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IRISH DRIVERS HAVE had an inauspicious 24 hours on the country’s roads, and the gardaí have been documenting the bad behaviour on display diligently on social media.
Last night, gardaí in Limerick seized a vehicle with no insurance, tax or NCT certs displayed. It wasn’t even a particularly elaborate effort – the insurance disc used by the driver expired nearly eight years ago, while some of the other discs were from other cars.
A court summons was the driver’s reward.
In Monaghan, meanwhile, one driver was caught driving at 171 km/h (about 107 miles per hour) in a 100 km/h zone. Another summons was the result, while 10 other drivers were caught at the same speed trap.
In the south of the country, in Cork city, a Kerry-registered car was found to be displaying the discs of a Dublin-registered car.
The car itself was seized, but gardaí took the opportunity to have a dig at Kerry’s senior football woes. Way to kick them when they’re down, lads.
Most troublingly, a Dublin driver had their disabled person’s parking permit seized – a permit that expired six years ago and had been none-too-subtly altered to appear to be still in date.
A very well-deserved summons was issued in that case.
Hopefully they weren’t given a fake breath test to top it all off
@Kieran Stafford: cracker!! Nice one made me laugh
@Kieran Stafford: The driver probably got two for the price of one
@Kieran Stafford: very good, like that
This is not an achievement, it’s the work you expect they would be doing daily.
@Dáithí Ó Raghallaigh: they are.
@Paul: if they were how does someone drive for 8 years on an insurance disc.
@Dáithí Ó Raghallaigh: probably his “culture” to drive without valid tax and insurance while disqualified.
@Ted Logan: don’t think its specific to any culture, I was hit by a woman a few years ago who had no insurance, no driving licence in a small village in rural Ireland. The local Garda who knew her from working in the local chipper gave her a glowing reference, long story short I paid for the damage, nothing happened to her.
@Dáithí Ó Raghallaigh:
The media’s way of trying to soften the blow after the breath test scandal and the 14,500 wrongly convicted drivers.
Pure spin.
@Paul: good man Paul, needed a laugh!
@Dáithí Ó Raghallaigh: Daily once a year
No insurance for eight years is a whopping saving. Wonder what the fine will be?
@Martin Flood: how did he manage to get away driving for 8 years without being caught?
@Martin Flood: I’d say it’ll be a bit more than a fine. No tax, insurance or nct, and not legally allowed to drive
@Peter Cavey: yeah I wonder too, especially where I live we are controlled in average once a month, every month.
@Richard Wright: That’s what I’m thinking.
@Martin Flood: I recall someone driving a 3 litre car with no tax for 3 yrs saving around 3 k and was fined 50.
@Richard Wright: joke of the century that seeing that he was already banned from driving at the time
@Nucky: He made me laugh , but not for being funny . He lost his licence because of speeding , and has the cheek to say he feared for his kid because of dangerous drivers .
@Sam Cairns: he had to then get the car taxed and when doing so he will have to pay the back tax.
@Gareth Cooney: or dump the car
@Gareth Cooney: or temporarily change ownership
Your telling me a car has driving for eight years without coming to the attention of the Garda. Were I in the Garda press office I would not be bragging about that.
@Dáithí Ó Raghallaigh: exactly
@Dáithí Ó Raghallaigh: If I had composing the headline I would have done to see a bit of research if they were all “Irish” as opposed to driving in Ireland. We always get the blame for everything regardless of who does the rotten stuff.
@Jho Harris: I’d say the one with the eight year old disc was Irish mainly because they had a valid one eight years ago. Same with the disabled disc. But the rest who knows. Would be interesting to see.
@Dave O Keeffe: You seem to have missed my point, sadly we have grown home scammers but the first line suggests that neither anyone coming here to live or who drove here during a visit were all compliant with the law but Irish drivers (some of them at least) have no respect for the law or fellow drivers.
@Jho Harris: but there is no blame being given to Irish people, also Gardaí aren’t allowed to identify them. The headline just says on Ireland’s roads.
@Dáithí Ó Raghallaigh: wonder had the driver been breathalysed during the eight year period!!!!
@Dave O Keeffe: I have no choice but to admit my error in quoting the headline rather than the first line. I focused on the fact that Journal headlines can often by incorrect or misleading and went off in auto pilot.
The guards don’t comment on individual cases, they tweet about them.
It’s a result of the gov and insurance companies letting insurance costs reach such a level that people decide to ignore the laws set up by the money hungry gov and insurance companies. Portrayed as reckless by both gov and insurance company but they have to take a lot of the blame for this.
It’s raining today so no Gardai will be on patrol so it’s the usual free for all on the roads !
Emphasis is on the disabled tag…
I’d be more worried about the gobsh!tes with no insurance.
@Don Juan: or tax, or nct, or license
@Don Juan: It’s very trendy nowadays to be seen to be furious at people who abuse disabled passes. The same people who pay this lip-service then go home and leave their wheelie bins, kids toy cars and other carp strewn all over the foothpath all night.
@Ne: cant be leaving fish on the path.
@Don Juan: Yes, the disabled one is just your average miracle. Maybe they finally got to the top of a waiting list for an operation.
@Dave O Keeffe: lack of any of these negates insurance
@Fiona Fitzgerald: more likely using a deceased parents pass. I’ve seen it before with the free travel pass
@filthypete: lol, took me a second read to get that one
Something needs to be done about the amount of undertaking that’s going on on our dual carriage ways and motorways, absolutely lethal stuff. Midleton to Cork and vice versa is a specific example where most users seem to have some kind of death wish morning and evening.
@mcgoo: In many cases, undertaking is necessary because people hog the overtaking lanes. Some drivers have absolutely know idea how to drive on a motorway.
@mcgoo: something needs to be done with the amount of drivers cruising along in the overtaking lane.
@Martin Flood: I agree the biggest problem is idiots driving in the overtaking lane.The most annoying ones are those who move from the overtaking lane after kilometers of blocking you. They then move into the left lane to allow you pass only to move directly back into the overtaking lane again!
@mcgoo: in most cases if you are being undertaken u are in the wrong lane move over an stop hogging the fast lane. If people choose to go faster don’t you worry your little head about them . Just move over
@mcgoo: Under took about 10 cars the other morning, maybe they were all foreigners and haven’t copped on we drive on the left.
@mcgoo: Two things here, undertaking is not illegal, if you are in the left lane and vehicle in right hand lane is going slower you can pass them. (it is in the rules of the road and I have verified this with traffic corp) and if you are being undertaken all the time move into the left lane as this is the driving lane, you should only be in the right lane to overtake after which you move back to the left lane. I’m available for lessons on this if you want cause it sounds like you need them.
@Brianán McBride: yes cruise right tight up behind them and lift them out of it with your horn. I mean shock them to the extent that they may actually go off the road completely.
Works for me…. I have no time for daydreamers and sleeping beauties.
@mcgoo: you should go learn how to drive. On a dual carriageway lanes have equal importance. On a motorway you should be in leftmost lane unless overtaking. The biggest issue on Irish Roads is people in incorrect lanes. then we have the people that just drive in the middle lane. ffs if people are being undertaken as you put it, then they are in the incorrect lane.
@Mike Power: You are spot on Mike. I made this point years ago here on the journal and got about 95% thumbs down. Experts like rjw1980 and HOTBANK, Laurence O ‘Neill, any of you willing to come on here and spout out your own rubbish?
@mcgoo: Mr McGoo, you haven’t a clue. If you are being undertaking then just give up driving and get the bus. And that goes to all you lane hoggers.
@Shawn Rahoon: it was years ago and you remember names?
@A H: Yes I eat lots of salmon, it’s good for the memory! You wouldn’t happen to be one of those experts?
@mcgoo:
so true .
where i live its the same..mad driving every day.. not s traffic cop in sight;
we have regular burglaries..
yet ..the cops have bretalizer check
regularly on a country road..
something wrong somewhere..
@Gareth Cooney: I’ve flashed my lights at slow drivers in overtaking lane, most of them move over and demonstrate a rude gesture towards me; there is always the risk of undertaking someone and at that moment they decide to switch lanes for this reason I mostly try not to undertake but it always surprises me when I do undertake the vehicle hogging the overtaking lane still doesn’t move over.
@Larry Whelan: the mad driving you see are mostly the Mr magoos of this world who hog the outside lanes. Its illegal btw to lane hog. Its not to undertake.
@Shawn Rahoon: The amount of people that clearly don’t know the rules of the road is frightening.
@Mike Power: They don’t want to know the rules as has been proven for years here. They get all the information from their fathers and grandfather’s, many of them never even sat a driving test. I’ve been telling them exactly what you’ve said and the amount of idiots that disagreed and made insulting comments just showed their ignorance. Funny enough the question on undertaking appeared here last Sept on the article “‘How well do you remember the Rules of the Road” . The answer proved me right yet this time, almost everybody got it right.
@Shawn Rahoon: I wasn’t 100% sure on it after a cpc instructor told me I was wrong. I asked the traffic corp and they said I was correct. They said it has to be legal otherwise someone doing 80 on the outside lane could slow the entire motorway/dual carriageway down.
@Mike Power: you are correct as I’ve spoken to traffic corps myself. If you ask the RSA they are very careful with their wording. They will not say it’s illegal but rather tell you to ask a garda or solicitor. They cannot give you the legal interpretation of “slow moving traffic” . That in itself will tell you it’s legal. If someone is doing 80kmh on a 120kmh in an overtaking lane in free flowing traffic then they are moving too slow for that lane, or slow moving.
Is it not time to have a car registration with tax insurance . Not recorded then when they expire it could be highlighted an then go stop the car check it out an that is that. Just insure the car an then all drivers with full licence insured to drive. Appears to work well in other Countrys
@John Scott: go away with your common sense talk. The gravy train would be reduced to a trickle. Next you’ll have people questioning why a car with a valid NCT has extortionate Insurance if over 10 years old or is refused a quote.
So the Garda, have been documenting bad behaviour on the roads, Like, em,, let’s say, !!!! Over a million falsified breath tests, , NEXT please. Lol
@Dave O Keeffe: it will only be a fine.. IRELAND’S GOT TALENT judge Jason Byrne has avoided a driving ban after he pleaded guilty to driving without insurance and driving without a driving licence.
The stand-up comedian, who was a disqualified driver on the day he was stopped by gardaí as he had accumulated 13 penalty points for speeding offences, only drove as he was in “severe difficulty” to collect his nine-year-old son from school.
Enforcement of traffic laws is a joke, from the motorways to the roads down the town. Recently watched as a Garda estate maneuver around a car parked on the double yellow wheels on the footpath, as the driver used the ATM. Didn’t seem to bother the Garda. And other than an occasional camera van on the motorway I’ve never seen a Traffic corps vehicle pulling anyone over. We could use unmarked rolling patrols on the motorways!
@John Flood: he was probably withdrawing the cash for the Garda
I’m sure there are way more drivers with fake tax and insurance discs. While it’s all wrong… drivers are being pushed and pushed to do so.. with ever increasing running costs..
Well done to the Gardai involved. Nothing like a bit of enforcement. Imagine how much safer and how much lower insurance premiums would be if we had a properly staffed and resourced Traffic Corps.
Tarnish the other hundreds of thousands of law abiding motorists with the acts of 4 why dont you.
Glad to see the comedians at traffic corps twitter account are back in action after their overtime party at the ploughing championships. This said, i have to say that despite the rain this morning there was some shocking driving to be witnessed on some main roads this morning.
The number of drivers turning into the hard shoulder from side roads and then merging with fast traffic is worrying. It’s going to lead to accidents.
I wish they’d do more about moving violations, like people using the right lane on roundabouts to go straight ahead, rather than sitting around waiting for the crimes to come to them.
Does it annoy anyone else that Gardai Post on Twitter and Facebook?
@Red hurley: Same thought occurred to me. Is this legal at all what they’re doing posting this stuff. Is everyone not innocent until proven guilty in a COURT of LAW?
Ffs this is not a new development drivers were getting away with this behaviour for a long time now because Gardai were mot around to put a stop to it. Oh you find them in 30 km doing the easy job and filling their little note pads Now a.ses been kicked out they are suddenly seeing the whole picture every day I see car tax which is out by more than a year still been driven .
Do goats speed and use fake discs on Irish roads?
So from this it is clear you can ignore every rule of the road as long as you don’t speed and have the right disks.
he gets around ,
#goatslivesmatter
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