Operation Slow Down

Atomic Pineapple

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0706/operation-slow-down-gets-underway.html

A 24-hour garda crackdown on speeding gets under way this morning.

"Operation Slow Down" began at 7am and will continue until 7am tomorrow.

Gardaí say the operation is designed to raise awareness of the dangers of excessive speed and reduce the number of speed related road crashes, which will save lives and reduce injuries.

Statistics shows Friday and Saturday are the most dangerous days on the roads, and July and August the peak months for fatal collisions.

Gardai say a 1% reduction in speed leads to a 4% decrease in fatal crashes.

Anyone know any more specific details on how they are raising awareness and also how they are making sure to target excessive speed as stated rather than punishing people just going over a stupid limit?

Ardent

Dunno, but I saw a guard with a speed gun on St Stephens Green this morning. Never seen a guy there before.

techdiver

Ardent wrote: »

Dunno, but I saw a guard with a speed gun on St Stephens Green this morning. Never seen a guy there before.

Ah yes, St Stephens Green. On par with the back roads of Donegal with regards to danger.

Same as last weekend, I saw a GoSafe van on Pembroke Road, once again another straight safe road. Along with the continue lazy presence of a Garda with a speed gun at the Point side of the East Link.

Operation Slow Down, more like Operation Revenue Generation to me.

fletch

I got stopped this morning on my bike on the quays for breaking a red light. In fairness to me, I stopped while the light was red but just moved off early before it was green (the sequence had been changed to increase the time between the light turning red in the other direction and the light turning green in my direction so it caught me out). In fairness to the Guard, he just gave me a good telling off and told me to be on my way.
It didn't slow me down though as I had to cycle quicker to make up for the lost time

Ardent

techdiver wrote: »

Operation Slow Down, more like Operation Revenue Generation to me.

Ain't that the truth.

UDP

draffodx wrote: »

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0706/operation-slow-down-gets-underway.html





Anyone know any more specific details on how they are raising awareness and also how they are making sure to target excessive speed as stated rather than punishing people just going over a stupid limit?

surely breaking the speed limit is considered excessive speed.

I assume they are raising awareness by people posting articles on online forums along with it being all over the news etc. For instance I know now that deaths have decreased but injuries have increased and that a 1% decrease in speed can result in a 4% decrease in fatal accidents.

Nonoperational

Have gotten 4 points and €160 fines in the past few months doing 57 and 58km/hr. It's very hard to take, and neither were even close to being in areas known to be dangerous and neither were areas hilighted on the map on the guarda website.

Atomic Pineapple

UDP wrote: »

surely breaking the speed limit is considered excessive speed.

I assume they are raising awareness by people posting articles on online forums along with it being all over the news etc. For instance I know now that deaths have decreased but injuries have increased and that a 1% decrease in speed can result in a 4% decrease in fatal accidents.

I disagree, the speed limits here are not done based on road condition, traffic throughput, time of day, weather conditions, amount of other traffic at the time etc.... all of which are ever changing variables that would both raise and lower an appropriate speed at any given time. With this in mind someone slightly breaking a posted speed limit could not be considered to be excessively speeding by any reasonable person unless the conditions at the time were dire (ice, snow, lots of traffic)

The vast majority of Irish motorists are also unaware of motoring forums and come tomorrow they todays news and the information it presented will be all but a distant thought.

Yakuza

gpf101 wrote: »

It's very hard to take, and neither were even close to being in areas known to be dangerous and neither were areas hilighted on the map on the guarda website.

Oddly enough, speed limits apply on areas that aren't on that map too...
But I agree, getting points for being done at 57/58 (presumably in a 50) is harsh.

Graduated punishments would be fairer:
0 points+fine for up to 10% over the posted limit
2 points+larger fine from 10% to 25% over the posted limit
6 points+mega fine from 25% to 50% over the posted limit
50%+ over the limit - automatic ban (12 points)
(Just postulating a framework, the numbers could be tweaked)

The cynic in me feels that even if we could all retrofit something to our cars to use GPS or something to prevent our cars exceeding the limits, the Government wouldn't push it as they'd miss the revenue from folks getting done for relatively minor infractions.

Green Diesel

techdiver wrote: »

Ah yes, St Stephens Green. On par with the back roads of Donegal with regards to danger.

Same as last weekend, I saw a GoSafe van on Pembroke Road, once again another straight safe road. Along with the continue lazy presence of a Garda with a speed gun at the Point side of the East Link.

Operation Slow Down, more like Operation Revenue Generation to me.

Prefer to see them in urban areas like that than on motorways to be honest. Might catch the 70kph-in-all-areas drivers.

Jemmy

Heard about this last night, on the raod at 7.20am and no sign of anything over a 40km journey to work on main commuter roads! What a surprise :rolleyes:

UDP

gpf101 wrote: »

Have gotten 4 points and €160 fines in the past few months doing 57 and 58km/hr. It's very hard to take, and neither were even close to being in areas known to be dangerous and neither were areas hilighted on the map on the guarda website.

So you got got breaking the speed limit twice. Have you learned yet?

I do agree that points should work on a graduated basis. 1-10km/hr over = 1 point, 10-20km over = 2 points etc..

nice_guy80

for example

In westmeath, Longford, Roscommon, Offaly where I mainly drive the garda traffic corps always have the guns out on long stretches of road with plenty of side verges and no real dangers. or on a long straight road on the way into a town, where people might forget to slow down
they know people will take advantage of a good road

same with the speed cameras. located on stretches of road where a fatality happened. HOWEVER. Most of those dangerous stretches have been upgraded and so the road presents a much reduced risk of an accident. the policy is flawed.

however, you will not see the Gardai out on the bad road, full of bends, with one/two places to pass out. These are the real dangerous roads imho

more enforcement is the way to go, not cameras and speed guns

Atomic Pineapple

Yakuza wrote: »

Graduated punishments would be fairer:
0 points+fine for up to 10% over the posted limit
2 points+larger fine from 10% to 25% over the posted limit
6 points+mega fine from 25% to 50% over the posted limit
50%+ over the limit - automatic ban (12 points)
(Just postulating a framework, the numbers could be tweaked)

This would be great but only if there was a full assessment of the current speed limits and new speed limits based on the actual road itself rather than the size of the towns it connects. And within that road allow for dynamic changing of the speed limit.

There's far too many limits in the country that are ridiculous, both high limits on bad road and low limits on good roads.

Wossack

didnt see any this morning on my drive to work

Heroditas

Wossack wrote: »

didnt see any this morning on my drive to work

Miserable day here in Dublin. You won't seem them out for the rest of the day.

Nonoperational

Yakuza wrote: »

Oddly enough, speed limits apply on areas that aren't on that map too...
But I agree, getting points for being done at 57/58 (presumably in a 50) is harsh.

Graduated punishments would be fairer:
0 points+fine for up to 10% over the posted limit
2 points+larger fine from 10% to 25% over the posted limit
6 points+mega fine from 25% to 50% over the posted limit
50%+ over the limit - automatic ban (12 points)
(Just postulating a framework, the numbers could be tweaked)

The cynic in me feels that even if we could all retrofit something to our cars to use GPS or something to prevent our cars exceeding the limits, the Government wouldn't push it as they'd miss the revenue from folks getting done for relatively minor infractions.

Thank's Mr Obvious. Was done by the vans in areas not marked as being van zones on the map. I know I broke the limit and I have the points. Driving around like a bloody grandmother from now on :mad:

UDP

nice_guy80 wrote: »

however, you will not see the Gardai out on the bad road, full of bends, with one/two places to pass out. These are the real dangerous roads imho

i can imagine there are practical and safety issues with catching people on bendy roads with regards catching speeding, catching bad manoveurs and then getting onto the road to chase them down.

MugMugs

Did 100Km today and didn't see anything !

Gary ITR

I'll just do all my speeding tomorrow

Cassidy28

MugMugs wrote: »

Did 100Km today and didn't see anything !

Same as me, normally I would see a Go safe van or two, but this morning there was absolutely nothing, and actually other people noticed this and the speed being done this morning was some of the worst that I have seen in a long time, or maybe it's something to do with the schools being off, less traffic more speed.

_Kaiser_

Didn't see any in South Dublin this morning either but as above, it's rotten out today so no surprise.

The Garda they had on the radio was annoying me though advocating everyone to slow down regardless - if its a 100 km/h road and it's safe to do 100, you DO 100.. not 90/80/75. At the very least don't hold up everyone else who doesn't have all day to dawdle behind you.

As for his "only 6 mins in the difference" argument. That 6 mins could cost you 25-40 mins when you hit traffic in town in rush hour.

No doubt they'll be all over the main exits out of town later (N-M7/N-M4/N-M3 etc) with people heading home on those oh so dangerous motorways :rolleyes:

MuppetCheck

techdiver wrote: »

Operation Slow Down, more like Operation Revenue Generation to me.

This operation was announced well in advance. You know what you have to do to avoid a fine and points. If someone choses to ignore the warning it's their own stupidity that's the revenue generator here.

It's like an exam where you are told whats coming up and study something else completelty.

Yakuza

gpf101 wrote: »

Thank's Mr Obvious. Was done by the vans in areas not marked as being van zones on the map. I know I broke the limit and I have the points. Driving around like a bloody grandmother from now on :mad:

Don't shoot the messenger, bud. I did say I thought you'd been harshly done by. I was pointing out that just because an area isn't on that map, you're never going to find speed enforcement activity on it. In fact, as I understand things, the private vans work on those maps, the guards can set up checkpoints everywhere else.

eringobragh

MuppetCheck wrote: »

This operation was announced well in advance. You know what you have to do to avoid a fine and points. If someone choses to ignore the warning it's their own stupidity that's the revenue generator here.

It's like an exam where you are told whats coming up and study something else completelty.

There will always be people that will be oblivious to current news...no doubt the 30k zone on the Quays was heavily manned this morning :rolleyes:

smash

It's raining, there' no way the Garda will be out in that!

pippip

They were on the Blackrock (Dublin) Bypass inbound this morning, across from Frank Keane BMW. High vis jacket and handgun.

Saw them pulling in an Alfa 159, unfortunate as he must have only been doing about 60 in the 50 zone, definitely wasn't flying.

Atlantic Dawn

Spotted 3 of the €307000 a week contract speed vans owned by Fianna Fail supporter Xavier McAuliffes company in the past week in my area, all on wide open roads that were fish in a barrel spots.

what a nuisance
guess i'll be going home tonight very very slowly then
:rolleyes:
wish they'd have an "operation stop people hogging the overtaking lanes for no reason"

Colonel Sanders

Seems to me that in Iteland the only 2 traffic offences enforced are speeding & drink driving. The following are fine 99% of the time (some may not be actual motoring offences but you get the drift)

- speaking on mobile phone while driving
- breaking red lights & completely ignoring other traffic signals
- using indicators optionally
- parking anywhere as long as you stick your hazards on
- crawling along a perfectly good, straight 100k N road at 60
- sitting in the middle lane of a 3 lane road
- basically being a rubbish driver

Yakuza

Colonel Sanders wrote: »

- crawling along a perfectly good, straight 100k N road at 60

Maybe some of the purchasers of post-'08 diesel scrappage deal slowboxes don't realise that their speedo is now in km/h and they think they're doing 60mph?

Markiemarkso

Drove from Sligo to Galway this morning, no garda or speed vans to be seen.
It would be nicce to see Operation backroads for a change though.

manutd

Seen a Garda with handgun, standing behide a sign to hide. He was standing about 10meters before you go in to a 80 km/h from a 60km/h zone. It is a good piece of road, hard-shoulder, living around here for 8 years never seen an accident or heard of one on it.

But on the way home on a roundabout a NI female driver, well she didn't even brake or slow down. She was taking the first exit off. What happened, she went into a car also coming off the roundabout but was only doing around 40km/h.

I pulled over, the female NI driver was not keen on staying. the Garda came about 40mins later. Ambulance had alright come and gone, thankfully there was no injury. But the first car was smashed badly behind.

The funny thing about it was the Garda who was doing the speed check, was the one who came. Took him 40mins, but you could walk it in 10mins, and he had a squad car as well. So basically checking speeders on a safe road is more important than an accident?

Bandara

manutd wrote: »

Seen a Garda with handgun, standing behide a sign to hide

now thats zero tolerance !

Jimmy Bottlehead

Seen a Garda with a speed gun on the Ballymun on-ramp to the M50 this morning. Never ever seen one there before.

In fairness to him, he was pointing the gun AWAY from the traffic, so you'd have to ignore the Garda jeep and speed PAST it for them to catch you.
Pointless operation, but at least he gave people a chance.

Sids Not

Driving around soutd dublin all morning..not only did i not see any speed traps...i didnt even see a garda car ....

Too wet i suppose...:p

christmas2012

At least it got people talking and thinking about the speed they do which they dont in their day to day routine of im not going to die driving..and theres so many road deaths :pac:

The other day i was driving there was a guy behind me in a jeep,he overtook me on a bend facing into oncoming traffic,the car on the other side of the road had to last minute pull into the hard shoulder and beeped and flashed his lights at the guy overtaking,listen..if that guy on the opposite end of the road was not paying attention it could have been a head on collision..

Atomic Pineapple

christmas2012 wrote: »

The other day i was driving there was a guy behind me in a jeep,he overtook me on a bend facing into oncoming traffic,the car on the other side of the road had to last minute pull into the hard shoulder and beeped and flashed his lights at the guy overtaking,listen..if that guy on the opposite end of the road was not paying attention it could have been a head on collision..

And targeting speeding would have prevented that near miss how?

piston

draffodx wrote: »

And targeting speeding would have prevented that near miss how?

It is my suspicion that the government here have taken the attitude that accidents will always happen and if we slow things down, they won't be as serious.

christmas2012

draffodx wrote: »

And targeting speeding would have prevented that near miss how?

he was going fast,before he got to where i was in the road,i was miles ahead of the guy,he passed about 5-6 cars in a row at speed.with speed you give yourself less time and room to manouvre or slow out of a hazardous situation in the road,lets say there was a horse in the road,which happened to me once,coming out from limerick near a halting site a few horses broke loose,and one crossed the road right in front of me,if i was going fast,me and the horse would have been killed..so speed does matter..

how do i think speeding factors into it?the fact that irish people dont think speed is a problem..when you have two cars collide at such speed you have no chance of survival your meat entertwined with metal.disgusting and horrific and very sad for the family but true.

Sids Not

How many times have you thought to yourself, "If i'd have been going 1kph faster/slow, then THAT wouldnt have happened"....;)

"THAT" being anyrthing that might endanger your life or others ,vehicles ,animals , shrubbery, etc...

Whats meant for ya will never pass ya by........;)

Atomic Pineapple

christmas2012 wrote: »

he was going fast,before he got to where i was in the road,i was miles ahead of the guy,he passed about 5-6 cars in a row at speed.with speed you give yourself less time and room to manouvre or slow out of a hazardous situation in the road,lets say there was a horse in the road,which happened to me once,coming out from limerick near a halting site a few horses broke loose,and one crossed the road right in front of me,if i was going fast,me and the horse would have been killed..so speed does matter..

how do i think speeding factors into it?the fact that irish people dont think speed is a problem..when you have two cars collide at such speed you have no chance of survival your meat entertwined with metal.disgusting and horrific and very sad for the family but true.

Speed doesn't matter in the incident you described, only poor judgment from the driver involved, speed didn't make him dangerously overtake.

martingriff

I know this has been said by one poster but for all asking wht the guards are not on backroads and the such it is more than likely due to safety. Dont forget that they need a safe place to park and set up for the garda cars and to set up the go slow vans.

Sids Not

Sids Not wrote: »

How many times have you thought to yourself, "If i'd have been going 1kph faster/slow, then THAT wouldnt have happened"....;)

"THAT" being anyrthing that might endanger your life or others ,vehicles ,animals , shrubbery, etc...

Whats meant for ya will never pass ya by........;)

none
safe driving

blackwhite

Not one, but two of them along the N11 at lunchtime. Both checking people heading into City.

Jeep with a tripod out at the Stillorga/Kilmacud lights.

Garda van pulled in before UCD flyover. The van was a strange one. Was in a line of traffic, first two cars at the Fosters Avenue lights zipped off down the road, past the van and no flash. As the group of traffic I was in passed them at approx 50-55kmph (limit is 60) the thing flashed three times in quick succession??? Not too worried about it as I know I was safely under the limit, but confused as to why it didn't flash for the two cars 50-100 yards further down the road who were clearly going faster than everything else.

paddyland

I find this whole speeding campaign seriously flawed. Like everything else in this country, we cannot seem to debate things intelligently and openly, and maybe learn something in the process.

Speeding causes carnage. The faster the speed, the greater the carnage.

But the accidents that facilitate the carnage are generally caused by one or a combination of three things. 1) Driver error, including a) insufficient driving education or experience, b) lack of care and attention and c) bad or deliberately dangerous attitude; 2) Mechanical failure; 3) Road engineering.

Cutting speeding can cut the serious effects of accidents, and cut the number of fatalities, which in itself is reason enough to clamp down on it.

But the wrong message is being sent out. The message being sent out is that speeding in itself causes accidents, and therefore by not speeding, accidents will not occur. I beg to differ.

If someone is stupid or ill educated enough to cause an accident at a black spot on the road above the speed limit, they are generally just as likely to cause a similar accident below the speed limit. Cutting the speed will give extra time for avoidance of an accident, but will not cure the lack of education or awareness of a careless driver.

In my experience, the larger proportion of the driving public are simply not educated or experienced enough for safe daily driving, and within that, some are woefully inadequately educated. The message being sent out to these people is that, so long as they don't speed, everything else they do is okay or acceptable. We are all familiar with the grossly dangerous and ignorant behaviour of far too many drivers on the road, and much or most of it is below the speed limit, or even at a stop.

Have we decided in this country now, that educating drivers properly, promoting the Rules of the Road, and enforcing road traffic law across the board, is simply too costly or too much trouble? Or even more worryingly, do we have a general viewpoint now that proper driver education and the Rules of the Road is simply irrelevant? Is targetting speeding drivers, and in the wrong locations at that, simply the easiest cop out, while announcing that we are 'doing something' about traffic accidents?

By all means enforce speeding law. It quite obviously produces results in the cutting of road fatalities and serious injuries.

But for God's sake, stop with this ridiculous message that cutting speeding absolves all responsibility for proper driving education, and the Rules of the Road generally. Irish driving standards are very poor, regardless of how bad they may be elsewhere in the world. We really should be trying to raise standards and awareness. I fear we are dumbing it down instead.

Big Nasty

I hear Gaybo was on the wireless this morning slating all the lunatic Donegal drivers. :pac:

mikeecho

spotted 2 speed checks today with in 15min of each other.
First one had a Jeep with horse trailer pulled in.

The second one was running radar.. yes radar, they must have pulled out every piece of speed detection equipment from the store room

eringobragh

mikeecho wrote: »

spotted 2 speed checks today with in 15min of each other.
First one had a Jeep with horse trailer pulled in.

The second one was running radar.. yes radar, they must have pulled out every piece of speed detection equipment from the store room

Id say it was well out of tune at this stage!

mfceiling

Van parked this evening inbound at the small dual carriageway at the Spawell....a notoriously dangerous stretch of road with fatalities in the hundreds...no sorry wait, a handy way of generating a few quid...

piperh

Not a single garda sighting either travelling N3 from cavan to ballymount and back again. I love their version of high visibilty. :rolleyes: