stopped by guards

cuchulainn said:
Suspect that if all cars tried to stop when lights turned amber there would be an awful lot of cars in the middle of junctions.
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Then I would presume it is unsafe to stop and you should proceed?

I don't know if there is a standard time lag between amber and red at each junction or whether it varies.

I guess if you wanted to be fully compliant you should allow for being able to brake and stop in advance of the white line at each set of lights? This would probably require you to slow up even if a light is green when you are approaching.
 
Going late through junctions is one of those things that drive me nuts and the gardai should be enforcing the law more. I'm not even talking about those who go through on a late amber, watch any junctions outside of Dublin city and you'll usually see at least two cars go through after the light has turned red. I've gone through a fair few late ambers myself but I'm never the last one through, there's always at least two cars following me. Usually I do prepared to break when approaching traffic lights even if they are green and if I go through on a late amber it's because I've been distracted or am not paying full attention.
This is one of my bette noirs as its symptomatic of the "that doesn't mean me" attitude of a certain class of person in this country. Other examples include, driving down the hard shoulder before nipping back into lane in busy traffic, parking in disability spaces/across entrances etc, seeing a queue for something but walking by as if blind. These people seem to think that laws are for other people and that good mannered polite people are to be taken advantage of in order to get ahead no matter how trivial the advantage gained.
Given the number of people who anticpate the lights in some form of drag racing, combine this with those coming through the lights after they've gone red and you have a recipe for disaster. Its like every other driving offence, if people think they may be caught they'll stop so a little bit of enforcement will go a long way.
 
At the riskof sounding smart assed it may be worth a try going to the station, apologise, didn`t se the amber, learned my lesson etc. Check first locally if anyone knows the garda, his form ETC..
CB
 
I think anyone who has driven for any length of time has probably wound up exiting a junction with the light red at least once. Sooner or later, the light manages to change to amber when you're too close to stop before the intersection, and too far away to clear it.
This is excluding the times when the light has gone amber, and I've checked my mirrors prior to stopping, and wound up on the accelerator because the car(s) behind me has no intention of stopping.
 
Hi, This business of when to stop, slow down ,move etc. at lights is down to having enough experience which is why learner drivers are supposed to have a qualified driver with them .I know it is not practical so all I can say is you learn with experience. It would be impossible to work out speed, distance from lights ,road conditions ,following traffic and put this all in the rules of the road. Everyone is expected to use "kop on"
 
Normal stopping distance at 48kmph/ 30mph is 23m, and this includes the reaction time under normal conditions. Approaching lights you should be a little more aware of the possibility you may have to stop, which should lead to a reduction in reaction time.

Also, 50kmph is the speed LIMIT, approaching traffic lights at this speed could conceivably be considered dangerous driving if doing so makes it impossible to either stop before the line or make it through the junction before the lights turn red.

Best course of action here is just to chalk it down to experience and move on.
Leo
 
one some roads the junctions are quite small so you might get an amber as you pass the first light and its still amber as you exit the junction but some junctions are big brutes and its the 2nd light that shows red as you exit. depends on speed of course but bigger junctions are usually approached at the speed limit as they are usually on wider roads. I too always check mirror before braking and I agree that car behind sometimes shows no sign of wanting to stop. must check out the situ in norn iron some evening this week, they have an amber flashing before green which I think is a good idea.
 
It should not be a case of drive how others drive, but a case of driving properly. I am not a slow driver by any means, but I would like to think I drive at speeds that the quality and congestion of the road dictate. (max speed on motorways and possibly over on some of the super dual-carriageways, but on the button in town). I actually find that if you drive properly, stopping on amber instead of 'chancing-it' and if your the first in line at a light, being in gear and watching the light for a quick getaway, more often than not you actually give the other drivers nothing to quip about and the whole driving experience is enhanced for everyone. There is too much begrudgery in Irish and in dublin driving especially, everyone is stressed and holding everyone else up and there are attitudes like (especially from the ladies I have to admit) 'your not getting in front of me - so I'm closing the gap', to cynical overtaking on feeder lanes etc that just make driving around a nightmare...hell half of the traffic jams in this city could be avoided of reduced if people thought of their surrounds rather than squeezing onto that roundabout whatever the cost.

Oops..what turned from a normal response ended in a rant! Some food for thought though I'm sure ye would agree.
 
Since when can the gardai prosecute without warning you first?
Don't they have to say something like, "I must caution you that a prosecution may be considered aginst you under section xxx of the Road traffic act 1961 as ammended."
 
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