# Motorists going through red light.



## thedaras (24 Oct 2011)

As I was turning left on a FULL green light onto a dual carriageway,another motorist coming up the dual carriageway,did two illegal things.

1) He went through a red light and

2) He did an illegal U turn.

When I had to stop to let him go,he gets really smart with me.

He was dropping off his daughter near the school entrance,and stopped in the bus lane to do so.

Ok, I am annoyed about his attitude and have a major issue with those who go through a red light,drop their kids off in a bus lane and do illegal U turns.

What would be the right thing to do?
Do I just forget it?
Do I phone the traffic cops (I have his reg ,make and model ).


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## callybags (24 Oct 2011)

The breaking of red lights really winds me up... and it is everywhere!

I regularly see three or sometimes four cars go through the red.

If I was in charge of the traffic light sequences, the badness in me would set them to go green 2 seconds before the others side go red.

That'd soon learn them.


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## Mpsox (24 Oct 2011)

I know last year in the bad weather I contacted a couple of companies whose drivers passed me driving like loonies. I always got a response, an apology and was told that it "would be dealt with ". I've no idea if it were or not but it made me feel better and if I had drivers on the road driving badly I'd like to know about it.

Problem here is that it is a private driver so it's your word against his. I know where my little un goes to school, they've had similer issues and a letter went out to each parent from the school and it did improve things. Sad to say that there are a lot of drivers on the road who have no idea how to drive


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## thedaras (24 Oct 2011)

LOL. It is just as well, I'm not running the madhouse!

I go through the same lights as the offending motorist ,every day.However he really did push it ,it wasn't as if the lights were even amber,they were redder than red,plus he did a u turn onto the dual carriageway,and then stops in the bus lane!
Oh how I would  love to be a traffic cop at times like this ..


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## thedaras (24 Oct 2011)

Mpsox,That was my third option, to phone the school and ask them ,to mention incidents of illegal u turns and stopping in the bus lane ,etc in their next newsletter.


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## Boyd (24 Oct 2011)

Mpsox said:


> I always got a response, an apology and was told that it "would be dealt with ". I've know idea if it were or not but it made me feel better and if I had drivers on the road driving badly I'd like to know about it.



I know someone who lost the use of their company jeep over someone doing this so it goes get through


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## Firefly (24 Oct 2011)

On running red lights: In the UK the traffic lights go amber before they go green, this means that drivers pull-off the second the lights go green...this would fix the issue pretty quickly.


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## Latrade (24 Oct 2011)

Wait, I thought it was only cyclists who broke red lights and motorists were innocent of any illegal driving...


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## callybags (24 Oct 2011)

But cyclists have a special dispensation...


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## Firefly (24 Oct 2011)

Latrade said:


> Wait, I thought it was only cyclists who broke red lights and motorists were innocent of any illegal driving...



LOL. Actually, it would be interesting (in an anorak sort of way) to see who is statistically more at fault for breaking red lights. I would guess cyclists....


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## nai (24 Oct 2011)

I'd give the local garda station a call and let them know it happens - they may just leave a car there for a couple of mornings to get the message across.

We had a number of incidents near the school recently where dumb ass parents were stopping in middle of road, double parking, stopping on the hatched lines .... outside the school. Local guards were informed and they ticketed a number of drivers on afternoon - it hasn't happened since


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## TarfHead (24 Oct 2011)

Roundabouts are my current complaint.

Yesterday, I had right of way, yet someone drove on to the roundabout in front of me without even looking to check. Luckily no damage was done.

On my drive to work, I have to negotiate a (different) roundabout and the number of drivers who use their indicators correctly is a very small minority.

This morning, a driver beeped me cos I wouldn't hold back to let her change lanes in front of me after she had driven up the bus lane to get were she was.

It's hard I'm such an exemplary driver  !


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## DB74 (24 Oct 2011)

At my local school, people always break the red light to turn right at the traffic lights

The sequence of lights is such that they actually go through a pedestrian light which is green when they break the red light

I'm amazed that no child has been knocked down there while crossing at the pedestrian crossing


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## thedaras (24 Oct 2011)

DB74, that is also a major problem in my area.
Drivers forget that there are kids,who have a green light and are crossing the road at that time.
There have been several incidents of people being knocked down,and even some deaths here.
I have written ,and phoned Gardai stations,Gardai HQ, the county council ,TDs etc,but they seem to brush it off..


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## dereko1969 (24 Oct 2011)

Let the Garda know what this person is doing, then they can decide whether or not to follow it up.


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## liaconn (24 Oct 2011)

Mpsox said:


> I know last year in the bad weather I contacted a couple of companies whose drivers passed me driving like loonies. I always got a response, an apology and was told that it "would be dealt with ". I've no idea if it were or not but it made me feel better and if I had drivers on the road driving badly I'd like to know about it.


 

I reported a truck driver recently who was driving dangerously on the M50, then tried to blow me off the road because I wasn't going fast enough for his liking. His truck had a big 'How is my driving. Phone.....' at the back so I phoned the number with his reg details. It seemed to be some kind of a centralised place that dealt with complaints for lots of different companies. They assured me it would be taken seriously but no one phoned me back to apologise or anything. I presume it came down to my word against his!


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## Mpsox (24 Oct 2011)

liaconn said:


> I reported a truck driver recently who was driving dangerously on the M50, then tried to blow me off the road because I wasn't going fast enough for his liking. His truck had a big 'How is my driving. Phone.....' at the back so I phoned the number with his reg details. It seemed to be some kind of a centralised place that dealt with complaints for lots of different companies. They assured me it would be taken seriously but no one phoned me back to apologise or anything. I presume it came down to my word against his!


 
I tried those numbers with the same result so I just go straight to the company in question. You can usually a companies MD contact details on line


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## Latrade (24 Oct 2011)

liaconn said:


> I reported a truck driver recently who was driving dangerously on the M50, then tried to blow me off the road because I wasn't going fast enough for his liking. His truck had a big 'How is my driving. Phone.....' at the back so I phoned the number with his reg details. It seemed to be some kind of a centralised place that dealt with complaints for lots of different companies. They assured me it would be taken seriously but no one phoned me back to apologise or anything. I presume it came down to my word against his!


 
At a previous employment we had the same thing. Most complaints were taken seriously and investigated mainly because it takes a lot for people to actually phone up and use the number. 

Based on the complaint you can tell if it's genuine and if nothing else, with truck drivers, it meant a serious look at their tacograph, which none liked. 

Though we'd always respond to the individual immediately at least to confirm details.


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## liaconn (24 Oct 2011)

Latrade said:


> At a previous employment we had the same thing. Most complaints were taken seriously and investigated mainly because it takes a lot for people to actually phone up and use the number.


 
That's what I assumed they'd think. I've often been annoyed by drivers on the road but on this occasion I went to the trouble of concentrating really hard to remember the phone number and the reg details until it was safe to pull in and write them down. Then, as you said, I had to go to the trouble of ringing the number and going through all the details with the operator. Someone would hardly do that unless they were seriously annoyed or alarmed at the way someone was driving.


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## STEINER (24 Oct 2011)

I see traffic light violations every time I am in a car and I am only ever in my wife's car, about twice a week. AFAIC rule enforcement is a joke.  2 weeks ago my wife was stopped at a green light and couldnt proceed as traffic was static the far side of the junction.  driver behind her went ahead of her into the yellow box and blocked part of the junction!  last week my wife yielded correctly and safely at a roundabout to a car who had the priority, he blasted his horn in a ridiculous manner asserting his right of way.  needless to say she blasted himout of it!


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## shnaek (24 Oct 2011)

What we need is traffic light reform, to restore the respect for the traffic light.
Traffic lights should flash orange at night, to indicate approach and follow through with caution.
There should be left turn allowed on red, with caution.
And there should be a cull on traffic lights which only serve the purpose of frustrating traffic flow. 
Perhaps then respect can be restored


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## DB74 (24 Oct 2011)

shnaek said:


> What we need is traffic light reform, to restore the respect for the traffic light.
> Traffic lights should flash orange at night, to indicate approach and follow through with caution.
> There should be left turn allowed on red, with caution.
> And there should be a cull on traffic lights which only serve the purpose of frustrating traffic flow.
> Perhaps then respect can be restored



Most Irish drivers do not have the capability to obey the current rules properly, let alone ones which allow for some degree of ambiguity.

We would need a lot less "me me me" type drivers on our roads before we could consider sensible rules like these.


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## liaconn (25 Oct 2011)

True. Even in last night's treacherous driving conditions you still had eejits speeding and tailgating and being all impatient and in a hurry around drivers trying to react sensibly to the floods and lashing rain.


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## shnaek (25 Oct 2011)

Was driving home last night heading through the green light when a group of pedestrians crossed on the red man. Only after I reading this thread and all!


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## Leper (26 Oct 2011)

Ireland is a great country for drivers doing what they want no matter what the regulations. Yes, driving through traffic lights on red is one of the most grave bad habits.  

I do much city driving and every minute of every hour of every day I see other motorists speeding as if they wanted to break the land-speed record.  Most of them are old enough to know that all they are doing is speeding to the next red light or stop sign. Sooner or later, they get caught out and consequently leave a bad mess on the road.

I feel every driver should have refresher courses in driving every few years. Bad habits are difficult to cease. We need the Gardaí to crack down on these uncaring drivers and prosecute as much as possible.  The quicker these lunatic drivers are off the road, the better and our roads will be safer for everybody.

There are signs advising road users to report dangerous drivers.  This is good, but if there were working video cameras at busy roundabouts and the road users were allowed ring a "central" telephone number to report dangerous and careless drivers resulting in prosecution and fines and possibly disqualification, I feel our roads would be much safer for everybody.


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## shnaek (27 Oct 2011)

Leper said:


> Ireland is a great country for drivers doing what they want no matter what the regulations.


You can substitue lots of categories of people in for 'drivers' in that sentence:
Ireland is a great country for politicians doing what they want no matter what the regulations.
Ireland is a great country for bankers doing what they want no matter what the regulations.
Ireland is a great country for bureaucrats doing what they want no matter what the regulations.
...


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## Purple (27 Oct 2011)

I've been watching out for drivers going through red lights since this thread was started. So far this week I've seen around 15 cars and 3 Dublin Bus busses.


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## Complainer (27 Oct 2011)

It happens regularly on my cycle commute;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJRrL0jazBc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E13246H0Pdk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5oPA-FYZXU

But this one has got to be the ultimate in bad driving;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X14dZa1T2KE


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## Firefly (27 Oct 2011)

Complainer said:


> It happens regularly on my cycle commute;
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJRrL0jazBc
> 
> ...




Some pretty poor driving alright. One thing I noticed though is how close the cyclist was to the car(s) in front of him. Should a car have to break suddenly I doubt the cyclist would be able to stop. Were a car to be that close to me when I was driving I'd have a few words. 

The other thing apparent to me was the cyclist under-taking cars. Should a car have to swerve in for whatever reason then the cyclist is at danger. In both of these situations would the cyclist be at fault?


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## Seagull (27 Oct 2011)

Purple said:


> I've been watching out for drivers going through red lights since this thread was started. So far this week I've seen around 15 cars and 3 Dublin Bus busses.


 
I'd probably see at least 3 Dublin buses a day go through a red light at the corner of Harcourt Street and Earlsfort Terrace back when we were in town. That would be while walking up to cross the road.


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## DB74 (27 Oct 2011)

Complainer said:


> It happens regularly on my cycle commute;
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJRrL0jazBc
> 
> ...



Nice videos


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## NOAH (16 Nov 2011)

we are changing to the uk system soon,  ie red amber,   so they will have 2 chances to jump lights.


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## Leper (16 Nov 2011)

Our driving habits are dreadful, breaking red lights, zig-zagging all over the place, speeding, road-raging etc etc.  And, all for what - to get to the next red light.


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## shnaek (16 Nov 2011)

Leper said:


> And, all for what - to get to the next red light.


True. Get rid of the lights and we'd all be better off. Traffic moved much better the time they broke down in the centre of Tullamore. And the ones they put up at the Hunstman in Galway, in place of the old roundabout, are a disaster. What is it with Councils and bloody lights? They put more and more of them up causing, in many cases, bigger and bigger traffic jams. Ridiculous. But it's probably so some local councillor can say they did something.


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## roker (16 Nov 2011)

A lot of driver’s jump the lights because there is an exceptional long waiting time on the red, ie the sequence is slow.
I regularly go around the West Cork roundabout and the sequence is set so that you hit 3 sets of red lights to get around the rounabout.
In the USA there are cameras that can catch red light jumpers, we need some here.


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## RMCF (16 Nov 2011)

I can't imagine that so many people are in so much of a hurry that there needs to be so much red-light abuse, but I see it myself all the time.

The one that is most abused is the temporary roadworks lights. Nearly everytime I have to go through these you end up getting a green, but your line of traffic has to wait for about 5 or 10 cars to come on past you 1st, meaning they all jumped their red light at the other end.

Once I was at temporary lights and at the head of the queue, I got a green and it changed back to red again *before *the line coming towards me had passed !! That really messed things up.


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## becky (17 Nov 2011)

I remember those temp work lights (you don't see them so much anymore).  There was one I use to go through about once a week and like you said, I'd get a green light and would have to wait for 10 - 15 cars to pass.

I was usually first in the queue as I would stop on a red light.  

One morning just shortly after I got through (10 minutes or so) the cars met in the middle, the road was blocked for an hour or so, as 40 or so cars had to reverse back to the lights.  

I'm not religious or superstitious but I had an important meeting that morning and remember thinking I was rewarded for not jumping red lights.


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## Firefly (17 Nov 2011)

Dangerous, illegal and tells tourists we're a bunch of cowboys. 
4 penalty points on the spot with 6 if you go to court and the problem would be fixed overnight.


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