Gardai abuse of the rules of the road

I remember one halloween when i was a teenager a garda pulled up got out his car stinking of booze and im sure he was going to beat me up he stood on my feet and started to poke me in the shoulder but when he asked my age and i said i was 18 (back then) he backed off was odd, hmmm

what anoys me about the gard's is i often see them speeding down the road where i live and their a lot schools around a primary and secondary and they dont even put the sirens on im suprised they havent hit anyone.

MrSavo wrote: »

NO serving garda can be assigned driving duty without FULL licence and training,as its there duty to provide road safety.

Very few of them, if any? Have received advance high speed pursuit driver training. Yet all can take part in a high speed pursuit if they wish, despite not being qualified to do so.

TheZohan wrote: »

Another garda bashing thread...awe bless.

Gardai have to take advance driving courses to drive garda vehicles, they're a damn sight better drivers than most that will post on this thread.

But anyway, rabble, rabble, 2 points for speeding and I'm bitter, rabble rabble, gardai are shìt, rabble, rabble let me drag my knuckles...

Only about one third of guards have taken this course(info care of life long friend who is a mule)
And what training do you have to take to text and drive at the same time?

Lisa: If you're the police, who will police the police?

Homer: I dunno. Coast Guard.

27.—Requirements under the Road Traffic Acts 1961 to 2004 relating to vehicles and requirements, restrictions and prohibitions relating to the driving and use of vehicles, other than those provided under sections 49 and 50 (inserted by sections 10 and 11, respectively, of the Act of 1994), 51A and 52 (inserted by sections 49 and 50, respectively, of the Act of 1968) and 53 of the Principal Act and sections 12, 13, 14 and 15 of the Act of 1994, do not apply to a driver of a fire brigade vehicle, an ambulance or the use by a member of the Garda Síochána of a vehicle in the performance of the duties of that member or a person driving or using a vehicle under the direction of a member of the Garda Síochána, where such use does not endanger the safety of road users.

This tells us that Gardai, Ambulance and Fire are exempt from all Road Traffic Legislation when on duty except, for Drunk driving, careless driving and dangerous driving.

This means they are allowed to drive in bus lanes, without seatbelts, talking on the phone at 100mph if it doesn't put anybody in danger.

Also don't presume that a car going past you with lights and sirens on that then shuts them off and goes into the petrol station is just doing it to get their sandwich and tea faster. Gardai often get jobs cancelled because another unit has made it to the scene of an incident faster, or enough cars are on scene so other units are stood down. If this happens emergency equipment are shut off and the driver resumes what he was doing before he got the call.

People think that Gardai use the lights and sirens for jollies, the fact of the matter is the truck loads of paper work and investigations that happen if a crash was to happen through falsely using the emergency equipment make it simply not worth it. Sure there'll be some who just don't care, but as has been pointed out in this thread already you shouldn't tar a whole organisation with the same brush because of the actions of a few.

The only people who know what is actually happening when a car is using lights and sirens are the members of AGS who are in the car and the members in the control room. Lets stop the idle speculation, and look at these scenarios with some common sense. As Bosco boy said earlier, "A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing".

Rawhead wrote: »

What test does a Garda need to pass before driving a Garda car?

Driving up the bus lane while yapping on the phone is a basic requirement.

All this talk of coffee stops exposes those who know absolutely nothing about policing in Ireland. Real guards drink tae.

Rawhead wrote: »

That's no problem. I'm not having a go here, if you saw my original post you'll know that. That assessment mentioned above is not a rule.
A Garda doesn't need a drivers license.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1961/en/act/pub/0024/sec0038.html

Legally you're right, but internally you will not be permitted to drive without a full clean licence, If you get points on your licence your permission to drive can be taken away.

Seanbeag1 wrote: »

Some Gardaí may take the piss and some are genuine. You have no way of knowing just by looking at them. In my experience there is almost always a valid reason when a Garda breaks the rules of the road.

The problem is that nearly everyone has seen a Garda driver taking the p!ss, with such high profile vehicles and their job they should be leading by example. If ordinary drivers see the Gardaí constantly flouting the laws of the land why would they bother themselves since they know that once the don't speed or DUI there's little chance of getting caught. We need zero tolerance on the roads and that should start with the enforcers.

source wrote: »

This tells us that Gardai, Ambulance and Fire are exempt from all Road Traffic Legislation when on duty except, for Drunk driving, careless driving and dangerous driving.

This means they are allowed to drive in bus lanes, without seatbelts, talking on the phone at 100mph if it doesn't put anybody in danger.

I've no idea which world you live on but any car driving at 100mph in a bus lane is putting people in danger and the fact that you use this as an example shows how little our Gardaí lovers know of the dangers they create.

Also there is no safe way to drive on the phone, numerous studies have proven it so why do our Gardaí think they are somehow able to do this safely? Since posters here are saying they are sending important information then surely they can't be 100% concentrating on driving if they are reporting crucial information.

source wrote: »

Also don't presume that a car going past you with lights and sirens on that then shuts them off and goes into the petrol station is just doing it to get their sandwich and tea faster. Gardai often get jobs cancelled because another unit has made it to the scene of an incident faster, or enough cars are on scene so other units are stood down. If this happens emergency equipment are shut off and the driver resumes what he was doing before he got the call.

People think that Gardai use the lights and sirens for jollies, the fact of the matter is the truck loads of paper work and investigations that happen if a crash was to happen through falsely using the emergency equipment make it simply not worth it. Sure there'll be some who just don't care, but as has been pointed out in this thread already you shouldn't tar a whole organisation with the same brush because of the actions of a few.

Would people not panic more if a car comes racing up behind them at high speed and bullies them off the road. The blues and twos are there for a reason to warn other road users to clear a path for an emergency and since all our Gardaí are highly trained Advanced drivers surely they should be ready for cars stopping in stupid places.

The problem is that everyone knows Gardaí who abuse their powers yet no one in the force is willing to take a stand. If there's one bad apple they should be dealt with before the whole barrel rots, but it's too late as the Gardaí always stand behind each other and aren't open to criticism as this thread is showing.

source wrote: »

The only people who know what is actually happening when a car is using lights and sirens are the members of AGS who are in the car and the members in the control room. Lets stop the idle speculation, and look at these scenarios with some common sense. As Bosco boy said earlier, "A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing".

How is driving at high speed on a phone ever justified? If it's dangerous for me it's just as dangerous for a Garda in a badly/poorly maintained high mileage vehicle.

Yes the Gardaí do a sh!tty job and deal with scum all the time, but they applied to do it and had a tough interview and training process to become qualified. Yet they don't seem to realise that they should be leading by example, look at most other Western police forces and you don't see them doing any of the stuff we regularly see the Gardaí up to.