Garda Traffic on Twitter 2

liamog · 14-05-2020 10:49am

Sam Russell wrote: »

But coming up at that speed on an accident that blocks the road is.

Fortunately our mainline moterway's have a design speed of around 160km/h. Unless the accident is all invisible cars and your car has brakes made out of butter there should be plenty of stopping distance.

Cordell · 14-05-2020 10:53am

JustARandomGuy wrote: »

Here's some food for thought:

150 km/h is not dangerous on a motorway.

It is when everyone else is doing 120 or below.

liamog · 14-05-2020 10:56am

Cordell wrote: »

It is when everyone else is doing 120 or below.

The autobahn manages to work ok with unrestricted traffic next to speed restricted trucks, but then German drivers have much better lane discipline. Proving once again, that it's not just the speed that's the issue, it's the ineptitude of large portion of Irish drivers.

martingriff · 14-05-2020 10:57am

liamog wrote: »

Fortunately our mainline moterway's have a design speed of around 160km/h. Unless the accident is all invisible cars and your car has brakes made out of butter there should be plenty of stopping distance.

You are speaking of a perfect world and that all people have the driving ability. You are not the only person on the road and the point of the speed limit is that for everyone to be aware and careful of everyone on the road. 150 is not dangerous in ideal conditions but with fog ice rain etc it sure as hell could be

martingriff · 14-05-2020 11:02am

liamog wrote: »

The autobahn manages to work ok with unrestricted traffic next to speed restricted trucks, but then German drivers have much better lane discipline. Proving once again, that it's not just the speed that's the issue, it's the ineptitude of large portion of Irish drivers.

But we are not in Germany, we do not have there autobahn and as you note there driving prowess. I find it fascinating that people will fawn over rules of other countries that they love and we should be more like that but as soon as it is something they dislike it is we should not follow that country

liamog · 14-05-2020 11:09am

It's either dangerous due to physics and the handling of cars or is an arbitary limit that is based on fuel efficeny rules from the 1970s.
We have a design speed of 160km/h, therefore travelling at 150kmh is suitable for the road.
We can see it works in Germany, where they have a similar profile of cars, sothe current limit has absolutely no basis in vehicle handling and the point about mixing speeds can know also be discounted.

That leaves us with the remaining argument that 150km/h is unsafe due to the ineptitude of Irish drivers. Personally I'm a fan of the French system. 130km/h and a drop to 110km/h during poor weather conditions.

Cordell · 14-05-2020 11:10am

liamog wrote: »

The autobahn manages to work ok with unrestricted traffic next to speed restricted trucks, but then German drivers have much better lane discipline. Proving once again, that it's not just the speed that's the issue, it's the ineptitude of large portion of Irish drivers.

In 2018, the autobahn rate of 1.7 fatality per billion traveled kilometer is less secure than both the French one at 1.4 per billion traveled kilometers, and the British one at 1.4 fatalities per vehicle-miles traveled[27]. This means the risk of fatalities per traveled vehicle kilometer is 20% higher in Germany than in France, and near 92% higher than in the UK

They keep clinging to that for mostly political reasons, but there is no safety argument to be made for it.

Ryath · 14-05-2020 11:30am

liamog wrote: »

That leaves us with the remaining argument that 150km/h is unsafe due to the ineptitude of Irish drivers. Personally I'm a fan of the French system. 130km/h and a drop to 110km/h during poor weather conditions.

Ye it works fairly well over there. The overtaking lane is kept clear mostly so it's easier overtake slower traffic. It helps that a lot of their motorways have 3 lanes and they know how to use them. Most of them don't even drive at the 130 limit. Driving at 130 gps speed will have you as one of the faster cars, you'll be overtaking most traffic. (Bar Renault Clios with A plates displayed they're faster than most supercars!) 130 gps speed here will see you overtaken a lot more. They do drop their speed in the wet but not quite to the 110 most are doing a bit above. I've only driven there in the summer so haven't driven much in rain so maybe they are better in heavy rain.

CrabRevolution · 14-05-2020 11:38am

I know the same "They've no speed limits on the autobahn, so neither should we" argument has probably been had word for word dozens of times on this forum, but if the German system is so unarguably great, why is it the only example people are able to cite?

The points on my license can tell you I'm no angel regarding speed, but I don't get this obsession by people wanting the law changed so they can travel at 160 down a motorway.

I'd understand the argument more if Ireland was the only outlier among numerous countries worldwide, but from the looks of it 120/130 is a very standard motorway limit across the entirety of Europe:

https://www.theaa.ie/aa/motoring-advice/driving-in-europe/speed-limits.aspx

Sam Russell · 14-05-2020 12:47pm

CrabRevolution wrote: »

I know the same "They've no speed limits on the autobahn, so neither should we" argument has probably been had word for word dozens of times on this forum, but if the German system is so unarguably great, why is it the only example people are able to cite?

The points on my license can tell you I'm no angel regarding speed, but I don't get this obsession by people wanting the law changed so they can travel at 160 down a motorway.

I'd understand the argument more if Ireland was the only outlier among numerous countries worldwide, but from the looks of it 120/130 is a very standard motorway limit across the entirety of Europe:

https://www.theaa.ie/aa/motoring-advice/driving-in-europe/speed-limits.aspx

Plus unlimited speed is not that common on German Autobahns. It does not apply to all autobahns, nor to all parts of autobahns where it does apply.

Travelling at 150 km/h will save 12 mins per hour travelled compared with 120 km/h. Now, I doubt that one could actually do a steady 150 km/h for 60 mins uninterrupted by lorries, and other motorist overtaking those lorries during normal hours. I doubt even if 120 km/h could be sustained as an average.

I doubt if even 15 mins could be achieved on busy parts of the network.

Allinall · 14-05-2020 1:29pm

Sam Russell wrote: »

Plus unlimited speed is not that common on German Autobahns. It does not apply to all autobahns, nor to all parts of autobahns where it does apply.

Travelling at 150 km/h will save 12 mins per hour travelled compared with 120 km/h. Now, I doubt that one could actually do a steady 150 km/h for 60 mins uninterrupted by lorries, and other motorist overtaking those lorries during normal hours. I doubt even if 120 km/h could be sustained as an average.

I doubt if even 15 mins could be achieved on busy parts of the network.

I would hazard a guess that not one of the advocates for increased speed limits are doing so to save time on a journey.

Mr Snow · 14-05-2020 1:37pm

https://twitter.com/GardaTraffic/status/1260893140678041600

Mr Snow · 14-05-2020 1:37pm

https://twitter.com/GardaTraffic/status/1260863112560947200

Mr Snow · 14-05-2020 1:38pm

https://twitter.com/GardaTraffic/status/1260854447615377408

liamog · 14-05-2020 3:00pm

Allinall wrote: »

I would hazard a guess that not one of the advocates for increased speed limits are doing so to save time on a journey.

For me, I'd like more of a focus on roads enforcement of driving instead of speed. The risk of some one travelling at 25% over the speed limit on the M1 is far lower than the constant red light jumping that we see in our cities. Similarly there are appears to absolutely no enforcement of lane discipline by the traffic corps. When was the last time we saw the Garda Twitter account pull someone over for travelling in the middle lane of the M50.

JCX BXC · 14-05-2020 3:20pm

liamog wrote: »

For me, I'd like more of a focus on roads enforcement of driving instead of speed. The risk of some one travelling at 25% over the speed limit on the M1 is far lower than the constant red light jumping that we see in our cities. Similarly there are appears to absolutely no enforcement of lane discipline by the traffic corps. When was the last time we saw the Garda Twitter account pull someone over for travelling in the middle lane of the M50.

Risk in terms of what?

The risk of someone being killed, or the risk of an accident? Accidents due to red light jumping mostly occur at low speeds.

Dravokivich · 14-05-2020 3:31pm

liamog wrote: »

For me, I'd like more of a focus on roads enforcement of driving instead of speed. The risk of some one travelling at 25% over the speed limit on the M1 is far lower than the constant red light jumping that we see in our cities. Similarly there are appears to absolutely no enforcement of lane discipline by the traffic corps. When was the last time we saw the Garda Twitter account pull someone over for travelling in the middle lane of the M50.

Stop doing something that'll affect me. Go do something that won't affect me.

liamog · 14-05-2020 3:42pm

Dravokivich wrote: »

Stop doing something that'll affect me. Go do something that won't affect me.

I've not been affected by the enforcement of speeds on motorways, I generally drive with cruise control on at the speed limit. However, my car was was hit by a motorbike who ran a red light in a 50km/h zone, and have had a couple of close calls as a pedestrian by people barrelling though after the man has gone green.

So really, what I'm asking for is enforcement of things that do affect me, a VW Passat (why is it always a Passat driver) overtaking me on the motorway whilst he does 150km/h is no concern. The fatality stats back this up. Roads with a >=120km/h speed limit accounted for just 3% of road deaths last year, the same as roads with <= 30km/h limit.

Mr Snow · 14-05-2020 3:45pm

https://twitter.com/GardaTraffic/status/1260942057859887104

flazio · 14-05-2020 4:40pm

JustARandomGuy wrote: »

Here's some food for thought:

150 km/h is not dangerous on a motorway.

It is if there is ice, fog, heavy rain, heavy traffic, vehicles incapable of reaching the limit speeds (usually work vehicles such as heavy laden trucks) or absolutely anything that you would not expect to see on an ordinary day.

Mr Snow · 14-05-2020 6:07pm

https://twitter.com/GardaTraffic/status/1260971714151944192

Mr Snow · 14-05-2020 6:08pm

https://twitter.com/GardaTraffic/status/1260961784187498499

joujoujou · 14-05-2020 10:56pm

https://twitter.com/GardaTraffic/status/1261021357577551872

https://twitter.com/GardaTraffic/status/1261035321749274630

wassie · 15-05-2020 1:46pm

liamog wrote: »

I've not been affected by the enforcement of speeds on motorways, I generally drive with cruise control on at the speed limit. However, my car was was hit by a motorbike who ran a red light in a 50km/h zone, and have had a couple of close calls as a pedestrian by people barrelling though after the man has gone green.

In Australia they have red light & speed cameras at high risk traffic light controlled intersections. Peeps who speed up to run red lights in turn get fined & penalty points twice - once for speeding and once for running a red light. Problem sorted!

Given the Garda have only been issued with their new mobility app toy in the last few months whist other countries have had similar tech for the best part of a decade, could be years before we see anything of the sort here. At least the mobility app makes their Twitter feed interesting now!

Mr Snow · 15-05-2020 4:13pm

https://twitter.com/GardaTraffic/status/1261194821341007874

Mr Snow · 15-05-2020 4:13pm

https://twitter.com/GardaTraffic/status/1261209400045375493

Mr Snow · 15-05-2020 4:14pm

https://twitter.com/GardaTraffic/status/1261289783957094408

It wasnt me123 · 15-05-2020 5:01pm

martingriff wrote: »

You are speaking of a perfect world and that all people have the driving ability. You are not the only person on the road and the point of the speed limit is that for everyone to be aware and careful of everyone on the road. 150 is not dangerous in ideal conditions but with fog ice rain etc it sure as hell could be

Exactly and include in that group drivers who have never passed a test - there are loads of them out there - just because you can drive safely at 150km, doesn't mean any of the drivers around you can drive safely at 120km.

Slow down and arrive alive

CrabRevolution · 15-05-2020 10:44pm

It wasnt me123 wrote: »

Exactly and include in that group drivers who have never passed a test - there are loads of them out there - just because you can drive safely at 150km, doesn't mean any of the drivers around you can drive safely at 120km.

Slow down and arrive alive

Assuming you mean the amnesty of 1979, I think this gets overblown a bit. It's estimated that between 25'000 and 50'000 people in 1979 got licenses with no test. This number can only have gotten smaller with emigration, death, illness, not renewing licenses etc. in the 40 years since, and they'll mostly be 60+ at this stage. There's over 3 million licenses in the state at the moment. Taking a midpoint of 37'500 and applying a bit of attrition, plus foreign licenses etc. I'd say far fewer than 1% of drivers you encounter will have never passed the test.

In any case it's academic since even in 2020 our driving test has no motorway section in it, so passing a test proves nothing about your ability to handle motorway driving.

bazz26 · 16-05-2020 3:43pm

https://twitter.com/GardaTraffic/status/1261636426787061760

Judging by the photo in the equipment they were nabbed from a patrol car parked on an overpass.

Garda Traffic on Twitter 2

Comments