Penalty points are more a function of where you live & not how bad a driver you are

Rabidlamb

I live in the sticks in South Kildare & take the M9/M7 for 99% of my daily commute.
Obviously never seen a Checkpoint in 8 years along that route, what Traffic Corp speed checks there are are well flagged by oncoming motorists and are very rare anyway.
I'm not a good driver & I know it yet I'll never see a penalty point unless I cause an accident [touch wood].

I have friends & work colleagues who always seem to hover around the 6 point mark due to the vastly increased enforcement in Dublin.
I would consider them more skillful & conscientious drivers than myself, I see them being unfairly penalised cause of where they live.

I have of course no evidence to backup my hunch, it may just be the anecdotal ramblings of a mad man.

listermint

Id imagine its entirely true.

Anan1

There is a certain amount of luck involved, but most of it is down to observation.

scrawnyass

Its 100% the case.95% luck IMO

corktina

I'd say I break the law every time i drive and yet in 40 years i've only had one speeding ticket* and that was pre-points. You get a bit of a sixth sense for likely spots for a trap and unmrked Garda Cars are usually dead easy to spot (no tow bars, no stickers, no number plate surrounds, no alloys , no metallic etc, D registration

* and no other ticket of any sort

ballooba

Dublin has practically zero enforcement too in my experience. It's a free for all.

djimi

If you have accumulated 6 points then you are not being unfairly penalized.

Anan1

djimi wrote: »

If you have accumulated 6 points then you are not being unfairly penalized.

+1, six points means that you're driving too fast for your abilities.

corktina

yep 6 points should be a huge wake-up call!

Rabidlamb

corktina wrote: »

yep 6 points should be a huge wake-up call!

But they get nabbed for doing 60km/hr on the Tallaght bypass at 7 in the morning.
I could do 140km/hr door to door & never see a ticket, not saying I do mind you

The_Nipper_One

Both my father and brother work in Dublin in jobs which involve heavy amounts of driving. Not a point between them in about 10 years.

Anan1

Rabidlamb wrote: »

But they get nabbed for doing 60km/hr on the Tallaght bypass at 7 in the morning.

Like I said at the start, I think it likely that poor observation got them nabbed.

ironclaw

corktina wrote: »

unmrked Garda Cars are usually dead easy to spot (no tow bars, no stickers, no number plate surrounds, no alloys , no metallic etc, D registration

* and no other ticket of any sort

A slowly dying generality unfortunately. Last few weeks I've spotted a Subaru Forester and a Volvo S40. Also a very special 2007 WX unmarked bike. Unless you really clued in you wouldn't have spotted any of it. PSNI have a few lovely Golf's too including GTI spec.

Anan1

ironclaw wrote: »

A slowly dying generality unfortunately. Last few weeks I've spotted a Subaru Forester and a Volvo S40. Also a very special 2007 WX unmarked bike. Unless you really clued in you wouldn't have spotted any of it. PSNI have a few lovely Golf's too including GTI spec.

The habitual speeder will of necessity be really clued in.

SCOOP 64

Garda Unmarked car will get you every time!

clarkey1980

Rabidlamb wrote: »

But they get nabbed for doing 60km/hr on the Tallaght bypass at 7 in the morning.
I could do 140km/hr door to door & never see a ticket, not saying I do mind you

You would have some job parking the car at 140kph

Patrick2010

Rabidlamb wrote: »

But they get nabbed for doing 60km/hr on the Tallaght bypass at 7 in the morning.
I could do 140km/hr door to door & never see a ticket, not saying I do mind you

Tallaght bypass has an 80 km limit, never see a speed trap on it and I drive it twice a day.

bazza1

Patrick2010 wrote: »

Tallaght bypass has an 80 km limit, never see a speed trap on it and I drive it twice a day.

I have often seen a garda speed gun hiding behind the bus shelter outside the Spawell catching cars coming down the slip road from the M50! Fish in a barrell!

Victor

Rabidlamb wrote: »

But they get nabbed for doing 60km/hr on the Tallaght bypass at 7 in the morning.
I could do 140km/hr door to door & never see a ticket, not saying I do mind you

Realise that transport and road safety in particular are about 'whole systems' - roads, vehicles, users, environment, etc. The only parts that individual users control are themselves and their vehicle - and often they do that poorly. You admit to not being the world's greatest driver - you are aware of (some of) your problems. Your friends may not be. Environment between Dublin and Kildare aren't very different, so that leaves the roads and other users. The Tallaght Bypass is a lot busier than the M9 and will be much less forgiving if something happens, so it makes sense thera there is more incident and more enforcement on the Tallaght Bypass.

Patrick2010 wrote: »

Tallaght bypass has an 80 km limit, never see a speed trap on it and I drive it twice a day.

If I'm correct, only from Avonmore Road to Cookstown Road. http://maps.google.ie/maps?saddr=N81&daddr=N81&hl=en&ll=53.285743,-6.366663&spn=0.026169,0.084543&sll=53.285986,-6.346793&sspn=0.006542,0.021136&geocode=FXkbLQMdvDuf_w%3BFQwELQMd54ie_w&mra=dme&mrsp=0&sz=16&t=m&z=14 Avonmore Road to Spawell and Cookstown Road to Citywest are 60km/h

bazza1 wrote: »

I have often seen a garda speed gun hiding behind the bus shelter outside the Spawell catching cars coming down the slip road from the M50! Fish in a barrell!

Then they need to slow down. Lots of people forget they are no longer on a motorway when they have exited.

And that isn't the Tallaght Bypass.

Patrick2010

[QUOTE=
If I'm correct, only from Avonmore Road to Cookstown Road. http://maps.google.ie/maps?saddr=N81&daddr=N81&hl=en&ll=53.285743,-6.366663&spn=0.026169,0.084543&sll=53.285986,-6.346793&sspn=0.006542,0.021136&geocode=FXkbLQMdvDuf_w%3BFQwELQMd54ie_w&mra=dme&mrsp=0&sz=16&t=m&z=14 Avonmore Road to Spawell and Cookstown Road to Citywest are 60km/h
Then they need to slow down. Lots of people forget they are no longer on a motorway when they have exited.

And that isn't the Tallaght Bypass. :)[/QUOTE]

You are correct. Also right about the Spawell not being on the Tallaght bypass. I don't have a problem with the 60 km limit there either. Not sure though about the 40 km limit on the road from Spawell to Templeogue bridge, used to regularly see a Guard behind the bus shelter there.

mickdw

I used to travel the m50 south turning off at tallagh going towards tempelogue past the spawell every morning. It was disgraceful the way the motorbike cop used to catch people.
To join that road after leaving the m50, the only safe way was to blend with the speed of the traffic on the road specially in busy morning traffic. The people adtempting to join were then being pulled in by the cop.

Boskowski

corktina wrote: »

I'd say I break the law every time i drive and yet in 40 years i've only had one speeding ticket* and that was pre-points. You get a bit of a sixth sense for likely spots for a trap and unmrked Garda Cars are usually dead easy to spot (no tow bars, no stickers, no number plate surrounds, no alloys , no metallic etc, D registration

* and no other ticket of any sort

So you developed all these fine skills but somehow can't manage to just drive properly???

delta_bravo

Patrick2010 wrote: »

You are correct. Also right about the Spawell not being on the Tallaght bypass. I don't have a problem with the 60 km limit there either. Not sure though about the 40 km limit on the road from Spawell to Templeogue bridge, used to regularly see a Guard behind the bus shelter there.

Its not 40 its 50 mainly because the fact that cheeverstown and st Michael's house are on both sides of the road and I think in the 90s a person was killed on that stretch of road. Seems reasonable to me