Lunatic driving on M4 reading book

amadangomor

Just came across this- was approaching the West Leixlip/Celbridge exit and the traffic in the left lane was crawling at about 70kmph.

I passed out the line of traffic and had a quick gawk to see why the lead driver was going so slow and low and behold it's book reading guy engrossed in a book on his steering wheel. It's the third time I've seen him! Rang Leixlip Gardai and they said they cannot do anything as I didn't get his reg.

Must be something seriosly wrong with this fella. Shouldn't be sharing the roads with him.
Anyone else come across him? He drives a silver small type SUV.

coolbeans

Three times and you didn't even get the reg? Maybe fourth time lucky if it's not too late by then .

The Backwards Man

Not point in the guards throwing the book at him though is there?

Cheensbo

A silver small type suv..

Well that narrows it down to about 90%* of all cars sold in the last 4/5 years.

Seriously though, did you get a look at the book? Must be bloody good.


But for reals, that's ridiculous behaviour and I hope next time you can catch his reg!






*Percentage may be made up

chocksaway

i seen this guy before too a few months ago. he almost missed his exit and veered straight across in front of me.

amadangomor

Cheensbo wrote: »

A silver small type suv..

Well that narrows it down to about 90%* of all cars sold in the last 4/5 years.

Seriously though, did you get a look at the book? Must be bloody good.


But for reals, that's ridiculous behaviour and I hope next time you can catch his reg!






*Percentage may be made up

Was passing him each time while he was doing 70 or so in the left lane and just was curious each time to why he was crawling so much and just gawked to look sideways and each time flabbergasted and beeped the crap out of him, he just continued reading.

Will be on the look out in future and pull in behind him to get the reg and the book lol! My driving instinct is to get the hell away from him though.

amadangomor

chocksaway wrote: »

i seen this guy before too a few months ago. he almost missed his exit and veered straight across in front of me.

It really is unbelievable though and expected the Guards to send someone out further down the M4 to catch him. Must have mental issues and needs help. Dude can probably can give some good book recommendations though

amadangomor

chocksaway wrote: »

i seen this guy before too a few months ago. he almost missed his exit and veered straight across in front of me.

What exit was he getting off at? The previous two times I saw him he was further down the motorway, between Kilcock and Enfield. If anyone spots him please report and get this fella off the road.

Jesus.

You sure he wasn't just having a cheeky squint at a map?

Comhrá

At least it makes a change from the phone.

BeepBeep67

Maybe he was reading the rules of the road

prinzeugen

Years ago was alongside some twat on the Rock Rd heading towards Dublin from Blackrock reading the sports section of some broadsheet, steering the car with his knee.

L plates and in the bus lane. Fired ahead (on motorbike) and informed the Garda outside the British Embassy and he pulled him over.

As bad as drivers that think that you can get away with using a mobile at the wheel as long as it is on loudspeaker ....

amadangomor

po

Jesus. wrote: »

You sure he wasn't just having a cheeky squint at a map?

Definitely reading a book, looked totally engrossed and relaxed with it as well. As Ive said it is not the first time Ive seen him. Very strange and if I was the law would have him banned for minimum five years to learn his lesson.

amadangomor

prinzeugen wrote: »

Years ago was alongside some twat on the Rock Rd heading towards Dublin from Blackrock reading the sports section of some broadsheet, steering the car with his knee.

L plates and in the bus lane. Fired ahead (on motorbike) and informed the Garda outside the British Embassy and he pulled him over.

As bad as drivers that think that you can get away with using a mobile at the wheel as long as it is on loudspeaker ....

Disappointing thing is the Guards reaction. I forgot to mention that ive seen this fella before but the guard seemed disinterested when I said I hadn't seen the reg.
He could have been proactive and got on to the Traffic Corp further down the motorway to have a look and try to find the lunatic.

Jesus.

amadangomor wrote: »

Will be on the look out in future and pull in behind him to get the reg!

Best leave the Police work to the Police and get on with your business OP.

easygoing39

@ Alas jesus it seems the guards have no interest in finding this driver.As the OP stated,without the reg plate number the guards wont do a thing.Its up to members of the public to find the driver,note his reg plate number,report it to the guards and then they will go and respond to this drivers actions.

corks finest

amadangomor wrote: »

Just came across this- was approaching the West Leixlip/Celbridge exit and the traffic in the left lane was crawling at about 70kmph.

I passed out the line of traffic and had a quick gawk to see why the lead driver was going so slow and low and behold it's book reading guy engrossed in a book on his steering wheel. It's the third time I've seen him! Rang Leixlip Gardai and they said they cannot do anything as I didn't get his reg.

Must be something seriosly wrong with this fella. Shouldn't be sharing the roads with him.
Anyone else come across him? He drives a silver small type SUV.

But,,,,,it might have been the highway code he was catching up on,,,,,,,,,,on a serious note,doesn't surprise me,lack of care for other drivers is prevalent all over Ireland,ppl are so bloody busy,they are in their own little bubble,and don't realise half the time what they're about

Tzardine

I saw a lad yesterday playing Pokemon Go while driving along the canal in Dublin.

I was on my motorbike so gave him some sh1t about it at the next traffic lights. He was not particularly bothered.

It must have been a Pikachu or something rare I guess.

coolbeans

Jesus. wrote: »

amadangomor wrote: »

Will be on the look out in future and pull in behind him to get the reg!

Best leave the Police work to the Police and get on with your business OP.

Suppose you'd object to noting the reg and giving it to the police then? Usual crap from you. Complaining about poor driving all over this forum but making damn sure that nothing changes by discouraging reporting at the same time. Clownish attitude to have.

Walter2016

amadangomor wrote: »

Disappointing thing is the Guards reaction. I forgot to mention that ive seen this fella before but the guard seemed disinterested when I said I hadn't seen the reg.
He could have been proactive and got on to the Traffic Corp further down the motorway to have a look and try to find the lunatic.

That's just ridiculous. Thousands of cars driving and, hundreds of silver ones and you expect the gardai to go and simply find him?

Not difficult to get the reg. Gardai can then visit the driver at home, say there was a complaint and reiterate rules of the road.

Unless you were prepared to go to court and have evidence, it would be impossible to convict.

Anyway, he was probably driving an automatic.

Jawgap

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Not point in the guards throwing the book at him though is there?

Hopefully he'll read this thread......

......and turn over a new leaf......

Needles73

amadangomor wrote: »

Just came across this- was approaching the West Leixlip/Celbridge exit and the traffic in the left lane was crawling at about 70kmph.

I passed out the line of traffic and had a quick gawk to see why the lead driver was going so slow and low and behold it's book reading guy engrossed in a book on his steering wheel. It's the third time I've seen him! Rang Leixlip Gardai and they said they cannot do anything as I didn't get his reg.

Must be something seriosly wrong with this fella. Shouldn't be sharing the roads with him.
Anyone else come across him? He drives a silver small type SUV.

You could clearly see the book but not his registration plate.

amadangomor

Walter2016 wrote: »

That's just ridiculous. Thousands of cars driving and, hundreds of silver ones and you expect the gardai to go and simply find him?
pla
Not difficult to get the reg. Gardai can then visit the driver at home, say there was a complaint and reiterate rules of the road.

Unless you were prepared to go to court and have evidence, it would be impossible to convict.

Anyway, he was probably driving an automatic.

He was driving on a motorway at 70 kph, all the guard had to do was call ahead to a squad car in kilcock/enfield to go out on the motorway and track him down. This idiot sticks out like a sore thumb. He didn't want the hassle of doing some police work when it wasn't handed to him on a plate.

amadangomor

pa

Needles73 wrote: »

You could clearly see the book but not his registration plate.

I was looking sideways on when I saw him reading.Is there a reg on the side of car?

Jawgap

amadangomor wrote: »

He was driving on a motorway at 70 kph, all the guard had to do was call ahead to a squad car in kilcock/enfield to go out on the motorway and track him down. This idiot sticks out like a sore thumb. He didn't want the hassle of doing some police work when it wasn't handed to him on a plate.

......assuming there was a squad car available and close enough. Most stations only have one or two out and about at any one time. Given the population in the area it's a fair bet that they're always busy.

looksee

Needles73 wrote: »

You could clearly see the book but not his registration plate.

Yes, some people have their reg plates just on the back and front of the car, it really should be required that they have them on the sides too.

amadangomor

Jawgap wrote: »

......assuming there was a squad car available and close enough. Most stations only have one or two out and about at any one time. Given the population in the area it's a fair bet that they're always busy.

Well the guard didn't even consider contacting another station to see was there one available.

Jawgap

amadangomor wrote: »

Well the guard didn't even consider contacting another station to see was there one available.

.....there's not squad sitting around looking for something to do. Plus a squad car on the motorway then has to go significantly along the road before it can get off and come back to its district. More than likely the Guard didn't want to direct a fairly precious resource off on a bit of a wild goose chase the end result would likely have been him getting a b0ll1cking from the skipper or inspector.

Next time get the reg and the Traffic Corps can make a house call.

Needles73

looksee wrote: »

Yes, some people have their reg plates just on the back and front of the car, it really should be required that they have them on the sides too.

Some cars have two side mirrors and a mirror on windscreen plus a driver with an ability to turn their neck. Making an effort to get the reg is not as important as posting here. What exactly did he really expect guards to do ?

amadangomor

Jawgap wrote: »

.....there's not squad sitting around looking for something to do. Plus a squad car on the motorway then has to go significantly along the road before it can get off and come back to its district. More than likely the Guard didn't want to direct a fairly precious resource off on a bit of a wild goose chase the end result would likely have been him getting a b0ll1cking from the skipper or inspector.

Next time get the reg and the Traffic Corps can make a house call.

I thought there was a dedicated Traffic Corp whos priority is to look after road matters.

This would surely be a priority for them to investigate and pull out all the stops to catch this extremely dangerous and reckless driver.

Jawgap

amadangomor wrote: »

I thought there was a dedicated Traffic Corp whos priority is to look after road matters.

This would surely be a priority for them to investigate and pull out all the stops to catch this extremely dangerous and reckless driver.

Yes, and they are usually out looking after road matters - judging by their Twitter feed, they're pretty active.

Is a GTC unit pulled off, say conducting HGV checks or running ANPR checks to detect uninsured drivers a good diversion of resources? For a single driver?

Better if you had got the reg number then they could have visited him and given him the b0llicking he deserved, and checked his car over while they were there

amadangomor

Needles73 wrote: »

Some cars have two side mirrors and a mirror on windscreen plus a driver with an ability to turn their neck. Making an effort to get the reg is not as important as posting here. What exactly did he really expect guards to do ?

I was past him and concentrating on getting off at my exit. I didn't think slowing down in front of a driver not looking at the road/looking at my rear view mirror/memorising his reg while exiting the motorway safely all at the same time was the safest option.

I have every right to post this here.

amadangomor

Jawgap wrote: »

Yes, and they are usually out looking after road matters - judging by their Twitter feed, they're pretty active.

Is a GTC unit pulled off, say conducting HGV checks or running ANPR checks to detect uninsured drivers a good diversion of resources? For a single driver?

Better if you had got the reg number then they could have visited him and given him the b0llicking he deserved, and checked his car over while they were there

Fair enough

Needles73

amadangomor wrote: »

I was past him and concentrating on getting off at my exit. I didn't think slowing down in front of a driver not looking at the road/looking at my rear view mirror/memorising his reg while exiting the motorway safely all at the same time was the safest option.

I have every right to post this here.

Of course you have every right to post it and your point about slowing down in front of this idiot is fair enough. However without a reg its just an interesting story for a garda to listen to. Fully agree anyone driving and reading a book is an absolute moron who should have licence revolked

Jesus.

coolbeans wrote: »

Suppose you'd object to noting the reg and giving it to the police then? Usual crap from you. Complaining about poor driving all over this forum but making damn sure that nothing changes by discouraging reporting at the same time. Clownish attitude to have.

Where have I done that?

Vikings

amadangomor wrote: »

I have every right to post this here.

Would you be as willing to make a written statement to gardai and follow that up by attending court to give evidence on what you saw?

Wailin

Christ, this forum has gone to the dogs lately with all the bickering and smart comments

coolbeans

Jesus. wrote: »

coolbeans wrote: »

Suppose you'd object to noting the reg and giving it to the police then? Usual crap from you. Complaining about poor driving all over this forum but making damn sure that nothing changes by discouraging reporting at the same time. Clownish attitude to have.

Where have I done that?

You've been at it for years on here. I can't search your old posts unfortunately and neither would I want to.

It's just annoying that you seem to constantly speak out of both sides of your mouth, quite rightly berating bad driving but then coming out with the "snitches get stitches" mentality when somebody suggests reporting. As I said, a clownish attitude.

koutoubia

Christ, the op comes on here to complain about someone reading a book at 70 kph or whatever and then gets a kicking for not getting a reg!!

Jesus.

coolbeans wrote: »

berating bad driving.

I do not do that so you are incorrect Mr Beans

Vic_08

Jesus. wrote: »

Where have I done that?

Life is definitely too short to go searching through your posting history to prove something.

Out of all the people who regularly post on the Motors board you are the only one whose opinion I automatically discount because the large volume of nonsense you contribute stands out.

Jesus.

Fair enough. No probs with that.

*Kol*

After three sightings, no registration or type of car doesn't give the Garda a lot to go on. Even with a registration they were never going to deploy a car to go search for him straight away. They would have went to his house.

Chuchote

amadangomor wrote: »

Disappointing thing is the Guards reaction. I forgot to mention that ive seen this fella before but the guard seemed disinterested when I said I hadn't seen the reg.
He could have been proactive and got on to the Traffic Corp further down the motorway to have a look and try to find the lunatic.

a) dashcam ftw
b) ask him what the book is, it sounds great

amadangomor

Vikings wrote: »

Would you be as willing to make a written statement to gardai and follow that up by attending court to give evidence on what you saw?

Would have absolutely no problem doing either Giving someone who does something as reckless as that a wake up call would make my year.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

Jesus.

Appreciate that Pat but if I said - even in the most respectable terms - what I think is wrong with the attitude here I'd be banned for life without as much as a buy your leave. Not because anything I'd say would be remotely radical or disrespectful but because that's just the way it is here. (No disrespect to the guys looking after the Forum either).

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

Jesus.

Can't argue with that lad

KingBrian2

amadangomor wrote: »

Just came across this- was approaching the West Leixlip/Celbridge exit and the traffic in the left lane was crawling at about 70kmph.

I passed out the line of traffic and had a quick gawk to see why the lead driver was going so slow and low and behold it's book reading guy engrossed in a book on his steering wheel. It's the third time I've seen him! Rang Leixlip Gardai and they said they cannot do anything as I didn't get his reg.

Must be something seriosly wrong with this fella. Shouldn't be sharing the roads with him.
Anyone else come across him? He drives a silver small type SUV.

Was he reading the bible?:rolleyes:

Chuchote

Seriously, someone who reads a book while driving on a busy road isn't well, and doesn't sound capable of being in charge of a car. It's not a matter of "Garda! Arrest that man!" It's more a matter of getting him off the road before he hurts himself or someone else, or worse.