penalty points driving on hard shoulder?

J

johnwilliams

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was listening to the news and i thought i heard the announcer saw that penalty points for driving on hard shoulder was part of the 31 penalty points to come into effect on april 1. am i correct did i hear right
 
Yes, you heard right - also driving in cycle lanes, which is impossible not to do where I live as the road is not wide enough for two cars to pass without driving in them. :confused:
 
I saw no mention of bus lanes? Is this already a penalty point offence?

delgirl, can you give examples of where there is a cycle lane leaving the car lane too narrow? You should report them to the Local Authority and have them changed. It would also help your defence in court if you reported something like this. You should also ask the local Gardai about it.

Brendan
 
johnwilliams said:
was listening to the news and i thought i heard the announcer saw that penalty points for driving on hard shoulder was part of the 31 penalty points to come into effect on april 1. am i correct did i hear right
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In the North, driving on the hard shoulder is an offence and you see it happening there than here. IMO it's a good idea, far too many people treat the hard shoulder as an extension of the road and it's very difficult for other drivers to know what they are planning to do. Plus it makes it safer for cyclists and pedestrians.
 
The hard shoulder on the M50 has now become an express lane for many drivers,i see it all the time.
 
delgirl said:
Yes, you heard right - also driving in cycle lanes, which is impossible not to do where I live as the road is not wide enough for two cars to pass without driving in them. :confused:
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Sorry, but no sympathy from this quarter. I would guess that some EU infrastructual funding was used to resurface/improve the road. Ergo, compliance with EU road standards is required (cycle lane width, colour, signage, etc.) IMNSHO one of the finest applications of EU bureaucracy.
 
delgirl, can you give examples of where there is a cycle lane leaving the car lane too narrow?
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I too, am aware of roads like this. They are dangerous for motor vehicles and cyclists (more so, cyclists). Here are a couple of examples:

1. Approaching Jobstown on the Tallaght dual carriageway, coming from the Square. The 'cycle lane' cuts into the road at an angle, reducing the width of the lane to less than that of a Fiesta.

2. The road going to Terrenure from Tallaght dual carriageway. This road is a joke! - It's obvious that the 'cycle lanes' (suicide lanes more like) were put there for no practical purpose. It's like the government had a quota to meet. There's no way this road is wide enough for two cars to pass without encroaching on the 'cycle lane'. I'd suspect that some wide vehicles would probably end up driving down both 'cycle' lanes! - how many penalty points for that?

I suspect that many of these new penalty points are simply another way of collecting yet more tax from easy targets.
 
Max Hopper said:
Sorry, but no sympathy from this quarter. I would guess that some EU infrastructual funding was used to resurface/improve the road. Ergo, compliance with EU road standards is required (cycle lane width, colour, signage, etc.) IMNSHO one of the finest applications of EU bureaucracy.
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As I understand it, the cycle lanes were created only because there was a surplus in funding and they, Wicklow County Council, couldn't think of anything else to do with the money! Hardly any bicycles use this particular road and it was an absolute total and complete waste of money.
delgirl, can you give examples of where there is a cycle lane leaving the car lane too narrow?
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Dunbur Road in Wicklow Town.

Here's the report in the Wicklow People going back to February 2004 -
"Vehicles coming from opposite directions find it difficult to pass without either infringing on the bicycle lane or having to cross over the white line to the wrong side of the road. There is also the problem of cars being allowed to park on the lanes, blocking bicycles in the process."

.... needless to say, absolutely nothing has been done about it!
 
was talking to someone from an insurance company and they said that if you were driving on the hard shoulder and had an accident, you wouldn't be covered.
 
had heard that too bb12 . my reason for asking this question concern dwon the country we do not have duel carriageways ,just standard roads
if a slow moving tractor , lorry or car being courtious pulls into the hard shoulder to let off the 2 mile tailback following behind him/her .they can now be done for it,better get used to these tailbacks then
 
The driving on the hard shoulder offense refers to motorways. So it is still possible to pull into a hard shoulder on normal roads. All the new offenses are listed on http://www.transport.ie/upload/general/7262-0.pdf. Seem fairly sensible for the most part.

Surprising that "Driving on a median strip, e.g. boundary between two carriageways" required it's own offense.

Dangerous overtaking 2 5 €80 €120
Failure to act in accordance with a Garda signal 1 3 €80 €120
Failure to stop a vehicle before stop sign/ stop line 2 4 €80 €120
Failure to yield right of way at a yield sign/ yield line 2 4 €80 €120
Crossing continuous white line 2 4 €80 €120
Entry by driver into hatched marked area of roadway,
e.g. carriageway reduction lane 1 3 €80 €120
Failure to obey traffic lights 2 5 €80 €120
Failure obey traffic rules at railway level crossing 2 5 €80 €120
Driving a vehicle on a motorway against the flow of traffic 2 4 €80 €120
Driving on the hard shoulder on a motorway 1 3 €80 €120
Driving a HGV or bus on the outside lane on a motorway 1 3 €80 €120
Failure to drive on the left hand side of the road 1 3 €60 €90
Failure to obey requirements at junctions, e.g. not being
in the correct lane when turning onto another road 1 3 €60 €90
Failure to obey requirements regarding reversing of
vehicles, e.g. reversing from minor road onto main
road 1 3 €60 €90
Driving on a footpath 1 3 €60 €90
Driving on a cycle track 1 3 €60 €90
Failure to turn left when entering a roundabout 1 3 €60 €90
Driving on a median strip, e.g. boundary between two
carriageways 1 3 €60 €90
Failure to stop for school warden sign 1 4 €80 €120
Failure to stop when so required by a member of the
Garda Siochana 2 5 €80 €120
Failure to leave appropriate distance between you and the
vehicle in front 2 4 €80 €120
Failure to yield 2 4 €80 €120
Driving without reasonable consideration 2 4 €80 €120
Failure to comply with mandatory traffic signs at junctions 1 3 €60 €90
Failure to comply with prohibitory traffic signs 1 3 €60 €90
Failure to comply with keep left/keep right signs 1 3 €60 €90
Failure to comply with traffic lane markings 1 3 €60 €90
Illegal entry onto a one-way street 1 3 €60 €90
Driving a vehicle when unfit 3 Court Fine
Parking a vehicle in a dangerous position 5 Court Fine
Breach of duties at an accident 5 Court Fine


The higher points and fines listed are the ones that apply if you go through the courts and lose rather than pay up quickly.
 
In Cork coming from Mahon Point to go through the tunnel you must cross a cycle lane. There is a dual carraigeway and then an extra lane off to the left appears to go through the tunnel. You ahve to cross the cycle lane to get onto it!
 
as far as i'm aware though, you're not insured to drive on the hard shoulder on a motorway or anywhere else.
 
delgirl said:
.. also driving in cycle lanes, which is impossible not to do where I live as the road is not wide enough for two cars to pass without driving in them. :confused:
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delgirl, any chance that the cycle lanes you refer to are marked with a dotted line rather than a continuous line? If so, I don't think that you will incur points for driving on them as they are more of a notional cycle lane. Driving in cycle lanes marked with a continuous line will, in theory, incur points. I don't want to start ranting about the points but the whole thing is a mess, nothing more than revenue generation and an attempt to create the illusion that the government is doing something.
 
What does "Failure to turn left when entering a roundabout" mean? What if you want to go right?
Or are they talking about people who might drive over the roundabout?
 
I understand that to mean driving across a roundabout - you always enter a roundabout to the left even if you barely turn the car towards the left before straightening again.


This one should include dual-carraigeways and not just be restricted to motorways:

Driving a HGV or bus on the outside lane on a motorway
 
michaelm said:
delgirl, any chance that the cycle lanes you refer to are marked with a dotted line rather than a continuous line? If so, I don't think that you will incur points for driving on them as they are more of a notional cycle lane.
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To be honest with you, I hadn't noticed that some lanes have a dotted line and others continuous! Yes, the one in Wicklow Town has a dotted line - that's great news if it means we don't get penalised for driving in a cycle lane that we can't avoid! :)
 
Cahir said:
What does "Failure to turn left when entering a roundabout" mean? What if you want to go right?
Or are they talking about people who might drive over the roundabout?
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I imagine it means driving around a roundabout in the wrong direction? It does happen
 
Had a good look at this recently -
the cycle lanes you refer to are marked with a dotted line rather than a continuous line? If so, I don't think that you will incur points for driving on them as they are more of a notional cycle lane.
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and the poster is wrong. The dashed white marking indicates that the cycle track may be invaded for the purpose of crossing over it (ingress/egress of driveway, carpark, intersecting road, etc.) and not driving on.
 
Max Hopper said:
Had a good look at this recently - and the poster is wrong. The dashed white marking indicates that the cycle track may be invaded for the purpose of crossing over it (ingress/egress of driveway, carpark, intersecting road, etc.) and not driving on.
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Indeed. I'm not convinced that this explains the situation whereby a cycle lane is marked with a dotted line for it's entire length.
 
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