Traffic Corps Program on RTE

BlackWizard · 03-06-2009 04:41PM

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

Maybe you should read before you post! You have never met me, you dont know me, you do not know my personality, if you think you can make judgements on the effect ownership of my car has had on my personality, without any of the above you are quite clearly a bit of a muppet.

I've read your posts.

Seriously, just click on his name and go to view all posts.. Every second post is about speeding. Although in fairness it seems to be your "friend" a lot of the time. Either pissing off Gardai, racing cars on public streets or going 55kmph over the speed limit

Thats just on page one.

Nearly all of your posts seem to bring controversy to the thread you are in.

-Chris- · 03-06-2009 04:43PM

Next personally directed comment gets an infraction.

jimmycrackcorm · 03-06-2009 04:50PM

peasant wrote: »

The law (especially something as simple as traffic law) shouldn't be open to interpretation.
Fine, letting someone away with a warning for a minor offence but the cases of the youngfella in DL and the speeder in the SUV weren't minor, not at all.

Bit of a contradiction in one sentence. I didn't catch what the young lad was stopped for - the speeding they mentioned was dealt with a month before and so was a separate issue.

stealthyspeeder · 03-06-2009 04:51PM

BlackWizard wrote: »

I've read your posts.

Seriously, just click on his name and go to view all posts.. Every second post is about speeding. Although in fairness it seems to be your "friend" a lot of the time. Either pissing off Gardai, racing cars on public streets or going 55kmph over the speed limit Thats just on page one.

Nearly all of your posts seem to bring controversy to the thread you are in.

Taken out of context on all three examples (but I can clearly see just from this thread that fully reading my posts is not your strong point)

No thread would be interesting if all the opinions were the same.

Send me a PM if you wanna have a slabber, im not ruining this thread anymore by answering your drivel.

furtzy · 03-06-2009 04:53PM

BlackWizard wrote: »

I've read your posts.

Seriously, just click on his name and go to view all posts.. Every second post is about speeding. Although in fairness it seems to be your "friend" a lot of the time. Either pissing off Gardai, racing cars on public streets or going 55kmph over the speed limit Thats just on page one.

Nearly all of your posts seem to bring controversy to the thread you are in.

Stealthyspeeder...Don't know you or what you get up to on the road but hopefully by reading my story it might make you think. I'm not on a crusade but what I seen on that programme pissed me off especially in light of all the calls from the gardai for people to change their driving habits. I've owned lots of cars and bikes over the past 19 years Fireblades, GTi's, SRi's etc but having had that wake up call when I was just 17 changed my views for life. All the bravado about speeding and my cars faster than yours amounts to f**k all when you see the damage a car crash can do

L-M · 03-06-2009 04:54PM

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Bit of a contradiction in one sentence. I didn't catch what the young lad was stopped for - the speeding they mentioned was dealt with a month before and so was a separate issue.

No full licence, no full licence driver, car wasn't VRT'd, therefore no tax or NCT, smoke billowing out from the bonnet where he hadn't put the coolant cap on, and the car generally in a bad state.

Guy:Incognito · 03-06-2009 04:57PM

How many other ways can the facts be presnted or what unknown circumstances coudl there be to allow a driver to drive off after being stopped when we know the following:

Provisionally licenced driver driving unnacompanied
Defective car
Car on foreign plates being driven illegally (plus not tax or NCT)
EDIT. No L plates

Add to that that he's already had his warning by being stopped previously doing 138 in a 100 zone.

Is there anythign there to suggest this young lad is learning anything by being sent on his way?

L-M · 03-06-2009 05:04PM

.

They've just stopped a car that's in bad repair, and the driver is just 17.... Where's the smoke coming outta? {to the camera}The car is obviously in poor condition, there's some smoke coming from the the bonnet, I'd imagine it's over heating. In general the car is very rough. Now, the young fella claims to have a driving licence, he doesn't have it with him. He's on a provisional licence and is unaccompanied....{chatter about condition of the car} I lost the water cap... "She needs water".

Although the car is in bad condition, they decide to give the driver a chance. "Your only starting out, you've no wing mirror, the car has smoke coming out of the bonnet, you've no L plates up, no full licence driver.

Turns out the driver has a previous speeding convinction in the same car. "138 in a 100, in this car?"

Sent to JLO etc. etc.

mle1324 · 03-06-2009 07:11PM

alexmcred wrote: »

TBH I think it showed how far behind the UK we are when it comes to enforcement. It didn't do the Gardai any favors.

Yet again the Irish version of a show is fairly crap in comparison Road wars is much better.

On that note the Garda could do with a few Opel Vectra's with the 2.8l.Like the ones on Road Wars.The Mondeos are not the best when it comes to high speed chases

ironclaw · 03-06-2009 07:19PM

And the radio chatter "Lads... Rubber neckers..." Just so amateurish. No polish of the UK and any other modern police force.

The M50 Accident - Standing round, moving a car with no H&S gear (i.e. Hard Hats etc)

The usual Irish "Jesus, ya seen that.. Pah (Hand movement).. Thats what your up against... Jeezz"

They should stop airing it because a little more of my faith in the Gardai was lost last night.

Fair play to anyone in Blue here, I have the utmost respect for people when they put on that uniform but by god to we need to get with the times.

Pedro K · 03-06-2009 07:47PM

When they have your man stopped in the jeep and the gaurd says to him where do I start somebody drives by with a novelty horn! one of those "arooga!" sounds!

:pac:

Couldn't help but laugh at that one!

donvito99 · 03-06-2009 08:04PM

ironclaw wrote: »

The M50 Accident - Standing round, moving a car with no H&S gear (i.e. Hard Hats etc)

Not practice anywhere in the world I should think.

The usual Irish "Jesus, ya seen that.. Pah (Hand movement).. Thats what your up against... Jeezz"

Sorry, whats wrong with this? They're people to ya know!

mle1324 · 03-06-2009 09:41PM

donvito99 wrote: »

Not practice anywhere in the world I should think.

Sorry, whats wrong with this? They're people to ya know!

Agree with you there,people would be going mad if they talked like robots and using big fancy words that none of us use

Buffman · 03-06-2009 10:35PM

delly wrote: »

In relation to the 'keep her lit' comment, would it make more sense that he could have been referring to the drivers indicator or something similar?

He was telling the driver to be careful when pulling back into the fast lane, and to accelerate rapidly. This was because the idiot in the jeep had pulled in on the right hand side of the dual carriageway instead of the left.

The lad's responding to the M50 accident also seemed to take the slowest route possible. It looked like they were around the Conyngham Road/South Circular junction when they got the call, but proceeded through Chapelizod instead of shooting up the N4 dual carrageway.

Overall I think this program was a bad idea for the Garda, as their every move will be analysed with the benefit of hindsight.

murpheous81 · 03-06-2009 11:25PM

Just watched said episode on RTE Player and have read most of the posts and the point coming across is that the traffic corp in different parts of the country interpret things differently.

So, if I drive past a garda car at speed, fail to pull over, drive through a red light, just missing the bikers, and receive more than was given to the jeep driver i.e. 2 points, could one use the tv show as judical precedence and get the penalty changed.

Surely anyone now who has felt hard done by comparing their case to the cases shown on telly could use the programme to reduce their penalty

eringobragh · 04-06-2009 12:03AM

Pedro K wrote: »

When they have your man stopped in the jeep and the gaurd says to him where do I start somebody drives by with a novelty horn! one of those "arooga!" sounds!

:pac:

Couldn't help but laugh at that one!

LOL that was fookin class! The Garda just stops for a second and looks.

BTW for viewers outside the Republic of Ireland, Irishdrivingbloopers uploaded Episode 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccszGuKUhoI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4fZoCq3kzM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni0ewp1ASzI

TheNog · 04-06-2009 12:27AM

Good God there is alot of talk of what should have happened but no one seems to know what can be done under the Road Traffic Acts.

For the young fella in Donegal:

While car was not in good condition (missing coolant cap) and missing wing mirror I would not consider it to be seriously defective as in to be a danger to other road users. I realise I may be wrong cos I dont have a whole lot of knowledge of motors but I am presuming the worst thing that could happen to that car is the engine seizing. Thats it.
Driving while on a learner permit is an offence but there is nothing under the Road Traffic Acts for us to take the car or to refuse the driver to continue. Same for the L plates.
VRT - cars seized for non payment of VRT is done under the Finance Act and yes we do have the power to do it. Once we seize the car we pass on the info to Customs who then follow it up to reclaim the money. However Customs would probably not go after the young fella mainly cos the car is a piece of crap and not worth the money spent for the VRT. Also the car would have to be recovered (€150 down my way) and stored costing the taxpayers ( you and me) more money for a car which would in all fairness probably have to be destroyed by the state and again costing us more money. The only solution to this is to make the owner pay all costs but that would require a change in law.
JLO - all youths under 18yrs old must and I say again must be referred to the JLO office first before any prosecution can take place. That is written in law. Some people will agree with it and some wont but there is nothing the Gardai can do about it.

Man on the M50:
He was speeding but the guards were unable to determine his speed or even his approximate speed. A guard cannt go into court and say "Well judge I reckon he was doing about 140kph" cos the judge or solicitor will then ask "how do you know he was doing 140kph?" Garda: "He looked to me he was doing 140kph"... Case struck out immediately. There is a couple of ways to clock a driver which works in evidence in court and they are either with the gun or if in a dangerous driving case an approximate speed taken from the patrol car speedometer while keeping level with the driver. From the episode the driver turned off the motorway before the unmarked could catch up to him. Lucky for him.
The only sure offence the driver could be caught on is the red light.

Alot of people here are claiming the law should be upheld but yet not one person has said which part of any act. I realise alot of people would have a rudimentary knowledge of the traffic laws but from watching the first episode I can see nothing wrong being done by any of the Gardai showed. In fact and considering it is the first episode and taking into account that yes mistakes will be made in its production, I am impressed with the result. There is room for improvement of course and I hope that will happen in future episodes.

eringobragh · 04-06-2009 12:46AM

TheNog wrote: »

For the young fella in Donegal:

Driving while on a learner permit is an offence but there is nothing under the Road Traffic Acts for us to take the car or to refuse the driver to continue. Same for the L plates.

:eek:

With all due respect, That is some fookin farce. Its no wonder people on Learner permits drive on their own. You think they would have thrown something into the Road Traffic Act.

TheNog · 04-06-2009 12:49AM

eringobragh wrote: »

:eek:

With all due respect, That is some fookin farce. Its no wonder people on Learner permits drive on their own. You think they would have thrown something into the Road Traffic Act.

It is but again nothing Gardai can do about it. We dont create the laws.

eringobragh · 04-06-2009 01:01AM

TheNog wrote: »

It is but again nothing Gardai can do about it. We dont create the laws.

Never said it was

Should have been clearer, When I say 'they'..I was referring to the states legislators.

Guy:Incognito · 04-06-2009 01:01AM

TheNog wrote: »

For the young fella in Donegal:

Driving while on a learner permit is an offence but there is nothing under the Road Traffic Acts for us to take the car or to refuse the driver to continue. Same for the L plates..

What about the fines and or points brought in to combat these acts? Is it better to just ignore the indescretions? A fine might make him think about not doing it, lettign him away with it will encourage him to not bother changing anything.

Is there a point in bothering to have laws at all if Gards dont enforce them?

TheNog wrote: »

VRT - cars seized for non payment of VRT is done under the Finance Act and yes we do have the power to do it. Once we seize the car we pass on the info to Customs who then follow it up to reclaim the money. However Customs would probably not go after the young fella mainly cos the car is a piece of crap and not worth the money spent for the VRT. Also the car would have to be recovered (€150 down my way) and stored costing the taxpayers ( you and me) more money for a car which would in all fairness probably have to be destroyed by the state and again costing us more money. The only solution to this is to make the owner pay all costs but that would require a change in law.
.

What about the small matters of drivign an unregistered, untaxed and un nct'd car? More laws we shouldnt bother our hole having on the books?

What difference does the value of the car make?Does the law only apply to people with plenty of money?Is there a floor on the value of car the Gards will bother to do anythign about? It'd be handy to know for any people who dont fancy paying tax or getting an NCT. Or people who dont like the idea of being traceable.

What happens if that young lad runs down a kid and decides he doesnt fancy hanging around? Even if someone got the reg its **** all use because its registered to some other person in the UK.Would that be then worht going after the guy for?

I'm sorry but if the law isnt worth your while enforcing your really in the wrong job.

Zube · 04-06-2009 01:13AM

TheNog wrote: »

I am presuming the worst thing that could happen to that car is the engine seizing. Thats it.

That's it? The engine seizing is like a fatal heart attack: breakdowns don't get any worse than that!

Why do we bother with an NCT for saps like me if a mobile disaster like this can be waved on??

Madness!

TheNog · 04-06-2009 01:16AM

eringobragh wrote: »

Never said it was Should have been clearer, When I say 'they'..I was referring to the states legislators.

Hadnt meant to direct my last sentence to you but rather a reminder to all posters, is all.

Stekelly wrote: »

What about the fines and or points brought in to combat these acts? Is it better to just ignore the indescrtions?

Again the 17yr old will have to go through the JLO office. He may have been cautioned or he may have been recommended for court and prosecuted. We do not know.

Is there a point in bothering to have laws at all if Gards dont enforce them?

If you can be more specific on which traffic stop you are taking about I will try to answer your question

What about the small matters of drivign an unregistered, untaxed and un nct'd car? More laws we shouldnt bother our hole having on the books?

Again the guard said he was being reported to the JLO Office for this

What difference does the value of the car make?
Does the law only apply to people with plenty of money?
Is there a floor on the value of car the Gards will bother to do anythign about?

No
No and
No

It'd be handy to know for any people who dont fancy paying tax or getting an NCT. Or people who dont like the idea of being traceable.

Hey Im just telling ye the laws and how it works. Thats all

What happens if that young lad runs down a kid and decides he doesnt fancy hanging around? Even if someone got the reg its **** all use because its registered to some other person in the UK.Would that be then worht going after the guy for?

Hypothetical question really on something that didnt happen but believe it or not it is usually quite easy to trace the owner of the car even if it is registered in the UK. Would only take about 3 minutes.

I'm sorry but if the law isnt worth your while enforcing your really in the wrong job.

Ok so your turn. Im sure you have seen the episode so tell us what offences have been committed and how you would deal with them.

Im not being smart with you but Im simply showing you the constraints we operate under with the traffic acts.

TheNog · 04-06-2009 01:18AM

Zube wrote: »

That's it? The engine seizing is like a fatal heart attack: breakdowns don't get any worse than that!

Why do we bother with an NCT for saps like me if a mobile disaster like this can be waved on??

Madness!

NCT applies to vehicles registered in the state and we are presuming this car is NI.

If it is registered in the state, again the driver is 17yrs old so must go through the JLO office

Also how could an engine seizing cause an accident? (genuine question)

L-M · 04-06-2009 01:20AM

TheNog wrote: »

A guard cannt go into court and say "Well judge I reckon he was doing about 140kph" cos the judge or solicitor will then ask "how do you know he was doing 140kph?"

Could they not just say "Well I was doing 140kmph behind him, and I was just barely gaining ground. My spedometer is correctly calibrated and proof of driving at the speeds are on the camera?

Also could he not of been done for dangerous driving?

I can just imagine if I was doing that, and said "Oh I was late for a meeting", I'd get a right kick in the hole and more than two points just for running the red light.

I know you are only trying to make sense of what went on, and I thank you for actually taking on the challenge of responding to us angry Motors folk, but you cannot tell me that you think all he deserved were two points?

eringobragh · 04-06-2009 01:23AM

Zube wrote: »

That's it? The engine seizing is like a fatal heart attack: breakdowns don't get any worse than that!

Why do we bother with an NCT for saps like me if a mobile disaster like this can be waved on??

Madness!

x 2, and as for the learner permit part why do any of us even bother with the driving test if we can drive around more or less without hindrance. Will someone have to be killed before common sense prevails??

As for the above I'm referring to legislation its pretty daft that a garda can't stop a lad of 17(or any age for that ,matter) in his tracks in a car thats in bad repair and on a learner permit (which he didn't have with him).

While the rest of us risk points bringing our car back to the NCT centre for a retest.

Zube · 04-06-2009 01:23AM

TheNog wrote: »

Also how could an engine seizing cause an accident? (genuine question)

Jesus Christ!

How could a heart attack behind the wheel cause an accident?

L1011 · 04-06-2009 01:27AM

TheNog wrote: »

Also how could an engine seizing cause an accident? (genuine question)

engine siezing = loss of power to power steering, braking servo, etc, etc. You suddenly have nearly no control of the vehicle, which if at the 138km/h he was blipped at, is not a good thing!

Gary ITR · 04-06-2009 01:28AM

Zube wrote: »

Jesus Christ!

The Nog is a Guard not a mechanic.

An overheating engine wouldn't seize anyway. The head gasket would blow and possibly crack the head and the car would loose all power and roll to a halt.

If an engine seized the wheels would look up and the car could skid or come to a sudden stop.

I could be totally wrong with all of the above btw

TheNog · 04-06-2009 01:30AM

Limerick man wrote: »

Could they not just say "Well I was doing 140kmph behind him, and I was just barely gaining ground. My spedometer is correctly calibrated and proof of driving at the speeds are on the camera?

Also could he not of been done for dangerous driving?

I can just imagine if I was doing that, and said "Oh I was late for a meeting", I'd get a right kick in the hole and more than two points just for running the red light.

I know you are only trying to make sense of what went on, and I thank you for actually taking on the challenge of responding to us angry Motors folk, but you cannot tell me that you think all he deserved were two points?

As I said before this fella was extremely lucky. Just to review:

He was speeding but his speed couldnt be determined
He did change lanes 3 times
He did run a red light

Two out of the three above would make a dangerous driving case fairly shaky. In all probability any judge would lean towards a strike out.

If his speed was determined or even an approximate speed got along with the other 2 points above, he would in my book be looking at dangerous driving or at the very least careless driving.

Traffic Corps Program on RTE

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