Penalty Points

unkel · 07-06-2008 11:32PM

Well said, cormie!

Moi, zero points. I'm a lucky ba$tard

Notorious · 08-06-2008 12:22AM

I've no points, like the majority. I did get caught speeding though, doing 90-ish in a 50kph zone. I was rushing to college and wasn't even watching the speed. The Garda was hidden behind a fence that was missing a piece of wood. Thankfully he was sound and let me off, needless to say I've learned my lesson.

tech77 · 08-06-2008 12:25AM

Whatever about the arbitrary nature of speed limits and the rights of motorists to exercise reasonable discretion (which i agree with btw) there is no doubting the irrationality of having:
1) a 100kph limit on a tortuous, dangerous country road
compared with
2) a 50kph limit on a straight, non-residential dual-carriageway.

One place in Limerick has a 100kph limit approaching a roundabout FFS.

This thoughtless approach to implementing speed limits along with the frequent "fish in a barrel" approach of gardai just breeds cynicism.

The very nature of catching someone speeding with a radar gun invariably depends on a having a good stretch of straight road rather than the truly dangerous roads- ironically defeating the purpose.

Mossy Monk · 08-06-2008 12:29AM

Speed limits should be consistant. the dual carriage ring road around Waterford has a 60km/h speed limit yet a narrow twisty country road has a speed limit of 80km/h. It all reminds me of this picture.

godtabh · 08-06-2008 12:33AM

cormie wrote: »

It's VERY safe to go over the speed limit on many many roads.

Safe for who?

The pedestrian you didnt see?

The tractor pulling out of the field?

The car pulling out of a drive way?

A road with a certain super elevation for a certain speed?

Roads maybe capable of higher speeds that doesnt mean they should be allowed to carry higher speeds.

Most roads are designed to a higher speed but to allow for idiot drivers the speeds are set lower because in reality very few people drive at the legal speed limit.

I do alot of road safety stuff with work. Its amazing how much of our road network doesnt claim more lives its so poorly designed, managed and run.

Simple things like forward visabiltiy, road surface, junction types means that speed is a big factor in accidents.

Clare Bear · 08-06-2008 12:38AM

Notorious wrote: »

I've no points, like the majority. I did get caught speeding though, doing 90-ish in a 50kph zone. I was rushing to college and wasn't even watching the speed. The Garda was hidden behind a fence that was missing a piece of wood. Thankfully he was sound and let me off, needless to say I've learned my lesson.

You lucky fooker! Why would he leave you off? Did you do "favours" for him?

Bob the Builder · 08-06-2008 12:43AM

The road on the way out of town to my house is a 50 mph road, yet you'd be lucky to stay on the road at 30mph with the bumps on it. The road running paralell to it about a mile away is a 60mph zone, and it would probably be safe (with the exception of a few corners) to do 75 mph.

The whole speed system is a joke, it should be measured per road, and the careless, stupid fúckers who think it's okay to stay at 60mph on a very dangerous bend in the road are stupid.

gardaí go for the easy fish and for a road presence - they always stay away from the dangerous roads.

Thats not a good system imo, when the aim is to nail as many people with points as possible rather than keep the roads safe.

Dead__Meat · 08-06-2008 01:02AM

I know its 12 points and then your gone. TBH I not sure how many points Ive accrued I had some taken off and some added pain in the ass trying to keep track and it turnng out to be a even bigger nightmnare finding out exactky how many points I have. All of my points I have gotten at the M1 Santry. I cab think of better olaces for a Gatso van to be deployed. Having it there is like shooting fish in a barrel.

robinph · 08-06-2008 01:13AM

Have previously had 12 on my license. Got them all in one go though so actually had a nice clean license as soon as the ban ran out 18 months later so the insurance didn't care about it and have had a nice clean license for years now.

board om · 08-06-2008 01:30AM

i have either 1 or 3 points, im not sure.

i got 2 a few years ago for going through a traffic light just as it went red. it was the first day of operation free flow so the copper said she had to give me the points. she said any other time she would have let me off with a warning but becuase it was operation free flow they had to make an example of me. talk about bad timing. i think they might be gone now though.

i got another 1 last year for taking an ilegal turn. that cost me 1 point and an €80 fine. couldnt argue that becuase it was right in front of the copper.

board om · 08-06-2008 01:35AM

does anyone remember that lad in the papers a few years ago when the points first came in? he got the 12 points all in one day, and it was his first day out driving or something stupid like that. i think he was one of those boy racers.

i cant remember the full details but he got all the points in one day because he was caught on the same speed cameras going in different directions. i cant remember if he had just started driving or if he had just passed his test. anyway, it was p1ss funny.

Rb · 08-06-2008 02:00AM

robinph wrote: »

Have previously had 12 on my license. Got them all in one go though so actually had a nice clean license as soon as the ban ran out 18 months later so the insurance didn't care about it and have had a nice clean license for years now.

How'd you manage that?!

Rb · 08-06-2008 02:02AM

cormie wrote: »

It's VERY safe to go over the speed limit on many many roads. If you're a competent driver you should be able to know what speed to go without needing a sign to tell you. Driving past a school when the students are finished, speed limit is 50kmph, don't be law abiding and go 49, be sensible and go much slower. Empty motorway at 3am? Very safe to go above 120kmph.

I wouldn't call going 140kmph on an empty 3 lane motorway at 3am "speeding", going faster than the speed limit, yes, but not speeding, speeding is going faster than the conditions allow for in my opinion.

do you hope that all the cars back in the days of MPH who went 75MPH on Motorways "find out the hard way" because they were going 5MPH over the limit even though the limit is now 75MPH/120KMPH?

I have to disagree with you there Cormie.

tech77 · 08-06-2008 02:09AM

board om wrote: »

does anyone remember that lad in the papers a few years ago when the points first came in? he got the 12 points all in one day, and it was his first day out driving or something stupid like that. i think he was one of those boy racers.

i cant remember the full details but he got all the points in one day because he was caught on the same speed cameras going in different directions. i cant remember if he had just started driving or if he had just passed his test. anyway, it was p1ss funny.

LMAO.
That is a funny story.

kmart6 · 08-06-2008 02:13AM

0 for me thank god!:D

patrickc · 08-06-2008 02:50AM

I openly admit i speed, i adjust my speed to the conditions though, 0 points

08-06-2008 03:37AM

Davidius wrote: »

If you're caught speeding you should have your license taken away.

There was a recent case in the UK where a local driver who used that particular road twice every day, went from a clean license to banned in two days as she was unaware that it was 30 not 40 mph as she thought. :eek:

A camera van was parked up for a few days there! :mad:

Had she been stopped first time she wouldn't have sped again....

cormie · 08-06-2008 05:16AM

tech77 wrote: »

Whatever about the arbitrary nature of speed limits and the rights of motorists to exercise reasonable discretion (which i agree with btw) there is no doubting the irrationality of having:
1) a 100kph limit on a tortuous, dangerous country road
compared with
2) a 50kph limit on a straight, non-residential dual-carriageway.

One place in Limerick has a 100kph limit approaching a roundabout FFS.

This thoughtless approach to implementing speed limits along with the frequent "fish in a barrel" approach of gardai just breeds cynicism.

The very nature of catching someone speeding with a radar gun invariably depends on a having a good stretch of straight road rather than the truly dangerous roads- ironically defeating the purpose.

Mossy Monk wrote: »

Speed limits should be consistant. the dual carriage ring road around Waterford has a 60km/h speed limit yet a narrow twisty country road has a speed limit of 80km/h. It all reminds me of this picture.

This is why it's more important to pay attention to road conditions and what's happening/could happen ahead than to a sign with a speed limit and not a target speed.

kearnsr wrote: »

Safe for who?

The pedestrian you didnt see?

The tractor pulling out of the field?

The car pulling out of a drive way?

A road with a certain super elevation for a certain speed?

Roads maybe capable of higher speeds that doesnt mean they should be allowed to carry higher speeds.

Most roads are designed to a higher speed but to allow for idiot drivers the speeds are set lower because in reality very few people drive at the legal speed limit.

I do alot of road safety stuff with work. Its amazing how much of our road network doesnt claim more lives its so poorly designed, managed and run.

Simple things like forward visabiltiy, road surface, junction types means that speed is a big factor in accidents.

Yes, safe for all the aforementioned as long as the driver is aware of possible hazards occurring, in which case, if these were at risk of occuring, the driver shouldn't be going too fast for the conditions (I say "too fast" instead of "breaking the speed limit" because it may still be safe to be above the posted limit with these hazards threatening). It's all down to the conditions and the road. Taking a bend on an 80kmph road, you must think what happens if it just so happens that you come across a cyclist on your left, while there is another cyclist on the other side of the road and a silly motorist overtakes "just a cyclist, there was loads of room" and you're going too fast that even jamming on the brakes will still result in colliding with the cyclist, or overtaking will collide with the car.

kearnsr wrote: »

Simple things like forward visabiltiy, road surface, junction types means that speed is a big factor in accidents.

Speed is a factor in many crashes, I wouldn't say "accidents" because in most cases the driver will be going too fast for the circumstances and have other bad traits that all combine and increase the risk of a crash.

Rb wrote: »

I have to disagree with you there Cormie.

No prob

flanum · 08-06-2008 06:00AM

Rb wrote: »

Hopefully each and every one of you.. ends up in a crash

:eek:

kelle · 08-06-2008 09:57AM

I thought I had received 2 points, then realised my husband was driving my car at the time. Despite me being in the passenger seat on that occasion and constantly warning him he was going past 30mph (as it was then), he continued to drive as normal even though there was a heavy Garda presence on the streets.

byrner88 · 08-06-2008 11:30AM

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

No points option added. For some reason it doesn't allow you to enter 0.

kowloon wrote: »

No 0 option

there is an option for no points it says like ireland at the eurovision - nil points

Sherifu · 08-06-2008 11:52AM

byrner88 wrote: »

there is an option for no points it says like ireland at the eurovision - nil points

I assume that's what AC added...

Wertz · 08-06-2008 12:42PM

Penalty points?

* Gardai on the road have no way to check if a motorist has accumulated any penalty points since licences are not endorsed and penalty point information is actually kept on the local authority National Driver File.

* Under the present legislation, if a driver reaches 12 points it is up to the driver to surrender his licence.

* If they fail to do so there is provision for the gardai to be notified but many gardai are in the dark as to what to do next.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/penalty-points-system-in-chaos-as-gardai-call-tds-for-advice-127201.html

The above was the case back in 2006, I heard an update on the issue on matt Cooper's show about 6 months back and the situation hadn't changed...it most likely still hasn't.

So how many points have I? None, not that it really matters, if the above issues haven't been resolved.
As for speeding, I go above the speed limit, where I think it's safe to do so.
I never speed in inter-urban 50kmph zones and I'll usually only do 35 or less in town centres, housing estates, around schools...but extra urban straight, main thoroughfares with stupidly low limits of 50 and 60 I generally ignore, in line with the average roaduser, preferring 60 and 70-75kmph respectively. On motorways 120 is my cruising speed, what I do on the inside lane, if I'm in the overtaking lane I'll do anywhere between 120 and 150kmph ir order to get past the vehicle(s) I'm overtaking and in order to get back into the inside lane...similalrly on single carriageway roads, I'll break the speed limit by as much as necessary in order to overtake a slower vehicle as quickly as I can (I find it's a lot more dangerous being on the wrong side of the road for too long, than it is breaking a limit for less than 10 seconds).
On back twisty turning country roads with frankly retarded limits like 80 and 100, I'll do what is safe, which on average ends up being about 20kmph under the posted limits and less if it's bad weather/light.

I'll tell you who the dangerous drivers on the road are...the band of morons who do 70kmph (45mph) at all times and 100 in the overtaking lane of the M-way;
100kmph national road? They're pottering along at 70, letting queues of traffic build behind them, leading to dangerous overtaking.
50kmph inter-urban road or traffic calming zone entering a village? They're still blowing along at 70kmph with scant disregard for the lower limit and why it's there...ie to allow for pedestrians, cars pulling out at junctions, traffic lights, roundabouts.
These are the people that are the danger on the roads, seemingly incapable of doing anything other than 70kmph.
I'll aalways have an eye on my speedo every 5 seconds and I'll always know what the limit is on the road I'm on, but I won't always necessarily constrain myself to the posted limit. Chances are I'll clock up some points at some stage...or hey, maybe I'll be in a crash like RB wants :rolleyes:

BTW Speed cameras? What a f*cking joke...if the government was in anyway concerened about road safety, there'd be average speed camaers installed on every accident blackspotted road in the country at suitable intervals, instead of this motorway focused gatso/laser/radar tax collection bullsh*t system that the gardaí and local authorities run at the moment...

wheres me jumpa · 08-06-2008 01:03PM

2 for me

ART6 · 08-06-2008 02:25PM

NiSmO wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

What did he get banned for? Speed typing?:D

chopperbyrne wrote: »

Why is that out of order?

It's speeding.

That kind of attitude is why we have so many road accidents and deaths.

It always amazes me in these sort of threads how many people are holier than thou in respect of THE LAW. OK, so 5k over the limit is illegal. We all know that. But who has never strayed over momentarily when paying attention to what other traffic is doing on motorways and dual carriageways, or on an open road at night when there's no-one else about? Other than ten of them, the laws weren't handed down by God. They were drafted by politicians and civil servants, all of whom are human (well some of them, anyway) and many of whom have their own axe to grind for the benefit of their careers or getting their names in the media, or simply their own narrow and meddlesome view of what the people should be allowed by their betters to do. It does not follow that any particular law results from public demand or is necessarily in the public interest. Far too many laws spread such a wide net that they become unnecessarily restrictive and intrusive.

The speed limit regulations would make sense if their purpose was to warn people about road conditions of which they may not be aware, and to indicate what is a safe speed. However, that implies that the limits should be set by people who are experienced and qualified drivers trained for the purpose, not politicians or one of the signing staff in the borough council. In my view it also requires that speed limits are realistic given modern vehicles (ABS etc improving stopping distances and road holding). It requires a national standard for all roads that gets away from the ludicrous 80k on a narrow country lane and a 50k on a dual carriageway. It requires that speed limits are realistic, common sense, and comprehensible to the majority of drivers. People will generally observe laws that make good sense to them, with some balance in favour of the fact that when in a car we are human and not a programmed part of the machine. We do make mistakes. Speed limits should not simply become a means of screwing some more money out of the people, and too many of them seem to be designed to fit that purpose -- like the drop from 100k to 50k immediately around a corner on a dual carriageway etc etc.

Oh, and before the whiter than white brigade fall on my head, I have been driving for 40 years, was trained in high performance driving, and have never received even a parking ticket let alone a speeding fine. I stick to speed limits when I can not because they necessarily make sense to me but because I don't want fines or points.

Tenzor07 · 08-06-2008 09:52PM

How many points for a full throttle pull out onto an empty road at a T Junction?

godtabh · 08-06-2008 10:21PM

pedestrian fatalities versus impact speed

49 km/h grater than 90%
44-49km/h greater than 80%
31-42 km/h between 20 % and 15%

Urban speed limits

The effect of reducing impact speed from 60 km/h to 50 km/h reduces the death rate in adult pedestrians by 30%

by Dr Simms Trinity College

I could go on but whats the point? People have the preconception that because they can drive faster then what the limit is they've the right to do so.

Sorry boys it does work that way

Tellox · 08-06-2008 11:03PM

kearnsr wrote: »

pedestrian fatalities versus impact speed
49 km/h grater than 90%

44-49km/h greater than 80%

31-42 km/h between 20 % and 15%

Urban speed limits

The effect of reducing impact speed from 60 km/h to 50 km/h reduces the death rate in adult pedestrians by 30%

by Dr Simms Trinity College

I could go on but whats the point? People have the preconception that because they can drive faster then what the limit is they've the right to do so.

Sorry boys it does work that way

Sometimes the speed limit is a joke. The new waterford ringroad is limited to 60km/h - it's a dual carraigeway, and you'd be very hard pushed to find anyone walking on the path alongside it. You'd also be very hard pushed to find anyone doing under 80km/h.

D_murph · 08-06-2008 11:06PM

Tellox wrote: »

Sometimes the speed limit is a joke. The new waterford ringroad is limited to 60km/h - it's a dual carraigeway, and you'd be very hard pushed to find anyone walking on the path alongside it. You'd also be very hard pushed to find anyone doing under 80km/h.

same in some places down here. yet you find some crappy little back roads with an 80kmh limit :rolleyes:. pure geniuses that come up with this eh? :rolleyes:

Wibbs · 08-06-2008 11:24PM

Nada for me. More luck than judgement TBH. I never exceed the limit in town or city. Anyone who does should have their reproductive organs stretched in a vice IMHO. I drive like a granny in those places and motorways too. That said I have been known to drive "positively" on lonely backroads with good views ahead and I make no apologies for it either.

Penalty Points

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