Gardai are no better.

Every morning as I approach the lee tunnel from the dublin road. Scores of drivers jump into the hard shoulder and drive in it as it was another lane and then bully their way back in further down. to do this you have to 1. Drive in a hard shoulder, 2. Drive through a ghost Island. 3. Break a solid white line. All in all making it highly illegal not to mind dangerous. So this morning I saw a Garda car join the line of cars taking this route. Said to myself at last the gardai are going to do something about it. To my amazement he then drove across the ghost island in to the lane to east cork, then went between the traffic in that lane and the middle lane. Forced his way into the middle lane. Then when he realised the traffic was moving just a smidge quicker in the right hand lane he forced his way into that. Unbelievable, if I had done that a garda would have gone to town on me for that. They should be setting an example.

9 Comments

  1. Rubycored
    Posted November 8, 2007 at 3:15 pm | Permalink

    Setting an example yes – example of shite driving skills in irish roads! =D

  2. TIPP
    Posted November 8, 2007 at 9:49 pm | Permalink

    I heard on clare fm radio today where driversfrom other countries must undergo part one of the driving test when applying for a licence here,I think since driving standards are so poor here I believe that all drivers should undergo part one of the driving test
    when applying or renewing their licence.

  3. sham rogue
    Posted November 8, 2007 at 9:52 pm | Permalink

    If you know the roundabout in mallow,you will know as you approach from limerick the left lane is for town centre only while right is for straight on or killarney.The other day I saw a car come down the left lane,stop,then swing around the roundabout and head for killarney almost taking out two cars in the process.I considered ring the traffic line and telling them what I had just seen.I was going describe the car as White mondeo,D reg,yellow stripe on side,distinctive blue stickers reading "GARDA".

  4. the langer
    Posted November 9, 2007 at 6:59 pm | Permalink

    interesting fact? It's optional for gardai to undergo training in advanced driving or high speed pursuit. All that's required? a full drivers license!

    So we are just as qualified as most gardai driving on our roads haha

    Compare that with England where all police are trained in the art of 'RoadCraft'. An advanced driving skills system.

  5. GalwayNutter
    Posted November 10, 2007 at 1:36 pm | Permalink

    Sham rogue, did you not see Lettes post? http://shitedrivers.com/index.php/2007/11/08/garda-traffic-watch-is-asleep-at-the-wheel/

  6. INDICATE
    Posted November 15, 2007 at 12:57 am | Permalink

    In order to be in the traffic corps, you must have done a driving course in the training college, which don;t pass people easily, it's apparently a tough course. But, if ye see these things, why don't ye complain?  Seriously?  You see it happen, you surely get the reg, complain, make a statement! It's no good just coming on here and giving out about it, DO something about it. You can easily say "Ah, it's the Gardai, nothing will happen", but IT WILL!!!  Just that no one does it!

  7. petrolhead
    Posted November 15, 2007 at 10:59 am | Permalink

    N25 from Dungarvan to Waterford this morning, aroung 7.30am:
    Today i saw some appalling driving. The conditions were bad.  Raining with lots of spray and mist and i'm following a line of approx 10 cars.  At the front was a slowish driver doing about 80kph …but a few cars back was an ambulance and then a garda car.  No blue lights, no sirens, just driving along with everyone else.  Obviously not on an emergency call.
    But then the ambulance put its blue lights on….and in my opinion he was just fed up with his progress.  He made no immediate attempt to speed up…just slowly bullied his way past the cars in front. 
    Now comes the best bit !  The garda car doesn't know what to do….but he's obviously going to the same canteen as the ambulance driver. He doesn't put his lights on but still decides to try and follow the ambulance.  He pushes his way past the cars in front forcing them to move over by driving very close to them….remember the conditions are bad.  THEN he overtakes 2 cars at once, on the wrong side of the road, across a solid white line….going round a left hand bend.

    I've seen this before in Ireland so many times.  Emergency vehicles of all types, NOT on an emergency call, just using their blue lights to get to where they are going that bit quicker buy pushing us mere mortals out of the way.
    I was really angry this morning.  I saw shite driving at its worst….and it was by the very people who are supposed to stop it and who also have to clear up the mess when things go wrong.

    I learnt to drive in England, passed first my tests first time in both car and motorcycle and went on to pass an advanced driving test where the examiner was a traffic police driver.  I wonder what the standard was of the drivers i saw this morning ???
    I disagree strongly with unaccompanied L drivers in this country but at least the L driver in front of me this morning wasn't doing anything stupid…..not like the Garda driver who was a complete twat.

  8. John Smith
    Posted November 16, 2007 at 12:18 am | Permalink

    The Langer said:
    "interesting fact? It's optional for gardai to undergo training in advanced driving or high speed pursuit. All that's required? a full drivers license!"

    Another intersting fact: Gardai have to undergo a special training course before being allowed to ride a Garda bicycle.

    It's a mad, mad, mad, mad, mad, mad world!

  9. Nonie
    Posted July 18, 2011 at 1:47 am | Permalink

    In response to Ann Smith above I’d like to ask her how did she know that ambulance wasn’t on a call? Emergencies are graded based on the call. For example if there’s a call that some fainted in a shopping centre, it would nor be considered a blue light emergency and an ambulance would be dispatched and drive with no blue lights, however if they are given further information that the fainting lady has since Complained about pain in her neck from when she fell during her faint it would become a code red and the dispatched ambulance would then be required to use their blue lights. This happens all the time. This infact happened while I was been transported to hospital following an accident. Blue lights are a curtesy light and are often only switched on to aid movement through traffic and turned off on quieter stretches of road. Unless of course Ms Smith was psychic she gas no way of knowing they were not in an emergency call as she suggests she ” knows for a fact” bad attitudes and begeudgering natures also effect the quality of driving. So perhaps instead of passing remarks on everyone else’s faults perhaps just watch the road and hazards and react with care and caution.

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