Zero tolerance on speeding

Chimaera

This has to be the best joke I've heard in a long time.

It's extremely difficult, if not impossible, to keep your speed accurate to within 1mph of the posted limit, and the amount of concentration required to maintain it would detract so much from your driving as to be positively lethal.

Not to mention the fact that apparently there's a 5% margin of error on the speed cameras and radar/laser guns used by the Gardaí as well.

It would be extremely interesting to see the outcome of any test case in the courts contesting this directive.

Some time ago, the British government tried to bring a similar policy on speeding, and were laughed at by all and sundry and pretty much told f**k off and cop on. Someone needs to tell Famous Séamus to do likewise methinks!!

davej

Don't all speedometers actually register a slightly higher speed than you are actually going ?

Having said that this appears to be a scam by the police to continue on with the huge amounts of cash they've been gleaning from motorists in fines. Now that motorists are actually taking heed of their speed the profits from fines have started to fall so they make the rules even more stringent.

davej

MarkR

I keep thinking about the new ali g film, and the scence where ali g is "racing" another car in a 30 zone. We'll all need digital speedo's or dynamic limiters for this to work. Either that or we'll all be cruising at 25, watching out in case we coast too quickly down a steep hill!

Mark

c0y0te

Tis just another excuse for the cops to camp out in the 30 and 40 zones (which incidentially include some motorways ... M1 anyone??) and spring their revenue generating traps in an effort to raise cash, rather than actually saving lives.

I'm pretty sure its more dangerous to drive exactly on the speed limit on most roads (given that the limit seems to change up and down with alarming ferocity on any given road)... and as mentioned above, the concentration required would certainly interfere with your drinking hand, not to mention tuning the radio and switching channels on the mobile phone.

Dammit, have they no shame?

c0y0te

Dampsquid

30 mph is the limit, so you shouldn't be going above this limit and you don't even need to drive at this limit, so why would you have to concentrate so hard to keep the car at this speed.

We've all heard this excuse, but try driving along at 20mph during your driving test and you'll fail. So what the hell are we suppose to do?

Kell

I am one of the "I think it's pathetic" brigade as well. Incidentally, the first fine for travelling at 31mph has already been given out according to a guy on the radio who got it.

There should be a reasonable margin for error. There is no difference in terms of injury between hitting someone or something at thirty or thrity three and I agree that it actually requires a fair bit of concentration to keep at a steady 30. Up until now I have never known what sub 35 was.

mike65

Pat Kenny has been going "big" on this issue, pointing out all
aspects outlined above, I suggest all Dubs do 31-32 past cameras then go to court and fight the ticket, that'll clog up the courts system nicely.

Mike.

Bo Duke

A few years ago top Gear tested three cars with timing and speed equipment.All cars had about a 10% margin above and below.Some were 33 and some like 27-28.That along with the speed camera 5% we are all being a s s r a p e d.Personally if I get caught I will fight the f u c k e r s To the highest degree.
Ar se Bandits

leeroybrown

In all fairness, it doesn't take much intelligence to see that a cars speedometer isn't accurate enough to keep below a 30 mph hard speed limit.

5% - 10% of a error at 30 mph is to be expected from an average speedometer, with the inaccuracy becoming slightly more pronounced at higher speeds.

I'm all for road safety but I can just imagine the fines rolling in on those long sweeping city dual carriage ways that have 30 mph limits slapped on them for nonsensical reasons.

I reckon that if experts on the technology in speedometers will claim that 50% or more of speedometers cannot be expected to be that accurate then there is a legitimate challange there.

seamus

How do they expect enforce this on bikes, while our speed limits are still in Miles? Most (if not all) bikes have speedos which register in kph.

While this is no defence for gross speeding, even considering to be accurate in mph is impossible.

My bike's speedo is graded every 20kph = 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 - with a mark for each ten between it. So the most accurately I can hope to judge my speed is to the nearest 10kph.

Some limits -
70mph - closest I can do is 110kph (68.75mph)
60mph - closest = 100kph (62.5 mph)
50mph = exactly 80kph
40mph - closest = 60kph (37.5mph)
30mph - closest = 50kph (31.25mph)

50kph is dangerously slow on any road bigger than an inner-city street. Are the Gardai going to bust me for doing 1.25mph over the limit?
I think figures above would easily hold up in court.

MarkR

I usually just stay on the cautious side now (jap import starlet = km) Although i'll be damned if i do 96km! (actually, i wont be damned, maybe just fined, but if they did i'll just have to bring into question the accuracy of the guns!

John2002

According to the Limerick Post this is b*llocks. There's quotations from "Insp Seamus Gallagher with special responsibility for traffic laws in Limerick".

http://www.limerickpost.ie/dailynews.elive?id=3546&category=Daily-Thu

MarkR

Good to know..

Occidental

UK Police work on and allowance of 10 percent of the speed limit + 5mph (ie 30mph + (10 percent) 3 mph + 5 mph = 38mph) so 40=49, 50=60 and so on. From the comments in the papers it seems to have been assumed that we would do the same. I find it very hard to believe that someone was done for a genuine speed of 31 and even harder to believe that it would stand up in court.

Victor

Eh, they can still do you for dangerous driving, depending on circumstances, no matter if you were doing 29 in a 30 zone.

mike65

I may have picked up my first points!

I was driving through a 40 zone at Kilmeaden on the N25 this morning going to work when I spotted a mobile speed camera at the health office. I glanced at the speedo and it read 44!

First I was annoyed with myself for not watching my speed then I was pissed-off with the Garda for being there, finally I convinced myself having two points on my licence would'nt be a bad thing as it would be a reminder to pay more attention! :eek: Sad...

Mike.

Our man in Havana

Mike

You may not get anything in the post. Were you actually pulled over?

leeroybrown

I read somewhere recently that in Europe a speedometer can have a 10% - 15% error but only in the upwards direction.

ie. It supposedly (at the time of sale of the car) should be calibrated such that it never understates the speed.

Seemingly this is somewhere in the Gardaí's list of excuses.

Anyone who drives on Irish roads (even at exactly 30Mph) will know that everything will be rattled out of calibration sooner rather than later.

Chimaera

Well, there's a European directive that states that speedometer error should only overread i.e. it should show a speed higher than the actual speed.

It's not very well enforced (I'm not even sure if it can be) and there's no way of knowing what your speedometer is doing short of running your own calibration test. That said, in a lot of the road tests I've read, the speedo has over-read. Go figure!!

leeroybrown

The problem is that the Gardai seem to be basing their policy on the exact specefication.

mike65

Originally posted by Bond-James Bond
Mike

You may not get anything in the post. Were you actually pulled over?

Nope, I drove on as he stood behind his camera thingy just off the road. I'm not sure if that means anything better or worse...

Mike.

Borzoi

Unfortunately it means nothing, assume you've beeen hit, and act accordingly, as you may not get a notice for months.

Again something I think is very unfair, that you can get done, and not find out about it for such a long time.