I assume he issued you with a ticket so, Kin? What a dose...  

I do wonder about calibration sometimes. I checked the 525 speedo against a realtime GPS for a couple of hundred miles 2 weeks ago and found when I was doing an actual 100kmh, my speedo read 106kmh. Yet I got done for going a few miles over 30mph as I approached the 60mph sign in the same car in May '03. And when I asked to see the gun, she said he colleague was using it (and had just nabbed another person) and the speed had been cleared. Not alot you can do at that stage...

Kin,

As far as i know you can contest this in court. The case will probably be thrown out because it's a waste of time. Beware though, it could also lead to more points if it went against you.

Send a PM to Niall.

Not nice, Kin.  Where did it happen?  And did you get the Gardas details?

Think you had problems Kin look at this poor fella (he got done twice)

This is what happens when you disobey the law:

http://livedigital.com/content/album/2310 - http://livedigital.com/content/album/2310

Just on this one, if it was the good old hair dryer, the garda has to stop you, issue you the summons/fine on the spot and also show you the speed you were doing on the back of the radar gun.  If it was digital speed camera ie. hand held or gatso etc. then the summons can go out in the post as there's a mug shot of yourself, car and speed for proof.

Personally I'd contest if it happens to be the radar gun on the grounds that you were contesting the speed and didn't see proof on the radar gun.... 

regds, thomas.

Have to differ on that one, Radar is still active especially on nice rural speedtraps, e.g. road between Monasterevin to Rathangan and on the goverment front as of Jan this year they amended the 2004 road traffic act. to sort out this loop hole over guns not having a pernament record.

ie. http://www.irishtrucker.com/news/2005/march/1803055.asp - http://www.irishtrucker.com/news/2005/march/1803055.asp

As from personal experience I got a summons for a court appearance, (2003) which was the first I knew of the speeding fine. I went, guard have his evidence, I asked was the guard required to stop me and show/ inform me of the speed on the radar gun ?? Judge smiled, gave out to guard, case thrown out !!!

regards,

thomas.

http://www.irishtrucker.com/news/2005/march/1803055.asp -  

I passed two handheld speed traps on the waydown to Cork on Monday but I wasn't even sure myself if I was over the speed limit.  If they are using a tripod mounted unit could this be a digital speed camera and should I expect a fine and some points if I was over the limit?

Cheers topazman!  Car was parked a good distance away form the tripod and both were in Co. Cork.  Should have been paying closer attention when I wasn't used to the km speedo.

See you Saturday!

Just got a speeding offence in the post thinking it was the one in question in this topic. Read more clearly and found out it was date 9th April while going up the Nass road too fast to meet Richie and Mick at the Red Cow hotel to go up north for the M Power Meet! 4 points within 2 weeks! No points on my licence till now! I am distraught. At this rate I will have to sell my car.

Fey! wrote: That's just nasty.  You'll have to start listening to that beepy noise your car was making in Mondello!!!

he's not going to have you in the car all the time now is he???

kbannon wrote: Does that mean that if I venture 1kmph over the limit and your car will blow up? IMO your large statement should say that "Inappropriate Speed Kills" as driving within the speed limit can still kill someone (e.g. outside a school)

Yes you are right.But the guy that started the thread was more than 1 km over the limit. Try telling a mother or a father that you just performed an id on their child even if he was 21 ! Now do this twice in a six week period and see how it feels. There is a big difference between 5km over a limit and 20 km over the limit. I'm getting fed up looking at the carnage...... you should try it.

Rich Guy wrote: But the guy that started the thread was more than 1 km over the limit.

I thought that Kin reckoned he WASN'T over the limit, hence his frustration!  Correct me if I'm wrong (too lazy to check the OP).

RE: the 3 series in Dundalk - was that a local car or a tourist?  Haven't seen much of the reporting on it, but the car looked like a LHD in the pic I saw.

Personally, I don't trust the cops in this country, and if they can prosecute successfully without having to show proof of the speed you were doing, and that it was your car doing it, then I am very worried.  What's to stop them pulling people over at random, saying you were over the limit, and force you to fork out a fine to line the government coffers?  Scam.....

Worth a read:

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZA12Y2002S21.html - http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZA12Y2002S21.html

As usual, it's written in fancy-pancy legal speak, but I think it more or less says that evidence has to be provided, which proves (insofarheretohitherandthither) the speed etc.  But, having read the page a few times, I'm still not 100% clear!! 

Homer Simpson voice: "Stupid legal jargon"

Traffic cops are probably petrol heads too.

I remember Clarkson on TopGear talking about testing the DB9 in France, and the cops were beside him telling him to go faster! 

Hey congrats Luke. You reached the Senior Member position today like me. I know, I know, sad. 

I know a guy whose wife used to drive his M5 during the week and was always tailed for miles by cops to see if it would speed.

KIN: Yes your Honour, I know thats wrong, but it was on the car when I bought it. I swear...I'm sorry...

JUDGE: YOU ARE HERE-BY SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON, A €10,000 FINE AND A 20 YEAR DRIVING BAN. BAILIF, TAKE HIM AWAY.

cr1272 wrote: Personally, I don't trust the cops in this country, and if they can prosecute successfully without having to show proof of the speed you were doing, and that it was your car doing it, then I am very worried.  What's to stop them pulling people over at random, saying you were over the limit, and force you to fork out a fine to line the government coffers?  Scam.....

You need to get out more ! There is NO revenue generated to Gardai by issuing tickets.  And there has NEVER been a case of someone being done like you have said above. There is an expression in the force "The wrong attitude"....... I suspect you would fit right in there.

lukeduke wrote: you would think cops should have better things to do!!!

They do ! But if take a trip across Dublin any day you will see the carry on thats causing death and carnage every week. It's saturday morning now at 11.30 am......... Lets see the stats on monday at 11.30 am.

Whats the story with your signature? What speed do you drive at? Its not just speed that kills. Its inappropriate speed, poor driving and not paying heed to the conditions.

P.S. Driving for 7 years, 200,000 miles approx. under my belt, NO points, NO accidents, NO tickets (EVER). NO fines at all in fact. I think this is because I have an interest in driving and don't dirve just because I have to like so many people.

Rich Guy wrote: lukeduke wrote: you would think cops should have better things to do!!!   They do ! But if take a trip across Dublin any day you will see the carry on thats causing death and carnage every week. It's saturday morning now at 11.30 am......... Lets see the stats on monday at 11.30 am.

OK...now it's 8.10 am on monday and five more families are in a state of mourning. Yes I do agree with you guys that drink is a big factor as well. It's not just the speed, but we all need to change the way we approach driving. As well as the five families mourning the loss of the son / daughter this weekend there are endless friends who lost a mate. Stop trying to justify speeding by asking what speed do I drive at etc. Try coming out with the DFB on a weekend night to the ongoing body count and see how you feel. If you had come to sutton five weeks ago and heard the screaming from the injured you would be less cocky. Speed and drink in any combination are lethal.

kbannon wrote: Rich Guy wrote: True but the gardai do have league tables based on stats and can lose a man if they are at the bottom of the league.

Completely untrue. All traffic units are gaining numbers at the moment. Show me one reduction in traffic units and I will admit to being wrong.

flyingalexf68 wrote: Question: If I drive at a steady 55kph on a normal single lane road with a Maximum Speed Limit of 80kph, will I save lives or put them in danger?

Traffic people being told to enforce the rules. These guys are foot soldiers. They do what they are told. As kbannon said to me "dont shoot the messenger. Again I point out that it becomes sickening to pick up the pieces after an rta. Try it. You can talk the talk until the cows come home but speed is a factor in all fatal rta's. So please dont try and justify speed in any comments. 

Richie wrote: I managed to score 2 more points. Cops pulled me in at the start of the new road from Joe Duffy's in Finglas to Ashbourne. YES I was approaching 70mph but c'mon it's a 3 lane road,brand new and its dry and nobody on it.

The gardai dont set the limits. They are set by your county council ! Dont shoot the messengers.

topazman wrote: The limits are set by the Engineers in the local authority for example the new section of the M50 a 100kph limit and they designed it as a Motorway but then discovered that their design would not allow any faster speed to be driven safely. Gardai attached to Traffic Corps have to have a set return of work each week and there are tables showing the detections but also fatalities in different regions, they are employed on Traffic Duties and such have to show some form of return the same as detectives have to have a return for burglaries detected etc As you see every election time what do all the parties go on about Crime and Deaths on the Road. If they want the problem solved then update the law and have zero tolerence and then you will see safer roads and communities but unhappy politicians because they will have nothing to bitch to each other about  and have no promises for election time

Spoken like a mule ?????

Kin Mak wrote: Oh but he only did it for research...

Yup...... research for my masters. Meanwhile you (tax payers)  ay my salary and fund my pension.

Rich Guy wrote: Spoken like a mule ?????

Would you care to elaborate on that a little?

If I drive with my speedo reading 65mph, I am doing 97kph.  Not pie in the sky maths - I check it regularly using satnav and the cars own trip computer.

Dring driving - zero the limit and everyone can be sure how close to the limit they are.  That may sound harsh, but chances are that the designated driver will be off the booze for the night anyway.  However, that leaves people in rural areas in a position where they can't even have one drink due to the lack of public transport, taxies included.

Very interesting thread.

Speed kills... O course it does.. 2 cars traveling in oppesite directions traveling at 100kph each. 1 idiot is texting or drinking a can of coke and crosses the white line SMASH... 2 dead. The speed killed them, thats just physics. But they were not speeding... its bad driving and bad attitude thats killing road users.  We are all responsible. And I think the speed checks will do nothing to kerb the deaths. I am not on a high moral ground as I do speed and every one has at some point, any one who claims different is a lair. I have been infront of the Justice and lost but before points were interjuced. (no points yet, not because I dont speed, just been lucky)

"lets ban smoking.. fullstop and we would save many more lives than if we banned the car"

i better stop now as this topic gets me mad.

Better driving tests and experiance before you take to the road. A 17 year old should not have the god given right to take to the roads in what ever car they can afford, its just stupid.

Mick

[QUOTE=flyingalexf68]@Mick520i 
but don't agree with you about the 17 year old.

I too was 17 and bought my own car and insured it. I drove like I knew it all. I too had driven around fields and private roads froma an early age, but as soon as I got into a car with my mates on a bank holiday weekend I could get to cork in 2 1/2 hours.. driving like a d1ckhead. I accecpt that now but would have told you to feck off when I was 17 if you told me to slow down. And Im not that old now(31). We need better training and enforcemant of the laws not just speeding, from an early age if we are to change the mind set of young and old drivers.

But hey Im sure Gay Byrne will  be able to reach out to the youth of today and convince them to drive safely.

best of luck and safe driving all.

Mick

Well there you go Mick. Thats where you and I differ. I never drove like a d1ckhead. Yes I did mess and have fun but in safe places. I always had FULL knowledge of ALL the rules of the road and respect for them. (speed has a Limit, which can change, so is not a rule). Thats why I don't think painting all 17 year olds with the same brush and having special rules for them is fair.

Anyone here done the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) Advanced Driver Training day? I'd love to do it. Have to get some free time. I did the Hibernian Ignition a few years ago, which is run with the IAM. Learned a couple of things. Don't think 1 day is enough though.

flyingalexf68 wrote: Well there you go Mick. Thats where you and I differ. I never drove like a d1ckhead. Yes I did mess and have fun but in safe places. I always had FULL knowledge of ALL the rules of the road and respect for them. (speed has a Limit, which can change, so is not a rule). Thats why I don't think painting all 17 year olds with the same brush and having special rules for them is fair. Anyone here done the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) Advanced Driver Training co****? I'd love to do it. Have to get some free time. I did the Hibernian Ignition co**** a few years ago, which is run with the IAM. Learned a couple of things. Don't think the 1 day co**** is enough though.

Sorry mate I wasnt having a go, I just think we must treat all new drivers the same as it would be impossible to tell who will be carefull and who will be irrisponsible behind the wheel. I now feel that I am a good driver but only because of my experiance. (Trucks for 4 years and 40Kmls per year driving company car) Also autotesting teaches you good car control.

Hey we can bash this topic to death all day long and no one will agree.

Mick

Have to say this has turned into a juicy thread.... to throw in my two cents.

Does speed contribute to road death... yes. Naturally... If cars were not moving they wouldn't kill people! Personally I believe there is WHOLE LOT MORE PROBLEMS on the roads other than people doing 5 or 10 miles over the speed limit.

I drive a motor bike in and out of the city centre every day of the week. To be honest I've lost count of the amount of times I've nearly been taken out of it. People pulling out without looking, changing lanes without looking, the last 4 technique for red lights, making u-turns without looking, making a jump for an illegal right turn, etc. etc. The list goes on and one.... the main problem I feel is observation BIG TIME.

There are six times more fatalities off motor bikes than cars and I've seen plenty of crashes where motor bikes have been TAKEN OUT OF IT! by drivers not looking where they are going.

The main flaw with speed limits is they are designed for worst possible conditions when being factored. Is 70mph on the M50 during rushhour safe.... with the way people live on each others bumpers in Ireland HELL NO!!! Is 70 or 80 safe on the M50 on a dry sunny day with very few other cars on the road... YES. You also have to factor in the car itself.... if you're doing 80 mph in a 1980 Fiesta on the M50 at rush hour.... first of all CONGRATULATIONS!!! for getting it to 80 but start saying hail mary's if anything happens. If you've doing 80 on an open road in a performance car you will easily reduce speed, change lane, speed up etc. with little fear of losing control of the car.

I disagree strongly with the way speed limits are policed in Ireland. There are far too many black spots where people aren't checked. I've actually seen a three car pile up on the N4 on a Sunday afternoon because of a speed van. Sitting on a straight stretch of road, 2 lanes and a hard shoulder!! Would that accident have happened if it wasn't there..... definitely not.

I've lost count of the amount of times I've seen speed checks at the end of the quays at Guinness' and slightly further out heading up towards the junction at the end of the Con Colbert Road... the little layby in on the left. The van always parks right in behind the wall.....

This is pure entrapment... rather than the Gardai getting down onto the quays to help the traffic move they wait till people can actually get going and do them for 35mph in a 30 or something crazy like that... thats as fast as you are going to be going there.

All I can say is thank God motor bikes don't have reg plates on the front.... I've gone past that van a few times over the years.

To be honest I would love if the Gardai installed cameras on motor cyclists helmets... the amount of people you would see breaking lights, sitting on the phone in traffic, texting in traffic, changing lanes without looking, etc. Clamping down on THAT would make a difference not doing people for being 5 mph over the limit in a 30 zone where there is nobody else on the road.....

A long winded rant but I've got it off my chest.... probably is a troll but at least I have my point of view aired.

there are no more radar guns in operation, all laser.  the thing about the scanners or jammers is that the laser gun only needs .4 of a second to get a reading, if you're hammering along even 20k over the limit you are not going to be able to slow enough in that length of time.

D.

maybe, i'm only going on what i've been told,  where would the sensor be?  normally the no. plate has to be hit as its a vertical plane to rebound the laser, and its very accurate in firing the laser, one car can be picked from a line if there is enough of the no. plate or light visible.  i know there is one in the states i think that floods the area with infra red light when it detects the laser.

D.

just getting back to the talk of 17 yr old drivers, as a 17 yr old driver i could not agree more that extra tuition and tests/courses for younger drivers are an excellent idea. i like others have been able to drive since 12 and for a 17 yr old i think i can drive pretty well and safely but there are some others, some of my friends even who shouldnt be let within an ass's roar of a car. This system of theory test and hop straight into a civic/saxo etc is ridiculous, we need some sort of practical test too it would seriously cut down on carnage involving young drivers.

i am totally on for an IAM day if you are going ahead Fey?

Am seriously interested in getting a speed gun detector/jammer/whatever the hell as in my mind driving at 5 or 10mph over the limit on a dual carriageway is not exactly daredevil style driving and i do fancy holding on to my licence a little while longer-ive been waiting 17 years for it!! 

Ben O Brien wrote: just getting back to the talk of 17 yr old drivers, as a 17 yr old driver i could not agree more that extra tuition and tests/courses for younger drivers are an excellent idea. i like others have been able to drive since 12 and for a 17 yr old i think i can drive pretty well and safely but there are some others, some of my friends even who shouldnt be let within an ass's roar of a car. This system of theory test and hop straight into a civic/saxo etc is ridiculous, we need some sort of practical test too it would seriously cut down on carnage involving young drivers. i am totally on for an IAM day if you are going ahead Fey? Am seriously interested in getting a speed gun detector/jammer/whatever the hell as in my mind driving at 5 or 10mph over the limit on a dual carriageway is not exactly daredevil style driving and i do fancy holding on to my licence a little while longer-ive been waiting 17 years for it!!

Big car for a young dude.... Nice one.

Mick

Yea, nice one Ben. I started as a named driver in a 1986 Nissan Patrol then onto a yellow Kangoo van (I know), then a Silver (thank god) Partner van, then a 1.9 JTD Doblo van with 100 brake (seriously fast, take on anything at the lights and win) then a Brava (piece of sh1t) on my own policy, then a 1.2 Stilo, (great car but needed an engine) then a '00 Landcruiser, then onto my Patrol. The Z3 is technically hers but we share cars. She started as a named driver on the Landcruiser, then her own '98 Fiesta (great car, actually miss it) and now her Z3. Kids of today have it all.

By the way how much is your insurance on the 525?

Bein honest i wasnt going for the 525 or any e34/bmw when i was getting insured, i have an astra van 1.7DI which i brought in from the uk and to get insurance was costing me over 3k so for talks sake i got a quote on a 520 under my mothers name and it turned out to be 3400, sod the astra me thinks!! Bought a 90 520i to get insured on when the 94 525td came up for sale from a friend of my dads and i knew it was mint/uk import fbmwsh etc so i bought it, insurance is currently 3200 under my mothers name as believe it or not at 115bhp its cheaper to insure than a 518i or 520i m20, 

Also it wasnt necessarily the bmw at 17 image or whatever that made me choose, one of the main things is the safety and since driving last july (the day after my 17th birthday-trust me it was crossing out the days on the calender stuff!!? I have noticed the amount of idiots taking chances on the roads is phenomenal and im glad i have an e34 around me and its worth the sacrifice of no cash to have one.

Nice choice with the landcruiser and the patrol, we've got two landcruisers one 00 passenger and a 01 commercial, great jeep, truly addictive! Hope to aspire after college to a patrol/cruiser commercial for work and a nice 530d sport or at that stage a 535d sport for the weekends!