Penalty Points - Worried

another question

Just wondering does anyone know how long it takes for the gardai to send out a Fixed Penalty Notice. I passed a speed van on Sunday around 2pm and I'm not sure if I was over or not. Anxiously waiting for the post since.

Would I be safe if I get nothing by Friday does anyone know?

another question

Or would it be really stupid to go to the local garda station and ask if I got clocked? I'm up the walls about it.

tempnam

Why so worried?

eviltimeban

Might take a few weeks. Don't worry about it. 2 points is nothing. And they expire after a few years.

another question

eviltimeban wrote: »

Might take a few weeks. Don't worry about it. 2 points is nothing. And they expire after a few years.

It's 3 points and I haven't even my license a year yet. Plus I could really, really do without the €80 fine. God a few weeks, the stress!

And I'm a named driver and was going to go about getting my first individual insurance in the next few weeks, 3 points is going to sky rocket it isn't it.

I was so careful the whole way on my journey and I was doing somewhere between 65-70 with two cars up my ass in heavy rainfall. I'm just not sure if the van was in the 80km zone or the 60km zone which are both relatively close together along the road I was travelling.

Would I be daft asking in the garda station?

corktina

just chill and wait for the Postman....you can't change anything by worrying about it

(even if you were doing 70 on your speedo in the 60 limit, the chances are you might not actually be over the limit as speedos are very inaccurate

Mycroft H

eviltimeban wrote: »

Might take a few weeks. Don't worry about it. 2 points is nothing. And they expire after a few years.

Its 3 points now since the first of August.

elgriff

another question wrote: »

Or would it be really stupid to go to the local garda station and ask if I got clocked? I'm up the walls about it.

Don't do this!

ironclaw

Garda station can't tell you anyway, not because they won't, they can't as they don't have access to it especially if it was a GoSafe van.

OP, I'd wager you are perfectly ok. You'd want to be doing 66km/h on your speedo in a 60km/h zone to even be close to actually speeding, and definitely on the far side of 70km/h on your speedo to get a fine.

As regards your insurance, it won't affect you much. Anything up to 4 points is generally accepted as 'ok' by previous standards and have no effect on you premium. The fact you have a license such a short period (And I'm guessing you are under 25) will have a far greater impact in the general price.

And as has been said, there's nothing you can do anyway. So there is no point stressing about it.

another question

ironclaw wrote: »

Garda station can't tell you anyway, not because they won't, they can't as they don't have access to it especially if it was a GoSafe van.

OP, I'd wager you are perfectly ok. You'd want to be doing 66km/h on your speedo in a 60km/h zone to even be close to actually speeding, and definitely on the far side of 70km/h on your speedo to get a fine.

As regards your insurance, it won't affect you much. Anything up to 4 points is generally accepted as 'ok' by previous standards and have no effect on you premium. The fact you have a license such a short period (And I'm guessing you are under 25) will have a far greater impact in the general price.

And as has been said, there's nothing you can do anyway. So there is no point stressing about it.

Thanks for that, it made me feel a bit better about it. I'm 25, passed my test in September last year, waiting to have the licence a full year before I go looking for insurance and this has thrown me completely. Even at the moment quotes are around the €1100 mark for fully comp.

ironclaw

another question wrote: »

Thanks for that, it made me feel a bit better about it. I'm 25, passed my test in September last year, waiting to have the licence a full year before I go looking for insurance and this has thrown me completely. Even at the moment quotes are around the €1100 mark for fully comp.

There people younger than you with 9 points+ getting reasonable quotes. Your fine!

And you are also worrying about something that hasn't happened yet. Worry about it, if, you actually get a letter!

PrettyBoy

I wouldn't worry, you probably weren't speeding. I know it went from 2 to 3 points a few days ago but in my experience no insurance company cares about 2 points and it won't make any difference to your premium.

If you do get points just tell your aul one (or whoevers policy it is that you're on) to take them for you :P

ironclaw

PrettyBoy wrote: »

If you do get points just tell your aul one (or whoevers policy it is that you're on) to take them for you :P

That's a good point actually. The fine will be issued to the registered owner, which I presume isn't you OP? So you have that option, legally grey of course, but its available to you.

Supergurrier

Totes ma gotes.

Like total crisis.

another question

ironclaw wrote: »

That's a good point actually. The fine will be issued to the registered owner, which I presume isn't you OP? So you have that option, legally grey of course, but its available to you.

Unfortunately that's a non runner! I got the lecture 'I have a clean license for over 25 years and I'm not taking your points if you got any'. So that was the end of that converaation

ianob7

Does anyone know if white Garda Transit vans carry out speed checks ? I passed one on friday and I'm pretty sure I was over...

ianob7

Does anyone know if white Garda Transit vans carry out speed checks ? I passed one that was parked up on the side of the road leaving lucan on friday and I'm pretty sure I was over...

_Kaiser_

ianob7 wrote: »

Does anyone know if white Garda Transit vans carry out speed checks ? I passed one that was parked up on the side of the road leaving lucan on friday and I'm pretty sure I was over...

If a full size Transit then yes... if one of those Transit Connects then no.

They're always out that way too so if you were a fair bit over you may have been done alright

dgt

another question wrote: »

Thanks for that, it made me feel a bit better about it. I'm 25, passed my test in September last year, waiting to have the licence a full year before I go looking for insurance and this has thrown me completely. Even at the moment quotes are around the €1100 mark for fully comp.

Having had my licence for 6 years and counting, with 5+ years NCB and renewal quote last year of €1080 fully comp on a 99 406, I'd say you're doing well if not much better than others. (obviously I threw a hissy fit in the insurance and got it to €800, now even lower since I changed my car)

What van did you pass? The go safe vans flash, think the garda ones do too. And did you see the front or back of the van?

another question

dgt wrote: »

Having had my licence for 6 years and counting, with 5+ years NCB and renewal quote last year of €1080 fully comp on a 99 406, I'd say you're doing well if not much better than others. (obviously I threw a hissy fit in the insurance and got it to €800, now even lower since I changed my car)

What van did you pass? The go safe vans flash, think the garda ones do too. And did you see the front or back of the van?

It was a big white van, Garda splashed across it and I think it had black & white check squares somewhere on it too. It was parked on a footpath! Just around a bend so no driver would ever have seen it in time. It was faced the same direction that I was travelling so I met it's back end first on towards it's front end. The Garda had the gun held out the passenger window. Nothing in the post yet...

Henry Ford III

If the fine is coming, it's coming. Worrying about it won't stop it unfortunately.

djimi

I dont think handheld guns can record the speed (as in to issue a ticket at a later date), but I could be wrong about that.

keithclancy

djimi wrote: »

I dont think handheld guns can record the speed (as in to issue a ticket at a later date), but I could be wrong about that.

Do those things even work ?

I've passed Dutch cops holding it out the window and they just seem to be cursing at it the whole time and not stopping anyone that seems to be speeding.

_Kaiser_

If it was a handheld speed gun then I wouldn't worry too much - to the best of my knowledge the only ones that can record and issue fines are:

- Tripod mounted cameras operated by a Garda
- Full-sized Camera vans like a Transit (Garda or "GoSafe") and they must be facing away from you as the camera is in the back, however this doesn't mean that if you pass one on the opposite side of the road while speeding that it won't snap your rear numberplate
- Fixed cameras (the grey boxes on poles) at the side of the road

Could be wrong but unless something has changed you should be fine if they didn't pull you over there and then.

ironclaw

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

If it was a handheld speed gun then I wouldn't worry too much - to the best of my knowledge the only ones that can record and issue fines are:

- Tripod mounted cameras operated by a Garda
- Full-sized Camera vans like a Transit (Garda or "GoSafe") and they must be facing away from you as the camera is in the back, however this doesn't mean that if you pass one on the opposite side of the road while speeding that it won't snap your rear numberplate
- Fixed cameras (the grey boxes on poles) at the side of the road

Could be wrong but unless something has changed you should be fine if they didn't pull you over there and then.

This is completely correct. And to add, very few camera vans in Ireland emit a visible flash. GoSafe do not flash. A flash or no flash is not indicative of a fine being issued. All vans have been seen to flash on DVR both over and under the speed limit.

Also, no idea what you saw but a Garda doing a speed check out of a van is highly unusual to the point where I would say your eyes were playing tricks on you.

dgt

djimi wrote: »

I dont think handheld guns can record the speed (as in to issue a ticket at a later date), but I could be wrong about that.

Hair driers do look for speed, the garda has to pull you in and issue a ticket

ironclaw

dgt wrote: »

Hair driers do look for speed, the garda has to pull you in and issue a ticket

Whilst correct in practise, legally he doesn't have to put you in. In fact their is no onus for a permanent record to be produced of the offence. Madness but no one has the pockets to challenge it.