Link: http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0703/garda-operation-to-target-speeding-drivers.html

Mycroft H

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

...speed guns that is.

Reported on the RTE News this evening that the Gardai are to deploy every "speed enforcement device" they have this Friday between 7AM and 7PM in the latest effort to get people to slow down (because "speed (alone) kills" don't ya know!) :rolleyes:

Expect to see squad cars camped in the usual spots so.

I'd like to see them on roads where excessive speed is actually a liability rather then plonking them on the side of the old N4 :rolleyes:

sdanseo

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

...speed guns that is.

Reported on the RTE News this evening that the Gardai are to deploy every "speed enforcement device" they have this Friday between 7AM and 7PM in the latest effort to get people to slow down (because "speed (alone) kills" don't ya know!) :rolleyes:

Expect to see squad cars camped in the usual spots so.

7am to 7pm? Sure don't we know that's when all the boy racers do be out, queuing in the traffic..

Senseless.

christmas2012

I think its only a good thing,i know a girl who used to work in ballygreen who is now paralysed (she was a passenger in a crashed car) she was in the passenger seat of a bmw who was going 125 an hour i mean ffs - and theres so many flying off the roads these days overtaking 5 cars in a row ,and overtaking on bends and one lane roads its too dangerous..

anyway she was paralysed from the incident and can only move her eyelids and eyes,what a way to go..

i suppose at least she survived the incident..horrific injuries and all,needless to say she cant work again,have kids or do the normal things that people her age do ,she is still relatively young..

_Kaiser_

d'oh typo... 7am Friday-7am Saturday (OP amended)

Point about 3-6 hours of that being commuting logjam is a good one though!

I think it was a 24hr blitz. That's grand, it like an open invitation for everyone to speed as soon as all the traffic cops go home after the blitz.
Fecking eejits, if they had any cop on, they would tell everyone after the blitz was over instead of before.

hondasam

sdeire wrote: »

7am to 7pm? Sure don't we know that's when all the boy racers do be out, queuing in the traffic..

Senseless.

7am Friday to 7am Saturday that's 24 hrs.

MugMugs

christmas2012 wrote: »

I think its only a good thing,i know a girl who used to work in ballygreen who is now paralysed (she was a passenger in a crashed car) she was in the passenger seat of a bmw who was going 125 an hour i mean ffs - and theres so many flying off the roads these days overtaking 5 cars in a row ,and overtaking on bends and one lane roads its too dangerous..

Tragic scenario however a lot of these traps will come across as revenue making instead of crash prevention.

irishgeo

They need to be on the side roads not on the main routes.

some of the nutters flying around the place who go past you flying when i am already doing 100kmh is quite a lot.

I still waiting for the day a car does that and a undercover cop goes after him. still not happened.

Mycroft H

christmas2012 wrote: »

I think its only a good thing,i know a girl who used to work in ballygreen who is now paralysed (she was a passenger in a crashed car) she was in the passenger seat of a bmw who was going 125 an hour i mean ffs - and theres so many flying off the roads these days overtaking 5 cars in a row ,and overtaking on bends and one lane roads its too dangerous..

It's a good thing on roads that need it. I got overtaken today on a blind bend on my bike (while doing 38km/h) by a car doing at least twice my speed. All in a 50km/h zone. It's a marked speed camera zone, but I've never seen one there in 4 years. Madness.

Five euro says they will plonk a few go safe vans on the N4 out by lucan and not anywhere else for maximum catch rate.

Marquis de carabas

Im sure this has been stated countless times before but for everyone who wants to post giving out about no speed checks on dangerous roads I'd ask you to think about it a little.

On a dangerous road, bad bend, steep hill, uneven surface etc a guard pulls up in a patrol car. He then steps out and waits with his speed gun. A car flies round the corner. Provided the Guard is still alive at this point he pulls the car in. Then another car comes and what happens?

It's not all laziness and Guards don't care about revenue. I've nearly been killed having stopped a car with 3 km of clear straight road because the other driver was in a world of his own.

People are quick enough to point out when they see Guards doing dangerous things on the road and rightfully so but it seems crazy that people in a motor forum who should know better are asking them to put themselves and road users at risk just so it would look better.

ballooba

I would sincerely welcome high profile and regular campaigns on a variety of issues to raise awareness. I don't think speed is a campaign where awareness is an issue, but might form part of a balanced approach. Seatbelts, mobile phones, defective lights, overtaking lane usage, window tints etc. all worthy campaigns.

2qk4u

Great a 24 hour blitz, sure no one will be speeding for the other 720 hours of the month...

gyppo

Something to ponder on.....

If this exercise is purely for revenue generation purposes (as many on here think), why are they publicising this?

Surely they would generate more revenue by keeping it quiet, and doing the blitz in a sneaky way????

pred racer

Ill be back in France:D

Eric Cartman

so everybody just be careful on the M50 , N4 (particularly those really dangerous well lit 3 lane straight flat sections at liffey valley) , M1 , M7, outside the beehive pub , N11 and the quays , if a road is in any way bendy or dangerous feel free to speed, not a hope theyll be there.

Cicero

Only a good thing IMO. I've changed my thinking a bit on speed cameras in recent years since the speed camera signs have come in. More often than not, if theres a speed camera sign, there's a speed camera there ...somewhere.

I might have subscribed to the "cash cow" theory in the past but I can see better driving on the roads overall in terms of reduced speed.

Now, if they could only up the speed limit to 130 on motorways and 110 on dual carriageways I'd be happy.:P

hondasam

http://www.garda.ie/Controller.aspx?Page=9550


This link gives a bit more information, I don't think it's to create revenue, I think it is to create awareness.

monkeypants

Okay, so I'll be cycling past a camera van outside the graveyard in Mulhuddart on Saturday morning.

But there won't be a guard in sight while I'm being overtaken on corners with solid white lines on the way there.

keithclancy

Weather forecast for Friday is rain and thunder... expect the Gardai to be out in force ... in Spar

hondasam

keithclancy wrote: »

Weather forecast for Friday is rain and thunder... expect the Gardai to be out in force ... in Spar

I know, have yet to see a guard getting wet. All that wet gear is a waste of money.

Capri

1) It's garda 'spin' - I've seen them operate a checkpoint, then speed past me with blue lights only to set up another checkpoint on another road to create the impression there's loads of checkpoints out there.

2) Yes, some people suffer death or horiffic injuries in accidents - were they properly belted in firstly and secondly, did the driver have sufficient experience .

3)Too many L drivers out there speeding around and young wans with kids loose in the car while texting at 90kph - see it every day and not an unmarked traffic car to be seen

4) People KNOW it's revenue, NOT 'safety'

5) Pulled by an unmarked car the other day for overtaking him - he was doddering at 15kph, no indicators to say what he was doing.He kept insisting I was the one in the wrong ( for not just ignoring HIS bad driving ). Basically a bully with a Garda ID. Recorded the whole conversation in case I need to complain to the Ombudsman

RobertFoster

hondasam wrote: »

http://www.garda.ie/Controller.aspx?Page=9550


This link gives a bit more information, I don't think it's to create revenue, I think it is to create awareness.

It made me chuckle that they're calling it Operation "Slow Down". Next up, Operation "Careful Now".

RMD

What I'd like to see is the necessary equipment purchased for the Garda to allow them average speed long stretches of winding dangerous road. It's less conspicuous, doesn't put them in direct danger and you have no excuse for being over the limit on lengths of 3-5km of dangerous road.

To say this is a revenue creating exercise is stupid. They wouldn't be advertising it and there's no incentive for Gardai to issue fines and tickets.

_Kaiser_

RobertFoster wrote: »

It made me chuckle that they're calling it Operation "Slow Down". Next up, Operation "Careful Now".

The guy that comes up with the cool names is on leave

carbon nanotube

the cops in the pic look like they are about to get knocked down.

goz83

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

The guy that comes up with the cool names is on leave

No. He took early retirement to keep his pension ripe. The new guy is on that intern scheme.

Heroditas

Any chance they could swap the times to 7pm Friday night to 7am Saturday morning and maybe set up a few breathalyser checkpoints as well?

Or am I just being unreasonable? :rolleyes:

Capri

there's no incentive for Gardai to issue fines and tickets.

What about their 'performance rate' when checked by their superiors, that's the incentive to issue tickets willy nilly to all and sundry whether 'just' or not.:mad::mad:
Used to be regular speed traps on one bit of road I use, then Council changed the speed limit (upwards). No refunds for drivers who had 'broken' the (too slow) limit that they KNEW was too slow but the Gardai just did the speed trap to get revenue/figures/performance rate up , NOT because the road/speed was unsafe ( as the subsequent upward revision of the limit proved ) .
If motorists are to obey stupid (too slow) signed limits then what about believing that stupid (too high) limits are to be obeyed too leading to crashes on laneways that have 80kph limits on them ?????

Drummerboy08

Ah, a good ol'Garda bashing thread. It's been too long.

IMO, it's not a bad thing, but i'd rather see a bigger Garda presence all the time, and not just one day a month.

hoodie6029

i hope they catch some of the weekend lunatics. Mummys and Daddys ferrying kids around driving like joyriders, passing on the left, running red lights, tailgating, etc, etc.

Honestly, that under 10's match is not that important. If the kids are driving you mad pull in and put some manners on them.

mickdw

Marquis de carabas wrote: »

Im sure this has been stated countless times before but for everyone who wants to post giving out about no speed checks on dangerous roads I'd ask you to think about it a little.

On a dangerous road, bad bend, steep hill, uneven surface etc a guard pulls up in a patrol car. He then steps out and waits with his speed gun. A car flies round the corner. Provided the Guard is still alive at this point he pulls the car in. Then another car comes and what happens?

It's not all laziness and Guards don't care about revenue. I've nearly been killed having stopped a car with 3 km of clear straight road because the other driver was in a world of his own.

People are quick enough to point out when they see Guards doing dangerous things on the road and rightfully so but it seems crazy that people in a motor forum who should know better are asking them to put themselves and road users at risk just so it would look better.

What a load of crap. Its quite possible to set up a speed check on a more suitable road where people are actually driving dangerously if exceeding the speed limit. They don't need to hit around a bend or anything. There are numerous locations on most roads where you can setup on a reasonable stretch with adequate room for pulling in cars safely, roads with a suitable speed limit where if you are driving over it, you can have no complaints. Instead, they set up on 3 lane carriage with artificially low limit and take the cash.