Speed Trap, Caught Again

roker said:
Leper: It's the petty offence, I got done for 10km/h (6mph) over on a Sunday morning when there were few people around, everyones speed drifts up and down slightly, that was the first offence in 40yrs of driving. As I said, it is all about money now, not safety, it's getting near the accuracy of the speedo.
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Aren't all one's own offences petty? If you speak to any motorist who was involved in an accident you will be told "Technically, I was in the wrong, but, you know yourself, I was in the right. . ." The stretch of road you're talking about is among the worst accident-prone spots in the country. The Gardaí are fed up with dealing with petty accidents there and much of their time is wasted (when it could be used more productively elsewhere) on petty accidents. Furthermore, the stretch is well signposted with bollards etc and no motorist there can be oblivious to speed limits.

Sorry for sounding like a teacher, but nowadays driving for many is a race to the next red traffic light. Thing is, too many are entering the race. Add in the lunatic-I-always-have-the-right-of-way jockeys and have mayhem.

I see what I am talking about every day. It is easier to drive slower and listen to André Rieu on CD than participate in the lunacy. And it is better to attend a funeral than be the principal in one. Sadly, too many of our young are being killed prematurely as a result of bad driving.
 
Hi roker,

To be fair, these are probably the largest roadworks underway in Cork at present. The previous section worked on (from Wilton to Togher exit) had speed checks too and everyone knew about them. The current section being worked on is pretty precarious and dangerous with lanes switching & merging. In my opinion 60kmh is a bit slow alright, but if there was a crash there, although it would probably not be fateful, it would cause havok.

It must be a sickener getting this just before Christmas too, but I'd say just suck it up and move on..
 
Firefly said:
...but if there was a crash there, although it would probably not be fateful...
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I presume you mean fatal!

IIRC a young woman was killed while riding her motorcycle at the Sarsfield roundabout late September 2012...
 
Leper said:
It is easier to drive slower and listen to André Rieu on CD than participate in the lunacy.
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Do bear in mind that driving too slowly, without consideration for other vehicles on the road, can have consequences too. It is not a driver's prerogative to opt in and out of normal traffic flow whenever they feel like it.

Leper said:
Sadly, too many of our young are being killed prematurely as a result of bad driving.
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Just our young?
 
T McGibney said:
Do bear in mind that driving too slowly, without consideration for other vehicles on the road, can have consequences too. It is not a driver's prerogative to opt in and out of normal traffic flow whenever they feel like it.


Just our young?
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You're right Mr McGibney, driving too fast or too slow are dangerous. There must be a happy medium though and common sense must be used. Most Irish drivers won't concede an inch and will hammer away at the I've-got-the-right-of-way-no-matter-what syndrome. These people arrive at their destinations stressed and on the brink of heart trouble or with terminal cancer being born. It is easier to drive and be generous to other drivers, but not to the point of pandering, of course.

Sadly, it is not just our young who are dying either.

. . . and the €80 fine, remember you have to earn nearly double that amount before you have it as disposable income.

Every kind of bad driving campaign has failed, perhaps it is time to try being civil and considerate?

Incidentally, the stretch of road mentioned has every kind of speed camera sign and also blatant signs that people exceeding speed limits will be prosecuted, fined and incur penalty points. It is particularly scary driving there lately.
 
On that particular day, the 2 lanes had changed and they diverted in to a "Y" and then over 2 large dips or channels in the road leaving me wondering if I was going the correct way, speeding was the last thing on my mind I followed everyone else.

Interesting that the government is thinking about putting the penalty points up to 4 for speeding, they will only be able to get 3 x €80 fines and then you are off the road, they have not thought that through!
 
roker said:
....the 2 lanes had changed and they diverted in to a "Y" and then over 2 large dips or channels in the road .....
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What you describe seems like a highly hazardous road works situation. The traffic management system appears to be changing from day to day.

The Cork Local Authority Manager advised by his traffic engineers has deemed 60km/hr to be the appropriate speed through the works.

There is a long history of horrible and tragic accidents at roadworks in this country.

There were temporary roadworks signs, statutory 60km/hr speed limit signs and signs denoting the presence of speed cameras.

Most of the traffic on the day chose to ignore the limit.

It may be that 60 km/hr is too low but the next increment up 80km/hr is almost certainly too fast. Remember this limit has to stand at night, during bad weather and when the road works are unattended.
 
We're talking about a few hundred yards of road here, not the whole M1 motorway. Whether you drive it at 130kms per hour or 60kms per hour there are only seconds (even if anything) difference at your arrival destination.

If everybody did the right thing there would be no delay, no problems and everybody would be happy. But, you've got the speed jockeys making journeys hazardous for all.

I hope every speed jockey and careless driver pick up penalty points by the dozen and €80 fines by the score along that stretch. The more the merrier for me. Because of them cars swop paint, people get killed or maimed and what should have been a relatively easy drive turns into a highly stressful occurence.
 
You are of course correct Leper. but this is what it is all about
The traffic was continuous so the camera must have been going about every 5 second, which is 720 times per hour @ €80 a shot = €57,000 per hour.

they did not stop them speeding, they were still doing it, seeing everyone was doing it, would it not have been more sense to physically warn them at the source.
 
roker said:
...they did not stop them speeding, they were still doing it, seeing everyone was doing it, would it not have been more sense to physically warn them at the source...
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Laws don't stop you breaking them - they just makes it an offence to do it!

And how do you warn them "at the source"?

roker said:
...they have not thought that through
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Well I don't know - if you get caught once more will your points tally mean you won't be driving, let alone speeding for an extended period?

There is a simple way to foil their devious underhand GoSafe money making racket...
Slow down!
Simples! Tsch!
 
roker said:
Would it not have been more sense to physically warn them at the source?
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I agree, the signs which flash your speed are used at roadworks up and down the country and are very effective.

Some times, though, its hard to determine whether it is your speed or the guys in front or behind.
 
roker said:
You are of course correct Leper. but this is what it is all about
The traffic was continuous so the camera must have been going about every 5 second, which is 720 times per hour @ €80 a shot = €57,000 per hour.

they did not stop them speeding, they were still doing it, seeing everyone was doing it, would it not have been more sense to physically warn them at the source.
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Two questions I'd like answered (by someone who may be handier with Google than I!):

1) What does the State pay for the running of the GoSafe system ?
2) How much does the State take in in fines from said cameras ?
 
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