losing points "without knowing"

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Roll on the General Election.
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Why? - What difference is that going to make? - An 'opportunity' to elect another mediocre party with the same policies. Chortle.
 
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I agree. But at least McDowell (who seems to be at the root of many of my problems with this government) will no longer be in a position of power.

-RD
 
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We live in a nanny state, no matter how you look at it. Good points there, DaltonR. The only solution is to leave. We are not treated like a mature society here, and perhaps we are not mature. Certainly as far as the government are concerned we are to be governed as if we are children.

As for the lady getting disqualified - I really think that her punishment is entirely disproportionate to her crime. She got no chance to alter her behaviour. She got no warning.
Even the lowest criminals in Ireland get second chances, whether they deserve it or not. Look at the scumbags in Limerick who multiple raped that woman over an hour and they with previous convictions as long as my arm.

We got to get a sense of proportion in this country and stop jumping on every witchhunt the government throws us. The easy option is to put middle class people off the road. The hard option is to tackle young 'disadvantaged' children and try to teach them social responsibility and to honour other people and themselves.

People who sh*te on all the time about 'the law is the law' and 'smoking blah' and 'speeding blah' in condescending tones would do well to look at their neighbourhood, their town and their city and ask themselves if they feel that their property is safe from theft and damage, if their children and spouse are safe from assault, if they believe that the justice system is the best we can manage and the Gardai are doing the best job they can. Take a look at the REAL problems in our society. Think about the BEST society we can have. DON'T let the government distract us from that by attaching more importance to the easy things (Catching people doing 57 on a dual carraigeway with a limit of 50) in order to persuade us that they are doing their best.
 
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We live in a nanny state
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As long as you don't extend that argument to the smoking ban I'll agree with you. Your "Smoking Blah" comment leads me to think you're against it.

I certainly think the Gardai are being deployed badly. That's not all the government's fault to be fair. It appears that the Raiding of Alcohol free Disco's is a case of the Gardai not knowing the law.

The only solution is to leave.
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I've given it a lot of thought. It's not easy though. I'm tied down a little bit as inevitably happens from living and working in a place. I hate being hounded out of the country, but if I was 20 again and knowing what I know now I'd certainly get out before I got tied down.

I'd certainly advise anyone just leaving school or college to travel and see if there was somewhere else they could live.
It is nice to be part of a generation who can "Choose" to emmigrate, not have the decision imposed on them. That at least is something to be thankful for.

*** Queue Rainyday telling me that far away hills are green


-Rd
 
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She got no chance to alter her behaviour. She got no warning.
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Almost certainly not true. If she watches TV, she gets several warnings each night to slow down.

While there is no doubt that the state should do a better job of getting out the points notices quickly, I can't support the idea that this somehow gives offending drivers an 'out'.
 
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The bottom line is that she has been treated more harshly than your average Mugger, Vandal, Thief, Joy Rider, White Collar Criminal.

And situations like hers will be more and more prevalent when the remaining 60 offenses are added to the list of Penalty Point Offenses. The whole point of the system is that a person accumulates points and adjusts their behavior. If that isn't the point let's stop wasting time and money on a points system and just disqualify people for a first offence.

Any attempt by Rainday or anyone else to suggest that this woman DESERVES to be disqualified from driving is just silly.
Any suggestion that a system that disqualifies her while dangerous drivers on B roads go unpunished is just nonsense.

There's a difference between law enforcement and ensuring justice and this situation is unjust. It's also counter productive, making people obbsessive about Dual Carriageways, to the point of avoiding them for more dangerous B roads.

My advice to the woman would be to go out and mug some people. This will certainly bring in some cash which will help pay the speeding fines. She'll almost certainly not get caught. If she is caught the chances of being punished are very low, perhaps a couple of nights R&R in Mountjoy. Feel free to crack open the heads of the victims with a bottle while you're at it.

But for the love of god, don't drive the getaway car more than 30 mph. You don't want your nights takings to be depleted by a speading ticket on a dual carriageway.

Also don't mug anyone at an Alcohol Free Disco for Teens. The place is likely to be crawling with cops. Stick to Suburban residential areas or the mean streets of the city.

If Law and Order and Public Safety wan't such a serious matter the current state of affairs would be laughable.

-Rd
 
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Almost certainly not true. If she watches TV, she gets several warnings each night to slow down.
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Maybe she doesn't have a TV...
 
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Incidently if any of you are driving between Dublin and Waterford the Blue Van parked on the Left in Paulstown (just after you turn off the Dublin Kilkenny road is an unmarked Garda van with camera. (In the 30mph zone)

I don't know of any speed related accidents ever happining there, but if they bothered their arses driving 100 yards up the road to the Dublin/Kilkenny road there have been accidents there. Or a few miles down to road towards Waterford there are pleanty of narrow twisting roads that are quite dangerous.

I don't think I've been snapped by this particular van, AFAIK I was within the limit when I noticed it. But then again, how would I know? Perhaps in a couple of months I'll be told I was speeding.

-Rd
 
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I'm wondering if there is anyone who has contributed to this thread who can honestly say that the do not exceed given speed limits (even by 1 or 2 MPH) on a fairly regular basis?

I tend to look at the displayed limit as 'recommended' however I adjust my speed according to the volume of traffic, weather conditions, type of road etc etc to find a speed that feels comfortable and safe. Sometimes this is more that the given limit and sometimes it is less.
 
losing points "without knowing"

> losing points "without knowing"

LOSING points without knowing? I thought that the alleged problem was GAINING (penalty) points without knowing? Do some motorists consider the disqualification points level as a sort of "credit" that they have allowing them to break the law from time to time or something like that? :\
 
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I'm wondering if there is anyone who has contributed to this thread who can honestly say that the do not exceed given speed limits (even by 1 or 2 MPH) on a fairly regular basis?
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I do find that in 30mph zones I now spend more time looking at the Speedometer than I used to. Obviously while my eyes are on the speedo they are not on the road. Not sure that was the intended purpose of the points system.

In case anyone gets the wrong idea, I think the points system is a great way of reducing dangerous driving. I'm not against it at all. I am worried about how many of the 60 new offences will have anything to do with dangerous driving however.

I'm starting to fear that the government has figured out that it isn't capable of providing public transport, so the only way to reduce the car numbers is to make it impossible to be a motorist.

-Rd
 
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I agree. Short term thinking.

If I was in that womans position in terms of loosing my license then I would also loose my job and I would have to leave my home. Harsh punishment indeed for those of us who chose to live in rural areas. Perhaps the idea is to get us all into the cities.
 
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I'm wondering if there is anyone who has contributed to this thread who can honestly say that the do not exceed given speed limits (even by 1 or 2 MPH) on a fairly regular basis?
Just in case there is any doubt, yes - I'm sure I break speed limits on a regular basis. But if I'm caught, I'll take the points/fine/whatever - I won't blame everyone else in the world.
 
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Rainyday,

If you've crept above the limit more than six times then you may get a letter in the post tomorrow telling you that you've been put off the road.

Do you think that would be fair? Are you seriously telling me that if in tomorrow's post you learn that you've been disqualified with no previous warning that you were accumulating points, that you'd politely accept it and not be pissed off at how unfair a system it was.

Perhaps you are fortunate enough to live close to public transport. Perhaps you are physically capable of using a bicycle. Perhaps you have a spouse who can drive you around. Good for you, being disqualified won't affect you as much as it would someone else.

But I say it again. We don't just need Laws, we need
justice and this woman being disqualified is unjust. And the injustice will increase as the number of offenses is increased.

I admire your commitment to black and white, good and evil, no room for compromise. But I'd hate to see a country run using your philosophy.

Sadly I think we're well on the way to seeing just such a country.

The real irony of course is that this woman could be mugged standing at a bus stop (if she's lucky enough the be able to get to one) and there won't be a Garda in sight, and her attacker will get away.

She isn't being punished for speeding. She is being punished for the inefficiency of the Gardai and the Penalty Points system. That might be your kind of justice, but it's not mine.

-Rd
 
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> I'm wondering if there is anyone who has contributed to this thread who can honestly say that the do not exceed given speed limits (even by 1 or 2 MPH) on a fairly regular basis?

I don't drive and don't think I ever managed to exceed the speed limit on my bike. Does that count? Or should I be checking the speedo when on the bus or getting a lift too to be sure?
 
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unregistered user — yes, you can get done for speeding (or even "reckless driving"! on a pushbike. Go figure... :rolleyes

-Rd —
before I got tied down
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— you wouldn't by any chance be going through the same mid-life crisis as meself, would you..?
 
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> yes, you can get done for speeding (or even "reckless driving"! on a pushbike

I know it's possible. My point was that I don't think that I ever managed it. Does the crime of "furious pedalling" exist in Ireland as in the UK? I remember the incident mentioned here a few years ago...

www.bikeforums.net/archiv...php/t-7928

In the UK, cyclist can get fined for "furious pedalling" even if they are withing the speed limit.
A guy on a fixed wheel got fined for doing 25mph in a 30 zone.
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Before any motorist gets on their high horse, I actually am one of those rare cyclists who tries to observe the rules of the road - such as stopping at red lights, wearing lights and giving adequate hand signals etc. 8o
 
losing/gaining points

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Do some motorists consider the disqualification points level as a sort of "credit" that they have allowing them to break the law from time to time or something like that?
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sorry, my mistake....puts me in mind of the Jasper Carrot story about being conglatulated by the police in the USA for having endorsements on his licence!
 
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If you've crept above the limit more than six times then you may get a letter in the post tomorrow telling you that you've been put off the road.
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I'm sure I creep above the limit more than six times on the average journey. However, I do make a genuine effort to stay below the limit, which does seem to be the exception rather than the rule.

I do believe that being caught six times is indicitive of consistent excessive speed and it is better for everyones sake (including the driver) that she take a little break from driving.

Muggings etc are not relevant. It is not an either/or choice. A fixed speed camera isn't taking Garda time away from dealing with muggings.
 
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