National "slow down" day

BobBobBobBob

An Garda Síochána and RSA Safety Initiative

KEY MESSAGE – National Speed Enforcement & Slow Down Day Friday 31st May – Saturday 1st June

Summary:
An Garda Síochána and the Road Safety Authority (RSA) will conduct a national speed enforcement operation “Slow Down” for a 24 hour period from Friday 31st May to Saturday 1st June 2013.
Based on collision data to date in 2013 over 38% of all fatal collisions have occurred on Thursdays and Fridays. Tragically there have been 71 people killed on our roads to date representing an increase of 11 on this date in 2012.
The aim of “Slow Down” is to remind drivers of the dangers of speeding, increase compliance with speed limits and act as a deterrent to driving at excessive and inappropriate speed.
This operation will consist of high visibility speed enforcement activities as well as delivery of a road safety message through the use of national and local media.

corktina

lol....thats two days....

Wile E. Coyote

I've been on a go slow since last week....




....stupid timing belt... :mad:

Borderfox

What about national catch criminals day?

aujopimur

I'd prefer a national speed up day, targeting the the people that impede the progress of others.

ardmacha

What about national catch criminals day?

Presumably they hope to catch criminals, those who are not breaking the law won't be bothered.

Max Power1

Bah
They had to do it the first weekend I have the 535d..
This was meant to be the driving weekend!

alias no.9

This is a bit like old Graybos 'appeals' though maybe with a little less condescension.

The speed limit compliant will slow down, the non compliant will probably continue unabated, the turbulence in traffic flow caused by the disparity in speed between different vehicles will increase. The goal should be to get all traffic moving at as close to the same speed as possible, reduce the number of overtaking maneuvers, lane changes, rapid speed changes (braking and accelerating), evasive maneuvers, etc... Whenever these appeals are being made, they should be tempered with instruction not to impede traffic flow.

S28382

Why do they tell us they are doing these things? they should just do it and actually catch people speeding, now that people know its happening they will be on the look out for the speed guns.

Anan1

S28382 wrote: »

Why do they tell us they are doing these things? they should just do it and actually catch people speeding, now that people know its happening they will be on the look out for the speed guns.

I think that's the idea.

S28382

Anan1 wrote: »

I think that's the idea.

Its stupid telling us they are doing it sure just because they do it for a certain period of time doesnt mean its going to have any impact... sure when its over then people wont be on the look out as much.

Big Nasty

How about a national stick to your own poxy lane ya fookin retard day?

Wile E. Coyote

S28382 wrote: »

Its stupid telling us they are doing it sure just because they do it for a certain period of time doesnt mean its going to have any impact... sure when its over then people wont be on the look out as much.

Bank holiday weekends are some of the busiest times on our roads increasing the chances of accidents. They have these 'campaigns' so everyone will have it fresh in their minds and slow down. If they were to announce it every week that they were having an enforcement campaign people would just ignore it.

S28382

Wile E. Coyote wrote: »

Bank holiday weekends are some of the busiest times on our roads increasing the chances of accidents. They have these 'campaigns' so everyone will have it fresh in their minds and slow down. If they were to announce it every week that they were having an enforcement campaign people would just ignore it.

Im pretty sure they dont need to announce they are going to have speed traps they should just do it and catch people in the act and maybe they will learn from that.

the culture of deference

Borderfox wrote: »

What about national catch criminals day?

Some chance of that.

If they want to target the masses they need to put more storylines into fair city or emmerdale or corn street, thats about the only way to get the irish talking about stuff

650Ginge

Borderfox wrote: »

What about national catch criminals day?

Speeders are criminals too....are they at least in technical definition.

S28382

650Ginge wrote: »

Speeders are criminals too....are they at least in technical definition.

I wouldnt class myself a criminal if i go 10kph or so over the limit but if its 20kph over than lock me up and throw away the key.

Anan1

650Ginge wrote: »

Speeders are criminals too....are they at least in technical definition.

But speeders, unlike drink drivers, are not the current bogeyman.

Wile E. Coyote

S28382 wrote: »

Im pretty sure they dont need to announce they are going to have speed traps they should just do it and catch people in the act and maybe they will learn from that.

If they didn't announce it every so often we wouldn't have threads like this. I guarantee the majority of people who have heard about this will drive with a lot more care that weekend.

Thousands of people are issued with penalty points and fines each year for various motoring offences. Getting caught doesn't deter them but when they hear that the guards are going to be out in force on a specific weekend they might slow down a bit.

S28382

Wile E. Coyote wrote: »

If they didn't announce it every so often we wouldn't have threads like this. I guarantee the majority of people who have heard about this will drive with a lot more care that weekend.

Thousands of people are issued with penalty points and fines each year for various motoring offences. Getting caught doesn't deter them but when they hear that the guards are going to be out in force on a specific weekend they might slow down a bit.

So why not be out in force for the rest of the year?

Kenny Logins

BobBobBobBob wrote: »

Based on collision data to date in 2013 over 38% of all fatal collisions have occurred on Thursdays and Fridays.

Wow. That is alarming. I drive on Thursday and Friday every week!

Anjobe

650Ginge wrote: »

Speeders are criminals too....are they at least in technical definition.

I don't think so - I'm pretty sure motoring offences are distinct from criminal offences under Irish law.

CiniO

Oooops.
And it's actually just 31st May when I have a long route to drive (over 1000km)
Looks like I'll have to take some extra time.

_Kaiser_

BobBobBobBob wrote: »

[Based on collision data to date in 2013 over 38% of all fatal collisions have occurred on Thursdays and Fridays. Tragically there have been 71 people killed on our roads to date representing an increase of 11 on this date in 2012.

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Wow. That is alarming. I drive on Thursday and Friday every week!

Crap.. TODAY is Thursday!! :eek: I guess I better walk home and work from home tomorrow so! :rolleyes:

This is just the usual token bank holiday enforcement routine targeting the usual cash cows suspects.

There's a hell of a lot more wrong with driver behavior on our roads and motorways than someone doing a few km/h over when it's completely safe to do so!

But that WOULD require effort/enforcement!

Valetta

S28382 wrote: »

So why not be out in force for the rest of the year?

Lack of resources.

They are out catching real criminals.

Marlow

BobBobBobBob wrote: »

Based on collision data to date in 2013 over 38% of all fatal collisions have occurred on Thursdays and Fridays. Tragically there have been 71 people killed on our roads to date representing an increase of 11 on this date in 2012.

What they don't mention is, that only a minority of these fatal collisions are down to speeding. And the ones were speeding is one of the contributing factors, it may not the main cause.

That figure is just ALL fatal collisions, no matter what the primary cause was.

/M

corktina

crap I thought it was weekend and just driven all the way from Cork at 20km/h

Bigcheeze

When I lived in Australia it was double penalty points on a bank holiday weekend. A lot more effective than a national slow day.

Also it was 3 points for most stuff so if caught you were half way to losing your license.

Alun

How about a "National Drive at a Reasonable, Safe Speed Day" ... for some that'll mean slowing down, certainly, for many, many others it'll mean speeding up.

Dord

Bigcheeze wrote: »

When I lived in Australia it was double penalty points on a bank holiday weekend. A lot more effective than a national slow day.

Also it was 3 points for most stuff so if caught you were half way to losing your license.

Sounds like a special at Dunnes Stores. In fairness though, it might actually work here.

CiniO

So...

I travelled nearly 1000km all over Ireland yesterday (31st May)
Crossed 9 counties.

On my way I encountered 0 speed cameras, 0 checkpoints, 0 breathelising checkpoints, and 1 gard with hairdryer speedgun just outside Dublin airport.


If that's how national slow down day looks like, then I'm not surprised no one bothers to obey any traffic law in Ireland.

ironclaw

Makes me laugh this carry on by the RSA.

RSA Fact Book: http://www.rsa.ie/Documents/Road%20Safety/Crash%20Stats/2011_Road_Collision_Fact_Book.pdf

In two-vehicle fatal collisions - see Figure 9 - the most frequently cited contributory
action is ‘went to the wrong side of the road’ (52 per cent) followed in turn by ‘other
action’ (37 per cent) and ‘exceeded safe speed limit’ (11 per cent)

And:



And:



So basically, speed has nothing to do with death on our roads. But it is the easiest to catch and the biggest revenue maker. So hey, why don't be all pretend its a serious problem and dedicate a few days of the year to it. :rolleyes:

galwaytt

ironclaw wrote: »

And:



So basically, speed has nothing to do with death on our roads. But it is the easiest to catch and the biggest revenue maker. So hey, why don't be all pretend its a serious problem and dedicate a few days of the year to it. :rolleyes:

Exactly. The Speed Kills BS is disproven by the RSA's own data. Always has been.

Note too they also deliberately use the word "safe speed" instead of legally posted limit. This is because safe speed allows them to inflate the figure's further. The actual % of people involved in accidents, and breaking the LEGAL limit is even smaller. But that wouldn't look good on a graph or serve their agenda now would it ?

MikeD22

That's the RSA's mentality to driving for ya.

Lets not teach people how to drive properly, lets just fine them when they do it wrong.

dr.fuzzenstein

CiniO wrote: »

So...

I travelled nearly 1000km all over Ireland yesterday (31st May)
Crossed 9 counties.

On my way I encountered 0 speed cameras, 0 checkpoints, 0 breathelising checkpoints, and 1 gard with hairdryer speedgun just outside Dublin airport.


If that's how national slow down day looks like, then I'm not surprised no one bothers to obey any traffic law in Ireland.

It's what all Garda "blitzes" have looked like since I came to Ireland 20 years ago.
Compared to the rest of Europe, Ireland has the most easy going and relaxed law enforcement.
Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Probably bad once the criminals decide they have the state outgunned.

dr.fuzzenstein

MikeD22 wrote: »

That's the RSA's mentality to driving for ya.

Lets not teach people how to drive properly, lets just fine them when they do it wrong.

Almost.
It's more like "People here will never drive properly, so let's just slow them down to a speed where they can't kill themselves anymore".
A blanket 60 km/h speed limit for the entire country would have Gaybo and his crew cream their pants.

flynnlives

wonder how and what determines "safe speed"

and does the terrible state of the roads in this country part explain "other action"

Hermy

BobBobBobBob wrote: »

The aim of “Slow Down” is to remind drivers of the dangers of speeding, increase compliance with speed limits and act as a deterrent to driving at excessive and inappropriate speed.

Given that one such check point was on the N4 where the road improvements are finished but the 60km/h speed limit hasn't been lifted and the road is ready to take traffic at 100km/h you would be hard pressed to believe this had anything to do with safety.

Chris_Heilong

There were defiantly more camera vans out, my friend is a bus driver and commented on this even though he had not heard of go slow day.

slimjimmc

flynnlives wrote: »

wonder how and what determines "safe speed"

and does the terrible state of the roads in this country part explain "other action"

Isn't it obvious? Safe speed is the speed at which you can drive safely and stop safely if necessary given the current driving conditions, including the terrible state of the roads. For example 70km/h is under the legal speed limit but if you're driving around a blind bend on a narrow road at 70km/h you're well above the safe speed.

CiniO

slimjimmc wrote: »

Isn't it obvious? Safe speed is the speed at which you can drive safely and stop safely if necessary given the current driving conditions, including the terrible state of the roads. For example 70km/h is under the legal speed limit but if you're driving around a blind bend on a narrow road at 70km/h you're well above the safe speed.

The difference is that speed limit is the same for everyone (or at least most as some vehicles have different speed limits applied).

Safe speed depends on plenty of factors, like actual weather conditions, amount of traffic, type of surface, car driven and it's condition, driver and his skills and condition (tired, sick, drunk, etc).

In general in the same spot, for one safe speed might be 40km/h while for the other in exactly the same place it might be 90km/h.

Also safe speed doesn't need to be within speed limit.

In appropriate conditions, 200km/h might be a safe speed on motorway, while it won't be legal as it's above 120km/h limit.

dr.fuzzenstein

Safe speed is usually used to make it your fault even tough you did nothing wrong if the copper doesn't like you.

Cienciano

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Safe speed is usually used to make it your fault even tough you did nothing wrong if the copper doesn't like you.

Bit like the boards.ie rules and the mods :pac:

slimjimmc

CiniO wrote: »

The difference is that speed limit is the same for everyone (or at least most as some vehicles have different speed limits applied).

Safe speed depends on plenty of factors, like actual weather conditions, amount of traffic, type of surface, car driven and it's condition, driver and his skills and condition (tired, sick, drunk, etc).

In general in the same spot, for one safe speed might be 40km/h while for the other in exactly the same place it might be 90km/h.

Agreed. When I said "current driving conditions" I meant everything and anything that affects driving. Perhaps I should have been clearer.

CiniO wrote: »

Also safe speed doesn't need to be within speed limit.

In appropriate conditions, 200km/h might be a safe speed on motorway, while it won't be legal as it's above 120km/h limit.

Indeed, but I'll be amazed if either RSA or the Gardaí would consider any speed in excess of the speed limit as a safe speed, especially when reporting on fatal collision statistics.

CiniO

slimjimmc wrote: »

Indeed, but I'll be amazed if either RSA or the Gardaí would consider any speed in excess of the speed limit as a safe speed, especially when reporting on fatal collision statistics.

True.
They woulnd't.

patrickc

there were 2 garda cars on the M8 northbound this afternoon checking for speeding both pulled in about 20 miles apart.

ZENER

Why does it take a Bank Holiday to spur them on ?! The traffic corp should be on the job all the time.

There was one at the top of the Pinnock Hill heading towards Swords this evening. Garda 4WD with a tripod and 2 Gardai. That stretch of road is 60km p/h. They nabbed quite a few by the looks of it - 2 pulled in as I passed by.

A few years ago I witnessed a very nasty crash caused by a Transit doing an illegal right turn into Kettles Lane on that stretch of road. There's a double white line there now but drivers will still make the right turn ! The Transit was stopped waiting to turn when a car coming from the roundabout at Kealys didn't see him and rear ended it pushing it into oncoming traffic causing it to hit 2 other cars. No doubt caused by the speed of the car trying to overtake other traffic coming out of that roundabout, that's where a speed camera would be a good deterrent ! The white lines don't deter !

Ken

jamesr123

ZENER wrote: »

Why does it take a Bank Holiday to spur them on ?! The traffic corp should be on the job all the time.

I wonder what traffic corp does be doing for the rest of the year lol I very rarely see them and I do lots of driving.. On the rare occassion I do see them they always seem to be in a decent motor

_Kaiser_

patrickc wrote: »

there were 2 garda cars on the M8 northbound this afternoon checking for speeding both pulled in about 20 miles apart.

Saw one of them. Girl in it looked very bored and in no hurry to go anywhere. Think she was just there as a deterrent rather than actual checking though cause there was no speed gun in sight.

Jimmy Bottles

National Slow Down Day caused me to get caught in a convoy travelling at 60kph on the N71 yesterday for miles due to some old fogey at the front.

This sort of driving would be a fail in the driving test.

ironclaw

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

Saw one of them. Girl in it looked very bored and in no hurry to go anywhere. Think she was just there as a deterrent rather than actual checking though cause there was no speed gun in sight.

They are often at Cherrywood on the M50, either side in the Garda only ramps in the morning. They are doing nothing but running down the clock and causing people to brake unnecessarily.