Man caught doing 208km/h on motorway jailed for three months
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RichInSpirit
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I wonder what kind of car he had.
I do a good bit of driving around Dublin, outside of the M50 and speeding is on a steady upward curve.
Try driving the N4 at 80KPH and watch all the cars fly past you.
Ditto N7 at 100KPH.
It is also now a given that at least one car will be running the lights when you get your green.
I've had people go nuts behind me because I have not done the same.
And I regularly see people looking down at mobile phones, N4, N7, N3, M50 and everywhere else.
Not unusual to see people coming onto the M50 at busy times using a mobile or indeed driving down the "middle lane".
Try driving the N4 at 80KPH and watch all the cars fly past you.
Ditto N7 at 100KPH.
It is also now a given that at least one car will be running the lights when you get your green.
I've had people go nuts behind me because I have not done the same.
And I regularly see people looking down at mobile phones, N4, N7, N3, M50 and everywhere else.
Not unusual to see people coming onto the M50 at busy times using a mobile or indeed driving down the "middle lane".
208 Km/h is some speed to be driving.
But many common, even family cars have top speeds near or exceeding that.
AFAIK, in Ireland;
Double Deck buses are required to have speed limiters fitted and set at 64 Km/h, their maximum permitted speed.
Trucks are required to have speed limiters fitted and set at 90 Km/h, their maximum legal motorway speed.
Coaches are required to have speed limiters fitted and set at 100 Km/h, their maximum legal motorway speed.
Why are cars not obliged to have speed limiters fitted and set at 120 Km/h, their maximum legal motorway speed ?
But many common, even family cars have top speeds near or exceeding that.
AFAIK, in Ireland;
Double Deck buses are required to have speed limiters fitted and set at 64 Km/h, their maximum permitted speed.
Trucks are required to have speed limiters fitted and set at 90 Km/h, their maximum legal motorway speed.
Coaches are required to have speed limiters fitted and set at 100 Km/h, their maximum legal motorway speed.
Why are cars not obliged to have speed limiters fitted and set at 120 Km/h, their maximum legal motorway speed ?
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You should be able to opt into speed limiters for cheaper insurance.
Unfortunately speed limiters do not work with "Baby on Board" stickers, cars pulling trailers and L drivers on motorways.
They seem to work exceptionally well though for those who prefer the "middle lane", as well as locking them into the lane like a train on a track.
And the RSA need to redo the "Give cycles a wide berth" ads and clarify that this does not give you a license to overtake on bends and continuous white lines.
Something else that has become increasingly common - law of unintended consequences methinks
Unfortunately speed limiters do not work with "Baby on Board" stickers, cars pulling trailers and L drivers on motorways.
They seem to work exceptionally well though for those who prefer the "middle lane", as well as locking them into the lane like a train on a track.
And the RSA need to redo the "Give cycles a wide berth" ads and clarify that this does not give you a license to overtake on bends and continuous white lines.
Something else that has become increasingly common - law of unintended consequences methinks
losttheplot
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Pity the offenders licence can't be changed to make him eligible to only drive cars with a 1L engine. The embarrassment of having to come down from a high powered Audi / BMW to a Micra or the like would probably be more effective than any fines for some people.
Why not have fixed speed cameras at all the entry and exit points on the motorway or at each bridge over the motorway. So if there is a distance of 10km between two cameras, and you cover that in less than 5 minutes, you've been speeding (you can cover 2km per minute at 120km/h). Chances of being caught speeding is too low, most people will slow down for the speed camera and speed up again when out of sight.
Why not have fixed speed cameras at all the entry and exit points on the motorway or at each bridge over the motorway. So if there is a distance of 10km between two cameras, and you cover that in less than 5 minutes, you've been speeding (you can cover 2km per minute at 120km/h). Chances of being caught speeding is too low, most people will slow down for the speed camera and speed up again when out of sight.
In my experience, with the exception of the occasional foreign registration who might have a higher limit, and the odd cowboy (Milk trucks mostly) who risk heavy penalties by tampering with the speed limiter, generally, Trucks and Coaches on our motorways, speed wise anyway, are compliant.
The same could be the case with cars, if speed limiters were mandatory.
Brendan Burgess
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That is a brilliant idea. When people apply to get their license back for work reasons, it should be conditional on driving a less dangerous car.
But why a 1L engine?
What's wrong with a Fiat 500 ( I presume that they are 500 cc.)
Brendan
Gordon Gekko
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Devil's advocate...it can be hard to hold the modern car back. 140kph can feel like 80kph. Our motorway network is better and our cars are better. And look at Germany...conservative, but no speed limit on the autobahn.
thedaddyman
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N4 never ceases to amaze me as it is a blackspot for speed cameras. I know so many people who've been caught there yet any time I am on it and sticking to 80, cars zip by me. not sure 80 is appropriate on all of it though which is another story. I was driving a country road yesterday in Waterford with a speed limit of 100 which was far more dangerous.
Tootling down the m8 on Saturday in the passenger seat and over a 10 minute period we passed 5 people on the phone. It especially annoys me to see people in expensive new cars holding the phone, most of them come with blue tooth as standard these days
There was some cases recently in Kilarney as well where a judge fined some boy races €4k-€5k each for their antics, maybe it's the beginning of a clamp down.
Tootling down the m8 on Saturday in the passenger seat and over a 10 minute period we passed 5 people on the phone. It especially annoys me to see people in expensive new cars holding the phone, most of them come with blue tooth as standard these days
There was some cases recently in Kilarney as well where a judge fined some boy races €4k-€5k each for their antics, maybe it's the beginning of a clamp down.
Sorry but it's not hard to hold the modern car back.
Gordon Gekko
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Sorry, but travelling at 120kph in a modern car on a modern motorway is a world away from driving 20 years ago.
Whats wrong with pulling a trailer??
That's true. But it's not what you said in the previous post. You said it was hard to hold modern cars back.
The speed limits on motorways are too low but 208 kmph on a cold and wet road is ridiculous and should be punished heavily.
I’d guess what Romulan is referring to is the fact that most cars / jeeps etc towing trailers appear to be oblivious to the 80Km/h speed limit that apply to them on motorways.
Page 114 here;
http://www.rsa.ie/Documents/Learner Drivers/Rules_of_the_road.pdf
But where is the consistency on prosecutions.
http://www.limerickpost.ie/2014/10/08/speeding-limerick-beauty-queen-praised-for-honesty/
Is the extra 20 kph worth 3 months in Jail
http://www.limerickpost.ie/2014/10/08/speeding-limerick-beauty-queen-praised-for-honesty/
Is the extra 20 kph worth 3 months in Jail
Gordon Gekko
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I'm saying the exact same thing?!
If travelling at 120kph in a modern car on a modern road feels like you aren't travelling at that speed, it's fair to say that modern cars are hard to hold back.
Fair enough, I do agree. I regularly tow and I consider 80 high with my precious cargo - it's unbelievable the speed people do with animals in a trailer. Do they not realise the consequences if you have to brake.
I see people on the M50 on the phone just about every day.
I was behind a woman two weeks ago on the same road who was on Facebook. I often see drivers looking up/down/up/down etc as they text while driving.
Just about every day I see busses breaking the speed limit, changing lanes without indicating and pulling into and out of stops without indicating.
The Gardai seem to be exempt from using their indicator as well.
We are not great at practicing best practice on our roads.
It can be hard to keep within the speed limit on inter-city motorways, especially the empty one between Dublin and Waterford, but there’s no way anyone is not going to realise they are over the speed limit when they are doing 208kmph (130mph).
In my experience the worst offenders for speeding and aggressive driving are middle aged men in SUV’s, not boy-racers or BMW/Audi drivers.
I was behind a woman two weeks ago on the same road who was on Facebook. I often see drivers looking up/down/up/down etc as they text while driving.
Just about every day I see busses breaking the speed limit, changing lanes without indicating and pulling into and out of stops without indicating.
The Gardai seem to be exempt from using their indicator as well.
We are not great at practicing best practice on our roads.
It can be hard to keep within the speed limit on inter-city motorways, especially the empty one between Dublin and Waterford, but there’s no way anyone is not going to realise they are over the speed limit when they are doing 208kmph (130mph).
In my experience the worst offenders for speeding and aggressive driving are middle aged men in SUV’s, not boy-racers or BMW/Audi drivers.