Meanwhile on the Roads...

CramCycle · 18-06-2026 10:58PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124561645#Comment_124561645

What you are talking about on a speedo is not taken into account, but if you get pinched at 124kmph on a 120kmph, your speedo likely said 130kmph or more, so you have no excuses, but the van doesn't care what your speedo says, it records the speed, and that is it. It records 124kmph, your speedo says 130kmph, it will issue the fine as doing 124kmph

So just to be clear, the GoSafe vans (not Garda ones) do not change or manipulate the number they detect. They are checked and the "tolerance" you describe, which is so small, it is below the 0.1kmph reported, is not a thing.

magicbastarder · 18-06-2026 11:21PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124561645#Comment_124561645

You said it yourself that the cars were most likely showing 115 on their speedometer, so it's entirely feasible that even though the speed vans can be calibrated to within +/- 1, they are actually calibrated to 10% below to remove the possibility of being challenged on their accuracy.

(probably telling people what they already know) the reason why car speedos will overestimate the car's speed is because they're not measuring speed, they're measuring the revolutions of the wheels; and the speed can vary based on tyre pressure and tyre sizes, for the same reading for RPM.

if i stuck tyres on my car which had a diameter 10% bigger than the standard set, the car would be going 10% faster for the same reading on the speedo, so there's a built in fudge factor to allow for these variations; a speedo cannot legally underestimate speed but can overestimate it by 10% + 4km/h.

so if your actual speed is 100km/h, the speedo can legally read between 100 and 114km/h.

no such fudge factor is required for a go safe van, they measure the actual speed of the car.

and they can only measure speed once the car is within 40m of them; so someone caught at 109km/h was either a) doing 109km/h and didn't spot the van which is deliberately painted to be as conspicuous as possible, or b) was doing well over 109km/h and spotted the van and braked hard to be caught doing 'only' 109km/h.

but we can't expect judges to put that much thought into these matters.

standardg60 · 19-06-2026 12:01AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124561955#Comment_124561955

This is the rub, how can it be defined in law that the actual speed detected coincided with what was showing on the speedometer given the variables you mentioned, what if the tyres fitted were 10% smaller?

This has to be allowed for, the triggering of a speed van photo has to be in excess of this, otherwise it would be flashing everyone travelling at 102, which clearly doesn't happen.

magicbastarder · 19-06-2026 12:16AM

how can it be defined in law that the actual speed detected coincided with what was showing on the speedometer

unless i'm misreading your question, it's not?

the speedometer is designed to be roughly accurate, but there's no requirement for it to be precise. but it cannot display a speed that's lower than your actual speed, for obvious reasons. you can't be driving at 70 and the car giving you the mistaken impression you're doing 50.

Seth Brundle · 19-06-2026 12:24AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124562040#Comment_124562040

It is up to the vehicle owner to ensure that their vehicle is roadworthy and that any modifications made to it do not affect it's roadworthyness. Someone with incorrect tyres are responsible for any misreading (and if they were on smaller tyres then their speedo would be over-reading to a much higher extent i.e. showing 100km/h when they're actually doing 90km/h - someone with larger tyres is going to be under-reading their speed e.g. doing 110 when the speedo says 100, but that's their problem to rectify!).

Compliance with the law is the responsibility of the driver. There is absolutely nothing written into law saying that a driver is entitled to a certain leeway above the speed limit- thankfully!

Just in addition, when a car leaves the factory it cannot, by law, under-read. It will more than likely over-read to compensate for tyre wear, etc.

As for the Gosafe speed vans, they photograph everything over the speed limit and a garda manually reviews the photos to decide which ones to send forwards for points/fining.

CoffeeImpala · 19-06-2026 01:32AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124559859#Comment_124559859

My reading from the article is that the judge nudged and winked the prosecution into withdrawing the cases rather than ruling them dismissed.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124559889#Comment_124559889

No ruling means there's nothing to appeal and no chance of a knuckle rapping.

Paddigol · 19-06-2026 11:42AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124561955#Comment_124561955

Possibly the best summation of the issues I've read! Especially the reality that almost everyone pinged speeding has probably been braking to try and avoid getting caught. It's what causes tailbacks anytime there's a speed van on a busy road.

Dr_Colossus · 19-06-2026 01:11PM

Another and better example of the ineffectiveness of our judiciary. Caught for the 6th time with no insurance and already disqualified and only given a suspended sentence and a partly fine of €500. What a victory for the champ on the court steps as per pic:

https://www.independent.ie/county/longford/banned-driver-caught-behind-the-wheel-for-the-sixth-time-without-insurance-walks-free-from-court/a/157401379.html

hans aus dtschl · 19-06-2026 01:20PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124561955#Comment_124561955

Diameter?

Maybe 10% more circumference rather than diameter. 1.1 (diameter x Pi). Sorry this is probably derailing the thread…

khamilton · 19-06-2026 01:50PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124561645#Comment_124561645

There doesn't have to be a tolerance on the reading, there has to be a threshold under which AGS decide not to prosecute based on the calibration specifics of the equipment used for detection.

It's no different than alcohol readings on blood tests, there is a tolerance in the analysis, and evidence is presented as to the reading and the margin of error/uncertainty - modifying the reading to account for a hypothetical tolerance is altering the evidence and will immediately render it something that can't be used in court (as we saw with the Evidenzer case a couple of years back).

The fact is, if a speed gun, a gatso, or a GoSafe vans catches you and says you were doing 109km/h, this is what the equipment detected you as doing. The equipment will have a calibration certificate which says it is accurate to +/- X km/h at various speeds, but the detected speed is the detected speed - it isn't 'detected speed minus a random figure we came up with'

Case law is clear that as long as a speed detection tool has a valid calibration certificate, it's readings can't be challenged in court.

Vehicle speedometers overread because UN regulations allow (well actually, encourage) them to:

https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/main/wp29/wp29regs/2018/R039r2e.pdf Section 5.4

I'm not aware of anyone in Europe successfully arguing that because their speedometer wasn't calibrated, it wasn't their fault they were speeding. Separately, it isn't a defence to speeding that you were "unaware of your speed" because your speedometer was reading incorrectly.

Paddigol · 19-06-2026 02:32PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124563250#Comment_124563250

Agree with the sentiment. But perhaps if successive governments had overhauled the prison system/ increased prison capacity the Courts may be more amenable to wasting a cell on some ass**le like that as opposed to someone convicted of assault etc. It's easy to blame the judges, as they're the ones who make the headlines, but the problems go much further than that.

Dr_Colossus · 19-06-2026 02:39PM

Fair point and agreed. Before the last general election when canvassers came calling asking about concerns I only mentioned our lack of prisons and spaces within. They were completely taken aback and had no response, it was quite bizarre but apparently not an issue that was previously raised.

I'll blame the judges so for not applying a meaningful fine and a serious deterrent to driving uninsured. With a clean license and full NCB I struggle to get insurance for €500 so a fair fine I believe is something like €5,000. Could be used to fund future prison space.