# When will I know if I have been caught speeding



## Eng Car (10 Sep 2007)

This morning, on my way to work, on the way out of a town I spotted a marked garda car tucked away behind a private gateway. The officer had a hand held speed gun. All I could see where two red lights on the front of the gun. How do I know If I have been caught speeding? I was probably doing 65KPH in a 50KPH zone about to join a dual carraigeway. Is it the case that I would have been pulled over, or can they just send the paperwork out in the post? I have had a clean licence for over 10 years and feel sick even the thoughts of getting points. I realise I was speeding but it would seem harsh when I was only 50m from an 80KPH stretch of dual carriageway. Thanks for any advice


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## ClubMan (10 Sep 2007)

Eng Car said:


> I realise I was speeding but it would seem harsh when I was only 50m from an 80KPH stretch of dual carriageway.


Very harsh given that you were only c. 30% over the speed limit!


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## Caveat (10 Sep 2007)

Don't think you would have necessarily have been pulled over.  I believe it's fairly commonplace to simply receive notification by post.

Common sense and discretion can sometimes apply in cases like this but technically you were speeding - and to some extent.


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## madser231 (10 Sep 2007)

hi eng car..... just to let you know, you were not caught speeding this morning... unless you were stopped by the garda when they are using hand held speed detection equipment  on the side of the road you need not fret... you can only receive a speeding fine and penalty points through the post when the GATSO ie unmarked van on the side of the road with speed detection equiptment on board or static speed cameras detect your speed and produces photographic evidence to prove same in court. so you still have your clean licence.


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## Guest111 (10 Sep 2007)

Is this definitely the case? I see guards all the time just sitting in the squad car by the side of the road with a speed gun. They don't come tearing after people and there aren't more guards waiting to pull over culprits...perhaps they're taking pictures now too?


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## briancbyrne (10 Sep 2007)

ya - the above are correct - if its a handheld you have to be pulled and cited for the offence - by accepting the document they give you, you are accepting the fact that you were over the limit (after the guard takes down details of the car etc and duplicates this info on the fine notice)

- they have no other way of recording the vehicle details. - so your safe


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## Caveat (10 Sep 2007)

madser231 said:


> hi eng car..... just to let you know, you were not caught speeding this morning... unless you were stopped by the garda when they are using hand held speed detection equipment on the side of the road you need not fret... you can only receive a speeding fine and penalty points through the post when the GATSO ie unmarked van on the side of the road with speed detection equiptment on board or static speed cameras detect your speed and produces photographic evidence to prove same in court. so you still have your clean licence.


 


briancbyrne said:


> ya - the above are correct - if its a handheld you have to be pulled and cited for the offence - by accepting the document they give you, you are accepting the fact that you were over the limit (after the guard takes down details of the car etc and duplicates this info on the fine notice)
> 
> - they have no other way of recording the vehicle details. - so your safe


 
Are you both definitely saying then, that in the circumstances the OP describes, it is impossible to be 'done' for speeding or is this just what the common outcome is?


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## ubiquitous (10 Sep 2007)

I find it hard to believe that the Gardai that I regularly see leaning out of car windows holding speed guns are wasting their time and/or are just there to frighten people.


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## foxylady (10 Sep 2007)

> - so your safe


 

whats safe about speeding?


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## ubiquitous (10 Sep 2007)

foxylady said:


> whats safe about speeding?



Personally, I don't think there is anything remotely dangerous about: 





Eng Car said:


> doing 65KPH in a 50KPH zone about to join a dual carraigeway


 Certainly not dangerous enough to get  about anyway?


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## foxylady (10 Sep 2007)

ubiquitous said:


> Personally, I don't think there is anything remotely dangerous about: Certainly not dangerous enough to get  about anyway?


 

maybe so but speed limits are there for a reason.


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## mo3art (10 Sep 2007)

As the guns don't currently have a way of printing off the results relating to each individual car, unless the gardai pull you over on the spot you cannot receive a charge or conviction for speeding.

So if you sped past a marked garda vehicle with a gun and you were not pulled over, then you will not be charged with speeding.

However the gun in an un-marked van or other vehicle can get you a conviction as the instrument gives a report for each registration number that is over the limit and details the time, speed etc.  The reason for the van (i'm informed) is to allow for more space to erect the more complicated instrument on a fixed tripod/stand.


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## Totto (11 Sep 2007)

hi, 

you will only get points if you get pulled over, they normally let ya be 15-20 mph over, if ur going safe enough.. I taught i was caught the other day doing 80 in a 60 area but i later found out that u can be over by about 20Mph.. I wouldnt worry about it..


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## Guest111 (11 Sep 2007)

Rachel 19 said:


> they normally let ya be 15-20 mph over, if ur going safe enough.. I taught i was caught the other day doing 80 in a 60 area but i later found out that u can be over by about 20Mph.. I wouldnt worry about it..


 
Is this official Garda policy?!


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## gipimann (11 Sep 2007)

Rachel 19 said:


> hi,
> 
> you will only get points if you get pulled over, they normally let ya be 15-20 mph over, if ur going safe enough.. I taught i was caught the other day doing 80 in a 60 area but i later found out that u can be over by about 20Mph.. I wouldnt worry about it..


 
Not the experience I had a few years ago when I was penalised for doing 50MPH on a 4-lane dual carriageway which had a 40MPH speed limit.    

Wasn't there a Garda memo publicised a while back which mentioned a zero tolerance policy to speeding - i.e. 1MPH/KPH over the limit led to a penalty?


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## briancbyrne (11 Sep 2007)

foxylady said:


> whats safe about speeding?


 

foxylady ....i think your taking me out of context here??


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## Guest127 (11 Sep 2007)

I have a friend in the traffic corps and he says that most traffic corps guards use common sense. Gatso vans record and photograph over the limit driving. Traffic corps guards can evaluate the situation and make a call. You were probably monitored a lot further back than you realise and if you weren't driving at excessive speed then but started to acclerate to join the dual carriageway the chances are they were aware of this and not overly bothered.


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## demoivre (11 Sep 2007)

Rachel 19 said:


> hi,
> 
> you will only get points if you get pulled over, they normally let ya be 15-20 mph over, if ur going safe enough.. I taught i was caught the other day doing 80 in a 60 area but i later found out that u can be over by about 20Mph



Based on the court reports that I have read in the local papers over the years there is no way that this is true generally.


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## MidlandsBase (11 Sep 2007)

Rachel 19 said:


> hi,
> 
> you will only get points if you get pulled over, they normally let ya be 15-20 mph over, if ur going safe enough.. I taught i was caught the other day doing 80 in a 60 area but i later found out that u can be over by about 20Mph.. I wouldnt worry about it..


 
I know that Gardai won't tolerate someone driving 40mph in a 30 mph zone let alone 45 mph - 50 mph so I find the above statement, and speaking from experience, completely erroneous. There is a certain level of tolerance to allow for calibration (a few % but nothing as high as is being mentioned above). In the case of a fixed camera the camera does not exercise disgression to this tolerance!

Who did you find this off from? 

Btw you get points from a fixed camera (i.e., gatso) not just if they pull you over (referred to as a non-intercept offence in Garda parlance).


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## SOM42 (11 Sep 2007)

Rachel 19 said:


> hi,
> 
> you will only get points if you get pulled over, they normally let ya be 15-20 mph over, if ur going safe enough.. I taught i was caught the other day doing 80 in a 60 area but i later found out that u can be over by about 20Mph.. I wouldnt worry about it..


 
This is nonsense.  No cop could allow anyone this much latitude.  I would suggest that most people caught for speeding are in this range.  The general rule of thumb is 10% plus 2 mph(that was back in mph days).  After that I would imagine anyone is fair game.

As to the OP's question he cannot now be prosecuted for speeding after being observed by the marked car.  If the guard was going to prosecute he would have stopped him. Different story in a Gatso van where there is a facility to record the offence.


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