Damn those Penalty Points!

I too have no points and probably go over the limit atleast once a day. If the limits 100kpm I'll go to 110kpm where I can. I am far from a "boy racer" so don't drive at excessive speeds. If you have never went over any speed limit then your probably in a very small group. safe motoring.
 

Davy - i'd say you'll get hammered on that statement. I would be in the same boat as you and assess the conditions around. If everyone travelled at what they thought was 100kpm in such a zone, not all cars would even be travelling at exactly the same speed, due to tachometer calibration errors.
 
Peeete said:
If everyone travelled at what they thought was 100kpm in such a zone, not all cars would even be travelling at exactly the same speed, due to tachometer calibration errors.
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Perhaps that's why they are speed limits - not speed targets as some people seem to assume.
 
ClubMan said:
Perhaps that's why they are speed limits - not speed targets as some people seem to assume.
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That doesn't make sense Clubman. If enforecment was that strict then people who believed they were upholding the law could be slightly over (and receive points, etc). This has nothing to do with targets - Are you suggesting people should drive below speed limits just incase?
 
Peeete said:
Are you suggesting people should drive below speed limits just incase?
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Seems a logical way to abide by the law especially if, as you suggest, speedometers may not always be 100% accurate. Anyway the law requires that motorists drive at or below the relevant speed limit so obviously any law abiding and responsible motorist will do this.
 
ClubMan said:
Perhaps that's why they are speed limits - not speed targets as some people seem to assume.
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But you can fail your driving test for not driving up to the speed limit... so the driving test says they are targets...
 
jhegarty said:
But you can fail your driving test for not driving up to the speed limit... so the driving test says they are targets...
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I failed my test first time for driving too slow. I was doing 20 in a 30 so was penalised for holding up traffic..... my instructor told me that i should always drive at the speed limit, even slightly over would not do any harm...
 
I'm driving 15 years - I got one speeding ticket (not in Ireland- 300 euro )- took my medicine and moved on -

all this whining makes for amusing reading (like a school kid caught doing something wrong and feeling so hard done by.. ) but obey the rules ( especially towards the end of the month, as we all know that is when the targets must be met )

don't drive like 'a you know what' and all will be fine - YOU'LL GET THERE,

In general I support the Guards in the job they are trying to do.
 
The OP asked:

I am stunned at the off topic responses....
 
Ris said:
The OP asked:


I am stunned at the off topic responses....
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You are easily stunned,. the bottom line is most drivers go over the speed limit time at some stage and some get caught doing it. I can understand it may seem unfair but we all know the rules and the OP will have to take it like a man.
If there are two drivers for the car the registered owner will get the PCN, this can be contested and if the named driver was driving, the PCN would be changed over. If you have a provisional, points will carry over when a test is passed. Also it is worth noting giving incorrect information to the Gardai may lead to a fraud charge.
I also belive that the Gardai don't have 10 year old vans/cars in service so the OP probably has nothing to worry about.
 
I do my best to drive within the speeding limit. If I did get caught, I would just take the medicine.

The one area I have a problem with is the few hundred yards directly after the speed limit sign. The speed limit can reduce suddenly and I slow down rather than break. I think that the signs should be moved back 200 yards and they should signify that the lower speed limit applies 200 yards on.

The other change I would make would be to make the penalty points more meaningful. If you commit a motoring offence, you should be banned for one month with immediate effect. This would dramatically reduce the speed at which people are driving and reduce the deaths and injuries.

There should be a full year's ban after 6 penalty points. 12 points is way too much.

It would be very difficult to implement, but it would be great if good drivers could be rewarded in some way. Rewards change people's behaviour much more dramatically than penalties. So if a Garda saw someone slowing down as they approached an orange light, they could be given a credit. If they saw someone adjusting their driving speed to changed conditions e.g. wet roads or fog, they could give them credits as well.

One way of achieving this would be to give people a credit for each year they drive without a penalty point. A sort of no claims bonus. If you drive safely for 5 years and then get caught for a relatively minor infringement, it would not count apart from using up your clean record.
 
Brendan, I pray you never get to be head of the RSA, although I do agree about the signage. The only way you ideas could work would be thet every car in the state would be linked to a central computer. Good driving and bad driving could be observed in real time and credits/punishment could be logged automatically. Now thats a scary thought.
 
Brendan, I pray you never get to be head of the RSA
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How could I compete with Gay Byrne? Isn't he doing a magnificent job? He is exactly the type of role model that all the boy racers need to look up to. I believe they are now staying in on a Saturday night to watch him on the Late Late Show.

Brendan
 
television said:
and i have been driving for 15 years and have no points.
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You must be tired. Pull over an have a kip.

Whats your point? Its an unverifiable comment, so really has no weight. I know many people who have been driving far longer and have no point and are terrible drivers. I've been driving longer with no points and I'm far from a perfect driver.

The point system hasn't even existed 15yrs.

ClubMan said:
Glibly correct though.
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Useful.

It would be more useful to lock the thread, as these threads degenerate nonsensical gibberish most of the time. Put a GPS on the most perfect (at least in their own mind) driver (and don't tell them) and I would lay high odds all of them would at some point break a speed limit, or some law at some point. There are obvious flaws in how speed limits and speed checks are applied.

http://www.irishspeedtraps.com/SpeedLimits.aspx

I'm not defending speeding, (or the OP) but there should be common sense applied here. But no ones a perfect driver, (its nonsense to suggest otherwise) But catching people out for 5 km/h in places where its easily to be caught out and its not dangerous, is a completely farce where you could catch people doing 80~100km/h in Residential areas on daily basis. Bad driving is a habit, and bad drivers are consistently bad. There's loads of places around town where again every day, you'll see people deliberately breaking the law, and aggressive driving. That's not something people do by accident, and you can be sure they are consistently bad when they drive. However even the most careful driver can be caught out if you have inappropriate speed limits, in silly places.
 
jhegarty said:
But you can fail your driving test for not driving up to the speed limit... so the driving test says they are targets...
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Its a bit inconsistent tbh. I find in the UK and other countries, the unspoken rule seems to be don't hold up other cars. Don't impede progress by sticking to the speed limit, or below it. But at the same time if there's only one car behind you, you can't ignore the speed limit claiming this is what you are doing.

The Guards need to be consistent though.
 
you seem to have got lots of sarcasm but few answers I am afraid...

Their points are relavent but I am sure you are old enough to have known that without been told the rules of the road on here.
 
For penalty points to be effective they've to be reasonably hard to get. Putting garda cars in slow down zones to catch people smoothly and safely slowing down is a good way to give 90% of the population points and render any stigma to having them obsolete.

It's also a good way to damage the excellent relationship between public and gardai.

If the gardai want to penalize these offenses then a graduated system is needed, with just fines for an obviously safe but technically illegal speed.

It might be useful for people who believe they never speed to see what happens in the Netherlands where they've pretty much a zero tolerance approach.

[broken link removed]

Essentially 10 million fines were given last year for 7 million drivers with the head of traffic enforcement saying this is expected since "everybody speeds sometimes".

I'd far prefer the Dutch approach to our one as it least it's fair and consistent - and seemingly highly effective.
 
Ceatharlach said:
you seem to have got lots of sarcasm but few answers I am afraid...

Their points are relavent but I am sure you are old enough to have known that without been told the rules of the road on here.
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I'm not sure who your referring to or what point you're commenting on, as you've posted no quote, or made any rebuttal of any specific point. I'm guessing its me though.

I wouldn't be favour of blindly following rules, or that you have to be a certain age, to have maturity or common sense. I would much prefer people used their common sense based on the road conditions. For example, the legal limit maybe entirely inappropriate in poor conditions. Or break a light to let an emergency vehicle through.
 
gradgrind said:
....

I'd far prefer the Dutch approach to our one as it least it's fair and consistent - and seemingly highly effective.
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Interesting alright.

In Ireland we we seem to delight in breaking rules, at every level, including those in the highest and lowest office. So it seems unrealistic at best to expect everyone to be a perfect driver.
 
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