Pulled over for going through an amber light...

Ush1 · 20-09-2010 10:32PM #1

I was pulled over by a guard for going through on an amber light. I was in the wrong no question. He asked me the usual kind of stuff, did I know why he pulled me over etc... He seemed more annoyed that I took so long to pull over but I honestly didn't realise he wanted me to pull over, thought he was trying to get around me.

Anyways, he asked me if I had any penalty points I said no. I can't remember if he said "that's four for that" or "that would be four for that". I'm not sure if he was power tripping at that stage as he was asking me some rules of the road questions and did I have a full license, saying I don't know how you got it.

Is there a procedure for getting the penalty points? He didn't take my name or anything, just told me to drive on like after.

ronaneire · 20-09-2010 11:28PM

Ush1 wrote: »

He didn't take my name or anything, just told me to drive on like after.

Did he ask to see your drivers license?

Owen · 20-09-2010 11:33PM

I got stopped a few years back for the same thing, BanGarda asked me "Are you an amber gambler?", and honestly, it was hard to keep a straight face after that. But don't the rules of the road say it's acceptable to go through an amber light if you can't stop in time safely? My lights literally went amber as I was about a metre away from them.

Ush1 · 20-09-2010 11:34PM

ronaneire wrote: »

Did he ask to see your drivers license?

No, just asked did I have a full license.

ronaneire · 20-09-2010 11:36PM

Ush1 wrote: »

No, just asked did I have a full license.

If he didn't ask to see it or take any details from you or from the car I can't see how you will get points.

copacetic · 20-09-2010 11:38PM

Ush1 wrote: »

... He seemed more annoyed that I took so long to pull over but I honestly didn't realise he wanted me to pull over, thought he was trying to get around me..

if you thought he was trying to get around you why didn't you pull in to let him anyway?

Ush1 · 20-09-2010 11:42PM

copacetic wrote: »

if you thought he was trying to get around you why didn't you pull in to let him anyway?

He was on a bike and I just thought he was going to drive past. I was turning right then so I indicated to switch to the right lane thinking he would then drive on in the left lane. When I indicated he sped up alongside me on my right hand side.

Might be naive but there wasn't anywhere to pull in anyway, when I did it was into the bay at a bus stop. I spose I was just supposed to hit the hazards and stop there and then.

Ush1 · 20-09-2010 11:45PM

ronaneire wrote: »

If he didn't ask to see it or take any details from you or from the car I can't see how you will get points.

Yeah, was thinking unless he took my reg but I don't think he did. Was fairly condescending when I was driving away aswell saying that I was going to cause an accident.

Bazzo · 20-09-2010 11:46PM

What you did was absolutely correct, it's what the amber lights are for. It'd be more dangerous to slam on the brakes in a poor attempt to stop than to just continue through if you're not within safe stopping distance.

Edit: Sorry that was meant @PaintDoctor, obviously speeding up to go through the lights before they turn red isn't their intended purpose =P

20-09-2010 11:47PM

Went through a red light one night at 3 ish or so in the morning, few seconds later I see a Paddy wagon behind me (f knows where they were hiding as I went through the lights). Like a numpty I indicated off the main road and pulled into an estate. They followed me, threw on the blue flashies. Ban garda gets out and approaches the car. Asks me do I know why they pulled me over.............

Me: yes

BG: Why

Me: for going through a red light

BG: What do you have to say....

Me: Sorry

for what

Me: for not being observant, I didn't see ye

BG: so if you had you wouldn't have gone through it

Me: exactly

BG: Your tax is out

Me: I'll get that this week

BG: go on away

Me: **thinks to myself, she must think I'm hotter than a hot thing**

Voodoomelon · 20-09-2010 11:48PM

Ush1 wrote: »

He was on a bike and I just thought he was going to drive past. I was turning right then so I indicated to switch to the right lane thinking he would then drive on in the left lane. When I indicated he sped up alongside me on my right hand side.

Might be naive but there wasn't anywhere to pull in anyway, when I did it was into the bay at a bus stop. I spose I was just supposed to hit the hazards and stop there and then.

Not at all, i was hit with a case of mistaken identity (i think) recently on a country road, two squad cars hit the lights behind me and I had to pull in somewhere. I had to drive about 300 metres before there was space for me to pull in, but I knew the spot and can only assume they did too and didn't think I was trying to get away from them!

If there's no where safe to pull in, i'd keep going.

Ush1 · 20-09-2010 11:56PM

Bazzo wrote: »

What you did was absolutely correct, it's what the amber lights are for. It'd be more dangerous to slam on the brakes in a poor attempt to stop than to just continue through if you're not within safe stopping distance.

Edit: Sorry that was meant @PaintDoctor, obviously speeding up to go through the lights before they turn red isn't their intended purpose =P

I wouldn't have been speeding to be honest and the lights were still amber I think when I had gone through the junction.

Ush1 · 20-09-2010 11:59PM

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Not at all, i was hit with a case of mistaken identity (i think) recently on a country road, two squad cars hit the lights behind me and I had to pull in somewhere. I had to drive about 300 metres before there was space for me to pull in, but I knew the spot and can only assume they did too and didn't think I was trying to get away from them!

If there's no where safe to pull in, i'd keep going.

Yeah but his main quibble was me not pulling in for him quicker though. Asking me had I had anything to drink and saying my driving was disgraceful. Thought it was abit OTT. Have never been pulled over before and genuinely didn't realise he wanted me to.

Ush1 · 21-09-2010 12:08AM

RoverJames wrote: »

Went through a red light one night at 3 ish or so in the morning, few seconds later I see a Paddy wagon behind me (f knows where they were hiding as I went through the lights). Like a numpty I indicated off the main road and pulled into an estate. They followed me, threw on the blue flashies. Ban garda gets out and approaches the car. Asks me do I know why they pulled me over.............

Me: yes

BG: Why

Me: for going through a red light

BG: What do you have to say....

Me: Sorry

for what

Me: for not being observant, I didn't see ye

BG: so if you had you wouldn't have gone through it

Me: exactly

BG: Your tax is out

Me: I'll get that this week

BG: go on away

Me: **thinks to myself, she must think I'm hotter than a hot thing**

:pac:
This guy took his job WAY more seriously than that.

x in the city · 21-09-2010 12:15AM

Amber are amber for a reason, to give you the chance to slow down and wait for them to go red.

if you don't slow down and pass through it shouldn't be the end of the world.

if that's the case they should have just red and green.

STOP!!

GO!!!

errlloyd · 21-09-2010 12:23AM

Slightly unrelated note.

Are the lights technically amber? Or do we just use Amber so it sounds like a lighter shade IE further from red?

djimi · 21-09-2010 12:40AM

Its not illegal to drive thru an amber light. The only thing the guard could have pulled you over for is if you sped up when you saw the lights go amber. Other than that the guard was just being a prat.

The Nutty M · 21-09-2010 01:17AM

I'd be thinking your driving after going through the amber was as much to do with the eating you got off him as the initial cause for him pulling you over.You describe your view of the situation from a car,think of his view from the bike,blue lights on,I presume siren as well but lights should have been enough,he wants you to stop,you continue,you then proceed to put on your right indicator to go across in front of him on the presumption that he will go near side.I'd personally want to strangle you if I got off the bike to you.He could have done you but he didnt,he gave you an earful to learn from your mistake.I'd pay heed.:)

21-09-2010 08:53AM

In fairness amber is to be treated as a red light unless you cannot stop safely, being anal one should approach a green light slowing down to 20 / 25 mph ish with the expectation to stop if it changes to amber.

Ush1 · 21-09-2010 09:07AM

The Nutty M wrote: »

I'd be thinking your driving after going through the amber was as much to do with the eating you got off him as the initial cause for him pulling you over.You describe your view of the situation from a car,think of his view from the bike,blue lights on,I presume siren as well but lights should have been enough,he wants you to stop,you continue,you then proceed to put on your right indicator to go across in front of him on the presumption that he will go near side.I'd personally want to strangle you if I got off the bike to you.He could have done you but he didnt,he gave you an earful to learn from your mistake.I'd pay heed.:)

He had blue lights on and gave one half beat of the siren. I didn't indicate right to go in front of him as I was in front of him anyway and thought for what ever reason he couldn't pass on my right despite being on a bike and there was plenty of room.

If it was an ambulance, as he suggested, there would not have been room for it to pass on my right and I would have pulled into the left(despite doing that not giving any more room at all really).

I don't believe there is any procedure described in the rules of the road for being pulled over. I have moved out of the way of emergency services in the past no problem. A bike in this situation would usually just fly past on the right. It didn't seem to register with him that it I didn't realise it was me he wanted to pull over.

I think his criticism was beyond anything constructive. If he really believed my "driving was disgraceful" and that I "was going to cause an accident", surely he is in dereliction of his duty by not taking the car off me?

djimi · 21-09-2010 09:07AM

RoverJames wrote: »

In fairness amber is to be treated as a red light unless you cannot stop safely, being anal one should approach a green light slowing down to 20 / 25 mph ish with the expectation to stop if it changes to amber.

Good lord if everyone slowed down to 25mph going thru green lights there would never be any flow in the traffic... :eek: A green light means proceed, at the speed in which you were travelling (where safe to do so obviously). If you are travelling at the speed limit then an amber light should give you plenty of time to slow down before the lights go red, or else pass thru the lights while they are still amber. At normal speed (ie in or around the speed limit) if a light is green as you approach it then there should be no need to slow down.

filbert the fox · 21-09-2010 09:23AM

PaintDoctor wrote: »

I got stopped a few years back for the same thing, BanGarda asked me "Are you an amber gambler?", and honestly, it was hard to keep a straight face after that. But don't the rules of the road say it's acceptable to go through an amber light if you can't stop in time safely? My lights literally went amber as I was about a metre away from them.

Inaccurate description for this habit. The phrase was coined in the UK for drivers to avoid taking off from traffic lights on Amber/Red before the green light comes on.

seamus · 21-09-2010 09:39AM

djimi wrote: »

At normal speed (ie in or around the speed limit) if a light is green as you approach it then there should be no need to slow down.

Except to watch out for traffic which may cross your path. It doesn't matter that you have a green light, there's still a (microscopic) chance that someone coming from the left or right will break them, or that an oncoming vehicle will turn across your path.
I know nobody really slows down for lights (unless you're barrelling along), but that's the officially correct way to approach it. This is why you'll never see the meaning of a green written as just "Go".

Its not illegal to drive thru an amber light.

I'm afraid it is. An amber means "Stop, unless it is unsafe to do so". An amber should be treated as a red unless you would be unable to stop before the white line or stopping would create a danger to other traffic (by jamming on in the wet for example).

McCrack · 21-09-2010 09:51AM

OP if you were that oblivious to the fact that this Traffic cop might very well be signalling YOU to pull over considering your driving only seconds earlier maybe you should not be driving at all?

MunsterCycling · 21-09-2010 09:57AM

I would of just slammed on and if the idiot wasn't on the ball they'd be wearing pavement and a bollocking from their Super. Complete power trip TBH, thank God licencing of drivers is not in the hands of AGS

Ush1 · 21-09-2010 10:03AM

McCrack wrote: »

OP if you were that oblivious to the fact that this Traffic cop might very well be signalling YOU to pull over considering your driving only seconds earlier maybe you should not be driving at all?

Why? As I said, is the procedure for getting pulled over in the rules of the road?

I'd never been pulled over before and didn't realise within maybe at max 30 seconds, that this man was trying to pull me over rather than get around me.

MagicSean · 21-09-2010 10:03AM

Ush1 wrote: »

:pac:
This guy took his job WAY more seriously than that.

Thats the difference between a traffic cop and one in the public order van on the night shift. Different priorities.

djimi wrote: »

Its not illegal to drive thru an amber light. The only thing the guard could have pulled you over for is if you sped up when you saw the lights go amber. Other than that the guard was just being a prat.

No more a prat than the person who drives thinking what you do. Amber should be treated like a red.

Ush1 wrote: »

I think his criticism was beyond anything constructive. If he really believed my "driving was disgraceful" and that I "was going to cause an accident", surely he is in dereliction of his duty by not taking the car off me?

If Gardaí had the power to take cars of people they see doing something dangerous there would be very little traffic problems in this country.

MagicSean · 21-09-2010 10:06AM

MunsterCycling wrote: »

I would of just slammed on and if the idiot wasn't on the ball they'd be wearing pavement and a bollocking from their Super. Complete power trip TBH, thank God licencing of drivers is not in the hands of AGS

If you did you'd probably would find yourself in court facing up to 5 years for dangerous driving causing serious injury. But I'd say thats just the talk of an internet warrior anyway.

McCrack · 21-09-2010 10:10AM

Ush1 wrote: »

Why? As I said, is the procedure for getting pulled over in the rules of the road?

I'd never been pulled over before and didn't realise within maybe at max 30 seconds, that this man was trying to pull me over rather than get around me.

Well then you were oblivious to the fact then. The procedure when signalled by a member of AGS is to pull your vehicle over in a safe manner and stop and allow that cop discharge their duties. It's common sense really.

Ush1 · 21-09-2010 10:10AM

k_mac wrote: »

Thats the difference between a traffic cop and one in the public order van on the night shift. Different priorities.

Umm okay but aren't they still upholding the same laws?

k_mac wrote: »

If Gardaí had the power to take cars of people they see doing something dangerous there would be very little traffic problems in this country.

I was under the impression that they did have that power. Well in that case he should have hit me with the maximum penalty he could if he truly believed I was a danger to myself and to those around me. Otherwise he's being totally negligent.

Ush1 · 21-09-2010 10:16AM

McCrack wrote: »

Well then you were oblivious to the fact then. The procedure when signalled by a member of AGS is to pull your vehicle over in a safe manner and stop and allow that cop discharge their duties. It's common sense really.

No it isn't common sense. Another poster has already said in this thread if it's not possible to pull over you shouldn't. So this sense you talk of isn't really that common, if that's all it is.

Again, if you can link to me where in the ROTR the procedure is for being pulled over I will gladly hold my hands up and say that is what I should know.

Pulled over for going through an amber light...

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