Near Misses Volume 2 (So close you can feel it)

My new hybrid came with a bell. I use it all the time, way more than I anticipated. My route takes in a lot of the new dodder greenway which is shared space for a lot of the journey. Buggys, people three abreast, dogs on extending leads all get a ding and a little wave of thanks from me after. No issues so far, much better than shouting.

They can't even enforce traffic watch, they seem to do everything they can to not actually do their jobs. There's no hope if we ever get a portal for uploading videos. Absolutely no reason why we can't take a photo of a car blocking the footpath and result in a guaranteed fine. Sure didn't somewhere in New York open a portal where you get part of the fine for submitting stuff? Imagine. Pretty sure there was a camera in Dublin city centre that was unused for several years because the council and Gardai couldn't decide who was in charge of it. If there was fixed speed cameras or red light cameras it would be the same story as traffic watch.

I'm guessing the fine money can't pay staff? There must be a paperwork issue, I don't believe smaller speeding offences go to court. If they stood in hot spots they'd clean up. With the laser gun they don't need to pull people over, surely they can log tenfold the amount of offences.

If they stood somewhere like an overpass on the N4 or M50 they'd clean up in just 30 minutes. I drive them daily using cruise control and the majority of traffic will drive by as if I was doing 10-20 under the limit. Regardless of the time, weather or volume of traffic.

Speeding has become so normalised in the last year or so. If I'm the only car on a stretch of road a queue will eventually form behind me because I'm doing the speed limit. People see a gap in front so they drive faster until they get behind the next car. If there's a bus lane on a 50-60 road there's a guarantee I'm getting undertaken because there's a gap in front of me and the person doesn't understand why I'm not driving faster. I had someone behind me throw up their hands because I wasn't driving faster when there was nobody in front of me. All doing the speed limit. It's just too casual these days and nothing is being done about it. I genuinely don't get it.

I don't know how accurate that 10% rule is as not everyone's odometer is the same and your tyre pressure can even affect the speed shown. I usually use my Google Maps app which gives your current speed and allow about an extra 3kmph for Gardaí speed gun tolerances which I hear can be disputed in court.

I think it all goes to the root of why speeding is seen as socially acceptable. Sure how is anyone to know what speed they're actually doing? And if nobody knows, shur who gives a s**t. "How dare you take issue with my driving, I'm not doing 110kmph, I'm doing 100 and you're doing 90" goes the conversation between two people with different notions of how to stick to the same speed limit.

It also probably goes to the root of why there is so little effort by the Gardai/ State to punish speeding drivers.

Just back from a walk to get a coffee to see a driver use the contra flow bus/ cycle lane to overtake stationary traffic from the pedestrian lights at Institute of Education on Leeson St all the way down to the St Stephens Green crossroads - ostensibly to use the right turn 'lane' there, only for him to cut back in at the very last minute to continue straight on. Nobody bats an eyelid. It's all just so blasé.