Motorway Speeding

focus_mad · 05-04-2010 07:26PM #1

I had to drive down and back to Wexford today (motorways all the way) I only saw one unmarked motor and alot of people were speeding by it and he was doing the limit, how come he didnt pull anyone over or does it have to be Traffic that get the speeders on the motorway??

Just asking out of curiousity?

Random · 05-04-2010 08:16PM

They might have had something more important to be doing.

focus_mad · 05-04-2010 08:23PM

Random wrote: »

They might have had something more important to be doing.

He seemed to have just been cruising but just thought i'd ask.

Shield · 05-04-2010 08:24PM

Could be any one of a long list of reasons.

Irish_polizei · 05-04-2010 09:25PM

It mightent have been a unmarked car! ....

focus_mad · 05-04-2010 09:29PM

Irish_polizei wrote: »

It mightent have been a unmarked car! ....

Ah defo was, had the aul ariels and load of leds!

Ah I was just wondering about it thats all.

Zambia · 05-04-2010 09:44PM

focus_mad wrote: »

Ah defo was, had the aul ariels and load of leds!

Ah I was just wondering about it thats all.

He was probably thinking to himself ..."Actually that last guy was right I should be out catching drug dealers":rolleyes:

As PSNI said 1000's of reasons he could not be pulling folk maybe he was winding up the speedo

focus_mad · 05-04-2010 11:18PM

Yeah probably his turn to go Topaz for the coffees.....

I was only asking a question due to being curious, not to get p****ed on

maglite · 06-04-2010 02:06AM

these is a fetish for that kind of thing. But OP to be fair the lads here wont know the answer, maybe he just couldn't be bothered spending the time on it thinking he could be doing something else.

last garda i saw do a stop like that spent over 2 hours dealing with it. (had the misfortune of being stopped outside a full restaurant)

msg11 · 06-04-2010 03:10AM

See that guy might not be bothered, but you'll get one driver that will break the speed limit again and be pulled over.

bigbadbear · 06-04-2010 03:17AM

msg11 wrote: »

See that guy might not be bothered, but you'll get one driver that will break the speed limit again and be pulled over.

Probably because it is safe to break the speed limit on Irish motorways and most people do

Don3556 · 06-04-2010 03:22AM

He wouldn't have been carrying any equipment for recording your speed so then he would have no evidence that would stand up in court.

msg11 · 06-04-2010 03:32AM

bigbadbear wrote: »

Probably because it is safe to break the speed limit on Irish motorways and most people do

Yes it is safe, it is not legal.

And yes most people do. Totally not my point by the way.

Shield · 06-04-2010 03:39AM

Interesting comment.

Expressed as a percentage, how much over the speed limit do you think is safe on, say, the M50? It has a limit of 100kmph AFAIK.

bigbadbear wrote: »

Probably because it is safe to break the speed limit on Irish motorways and most people do

heffomike54 · 06-04-2010 03:41AM

psni wrote: »

Interesting comment.

Expressed as a percentage, how much over the speed limit do you think is safe on, say, the M50? It has a limit of 100kmph AFAIK.

Depending on certain factors, yes I think it is safe to exceed the speed limit of 100kph on the M50.

heffomike54 · 06-04-2010 03:44AM

focus_mad wrote: »

I had to drive down and back to Wexford today (motorways all the way) I only saw one unmarked motor and alot of people were speeding by it and he was doing the limit, how come he didnt pull anyone over or does it have to be Traffic that get the speeders on the motorway??

Just asking out of curiousity?

By any chance, did you manage to see the driver of the squad car? The reason I ask is if they were in plain clothes, speeders are not their concern & to pull people over for speeding may compromise their current task.

Shield · 06-04-2010 03:50AM

By how much?

heffomike54 wrote: »

Depending on certain factors, yes I think it is safe to exceed the speed limit of 100kph on the M50.

Victor · 06-04-2010 04:41AM

focus_mad wrote: »

motorways all the way

Oh, no it isn't http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=52.78&lon=-5.42&zoom=8&layers=B000FTF

heffomike54 · 06-04-2010 05:29AM

psni wrote: »

By how much?

Again depending on factors, but I would see 120kph as an acceptable speed on any motorway.

Zambia · 06-04-2010 05:34AM

I'm actually quite shocked at the fact people think that.

Victor · 06-04-2010 05:52AM

heffomike54 wrote: »

Again depending on factors, but I would see 120kph as an acceptable speed on any motorway.

heffomike54 · 06-04-2010 06:12AM

Victor wrote: »

Even these bits?

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=swsh01gg184t&scene=53248537&lvl=2&sty=o

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=sx1hpzggfc19&scene=53222407&lvl=2&sty=o

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=sws4ybggf6md&scene=42335163&lvl=1&sty=o

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=sw62k0ggp9tg&scene=29514532&lvl=1&sty=o

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=sw64k7ggmhsn&scene=29514450&lvl=2&sty=o

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=sx41cfggfm1p&scene=53222598&lvl=1&sty=o

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=t2y1g9gh2ynk&scene=12501159&lvl=2&sty=o

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=ss27pyg8b209&scene=27669558&lvl=1&sty=o

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=51.93040963614645~-8.375107539289075&lvl=15&sty=a

And this, which you think is a motorway, but isn't http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=52.941345,-6.11357&spn=0.001296,0.004946&t=h&z=18

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=53.147198,-6.124379&spn=0.00129,0.004946&t=k&z=18

In the first link there of the hairpin bend, which looks like the red cow roundabout entrance onto the M50 heading northbound, I would not drive at 120KPH, strangely enough I don't want to crash;):D

I am not suggesting the whole M50 is suitable for driving at 120KPH, the only thing the whole M50 is suitable for at the best of times is being a car-park:D . Plus anyone who does think it's suitable to drive at 120KPH on the M50 at all places and times, which I don't, should not have a driving licence.

meathstevie · 06-04-2010 10:36AM

Look at Germany to know how fast is safe on a decent motorway. Personally I'd have less of an issue with someone doing 150km/h on an empty m50 on let's say a nice early sunday morning in summer than with someone doing 70km/h in a built up area during the day.

bigbadbear · 06-04-2010 02:34PM

psni wrote: »

Interesting comment.

Expressed as a percentage, how much over the speed limit do you think is safe on, say, the M50? It has a limit of 100kmph AFAIK.

It totally depends on the circumstances. I used to drive home at about 3 in the mornign up the m50 and when it was dry i would do about 160km/h. Some people will be shocked at this but it really isn't that fast. I would probably do 200 if i was in a capable car.

Another situation.... I wouldn't drive much over 130km/h during the day or possibly 140km/h if it was quiet.

I'm surprised there hasn't been somebody killed on the m50 when the cars are queuing in the AUX lane. Apart from that I think the safety issue arises from the difference in speeds of two cars.

Say Mr X is doing 140 and the car he is about to pass is only doing 90 (should never happen on the M50 as it is 3 lanes) the guy doing 90 may for some reason want to move into the overtaking lane so he checks his mirrors and sees a car in the distance then moves slowly to the overtaking lane. Meanwhile Mr X is flying towards the back of his car. That's where the danger comes from.

I lived in Germany and it's funny how a little aul biddy of about 80 years of age will pass you in a Volkswagen polo at 180km/h. It's such a funny sight at first but they have a different mindset to us.

Back to the OP I saw that Garda traffic corps show on rte and some guy passed a garda, who was doing 120km/h, at "over 160km/h" the garda went after him but let him away with a warning. I'd say they cant do anything without a speed gun. Either that or they didn't want to do anything about it.

drill · 06-04-2010 08:31PM

focus_mad wrote: »

Ah defo was, had the aul ariels and load of leds!

Ah I was just wondering about it thats all.

Mite have been Ambulance or Fire service Top brass in there own cars as some drive unmarked cars

Sisu200 · 06-04-2010 08:56PM

meathstevie wrote: »

Look at Germany to know how fast is safe on a decent motorway. Personally I'd have less of an issue with someone doing 150km/h on an empty m50 QUOTE]

The M50 is no German Autobahn

bigbadbear wrote: »

used to drive home at about 3 in the mornign up the m50 and when it was dry i would do about 160km/h. Some people will be shocked at this but it really isn't that fast. I would probably do 200 if i was in a capable car.

Another situation.... I wouldn't drive much over 130km/h during the day or possibly 140km/h if it was quiet.

I'm surprised there hasn't been somebody killed on the m50 when the cars are queuing in the AUX lane. Apart from that I think the safety issue arises from the difference in speeds of two cars.

Say Mr X is doing 140 and the car he is about to pass is only doing 90 (should never happen on the M50 as it is 3 lanes) the guy doing 90 may for some reason want to move into the overtaking lane so he checks his mirrors and sees a car in the distance then moves slowly to the overtaking lane. Meanwhile Mr X is flying towards the back of his car. That's where the danger comes from.

I lived in Germany and it's funny how a little aul biddy of about 80 years of age will pass you in a Volkswagen polo at 180km/h. It's such a funny sight at first but they have a different mindset to us.

Back to the OP I saw that Garda traffic corps show on rte and some guy passed a garda, who was doing 120km/h, at "over 160km/h" the garda went after him but let him away with a warning. I'd say they cant do anything without a speed gun. Either that or they didn't want to do anything about it.

I dont condone speeding at all in Ireland , as the OP says the M50 has terrible slip roads, poor design and poor visability with regard to slowing traffic
I have also worked and driven alot in Germany , and I agree the roads are very good there, straight 2, 3 and 4 lane motorways, the issue in Germany and where most of the accidents are is that you get tunnlled vision doin 200 kmph on these roads for 3 to 4 hours and then you slip off onto the country/town roads flying into a town or down a town street doing 130kmph, but most towns villages have speed cameras that strictly (and they all work) enforce the set speed limit for the area, the Autobahns are controlled also when the conditions are not good by slowing the traffic in "zones" on the main roads, when there is a motorway accident in Germany it is not a matter of ES cutting anyone out of a car, because there is normaly nothing left of the car, they just sweep the debris off the road

There is an attitude in this country that early in the morning AGS could not be bothered speed checking, I can tell you I have seen as much enforcement of speed limits in the middle of the night/early morning as is done during the day on a range of roads, speeding gets you nowhere, wreaks your car and saves you very little time,

too many people getting hurt on the roads, it's not worth it, my 2c

As for the Unmarked car, I had an unmarked car fly up behind me a few years ago, full blues, looked at the speedo was doing about 5% over speed limit, thought I was in sh1t slowed, the car passed me and about a mile up ahead a truck and 2 cars had crashed heavily head on, its all about priority

Zambia · 06-04-2010 09:58PM

bigbadbear wrote: »

Say Mr X is doing 140 and the car he is about to pass is only doing 90 (should never happen on the M50 as it is 3 lanes) the guy doing 90 may for some reason want to move into the overtaking lane so he checks his mirrors and sees a car in the distance then moves slowly to the overtaking lane. Meanwhile Mr X is flying towards the back of his car. That's where the danger comes from.

Have you not just explained right here why you should never do 160Kmph on a road that is marked 100Kmph. The difference in reaction times is huge.

If you hit and kill Mr X, a Garda or someone at the scene will ask you why you where travelling at 160Kmph?

In the most open minded way could I ask what would you consider a good answer?

bigbadbear · 06-04-2010 10:33PM

Zambia232 wrote: »

Have you not just explained right here why you should never do 160Kmph on a road that is marked 100Kmph. The difference in reaction times is huge.

If you hit and kill Mr X, a Garda or someone at the scene will ask you why you where travelling at 160Kmph?

In the most open minded way could I ask what would you consider a good answer?

I was just trying to say its about the situation at the time and the section of road. You are correct about the liability if I was doing that speed but Mr X is always speeding anyway :-) The thing is though, I am less likely to kill anyone at 160km/h on a motorway than i am at 100km/h on an N-road.

Just so people know, the surface of Irish motorways, when they're dry anyway, are of a very high standard compared many parts of the autobahn and others in Europe. Even the parts where there are no speed limits. I don't know how they can justify having 100km/h on a motorway and then if you turn off onto a crappy road it's still 100km/h.

I HATE people who disregard other people's safety on the road ie. bad overtaking, undertaking, tailgating, speeding around housing estates etc. but on a motorway its so easy to safely travel at high speeds so I don't believe it to be unsafe.

Anyway the M50 is designed for 120km/h+ all the way through! So think of the worst bend on it. That bend was designed for the cars to be travelling at 120km/h around it. If that's the case then wouldn't it be logical that the straight sections should be more?

Zambia · 06-04-2010 11:11PM

bigbadbear wrote: »

Anyway the M50 is designed for 120km/h+ all the way through! So think of the worst bend on it. That bend was designed for the cars to be travelling at 120km/h around it. If that's the case then wouldn't it be logical that the straight sections should be more?

I would agree the M50 ( I believe its a 3 lane now) could take 120 like the Dublin Belfast road. However it would never be free enough in daylight.

The 160kmph leaves to little room to handle the unexpected for the standard driver. While you may be better at driving than most the road speed should reflect the standard level of Driving. To stick the road speed on the M50 to 160 You may as well walk into the department of transport and start shooting learners in the head.

sdanseo · 07-04-2010 11:29PM

Zambia232 wrote: »

I would agree the M50 ( I believe its a 3 lane now) could take 120 like the Dublin Belfast road. However it would never be free enough in daylight.

I beg to differ, I'm bold and I average about 100 or a little over on the M50 and I'm holding back very consciously to do that speed. And I'm constantly pulling back into Lane 2 from Lane 3 to let people speed past me, even though I'm generally overtaking anyway (remember they must be doing 120-140 at this rate). People don't use Lane 1 properly (constant undertaking, again when I'm doing the limit to start with) and it's fast becoming THE main hazard on that road, to the extent it will cause an accident very soon.

Fast does not always mean unsafe, if you're watching what goes on around you and you know how to handle your car it's fine to do a bit faster. But 160 on the M50 is unsafe in daylight for sure - not at night though. They should extend the variable speed limit rules from the port tunnel to all motorways, making the rural ones unrestricted at some times wouldn't be a ludicrous thing -there's not a sinner on them at some times of the day let alone the night.

focus_mad · 07-04-2010 11:58PM

maglite wrote: »

these is a fetish for that kind of thing. But OP to be fair the lads here wont know the answer, maybe he just couldn't be bothered spending the time on it thinking he could be doing something else.

last garda i saw do a stop like that spent over 2 hours dealing with it. (had the misfortune of being stopped outside a full restaurant)

Don't worry thats not me cup of tea

..
Ah you have a point and the previous posters do as well but when I seen it I just thought I'd ask!!

Motorway Speeding

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