The programme, “Late & Live” will have, among the topics tackled, the issue of young drivers and “boy racers” in Northern Ireland.

I’ve also been asked to find out if there are any ShiteDrivers.com contributors or readers who feel they could add something to this debate and would like to take part in it. If there are, please send an email to me at Admin@ShiteDrivers.com (as soon as possible) letting me know and I’ll put you in touch with the programme producers.

See comments for more info on this.

Niall O’Keeffe

1.Hire cars driving on the right hand side of the road;

2. Coaches FAR too big for country roads, therefore driving on BOTH sides of the road at the same time;

3.Drunken smokers blocking roads outside pubs.

All these witnessed on a 15 minute drive in County Cork…Happy holidays to all who survive!!

He was anxious to know why I took his picture. I suppose the universal sign of a wheelchair isn’t quite as universally recognised as we would hope.

Yeah.

My case is that, not only is this rubbish, but I should be allowed to drive faster than the Irish.

When I did my licence in Germany, first I had to pass a theory test, know about some basic technical aspects of the car (lights, oil, coolant, check and change tyres, etc…) and also complete a compulsory first aid test.

After that I was allowed to sit in the car for my first time (no provisional licences there, you either got one, or you’re not driving sunshine) and after making sure I understood all the controls came a few weeks of constant lessons. That’s right, weeks.

We have a minimum set number of lessons which you must complete, regardless of how good you are. And these lessons include driving by night, in adverse weather and on the motorway. Time and time again my instructor would berate me for not going fast enough. I was encouraged to stick to the limit as closely as possible, taking road conditions into account. On the motorway (or Autobahn) he pushed me until I was comfortable doing 160 km/h cruising speed. This is not an unusual speed by any means and I have, over the years, reached speeds of up to 220 km/h, without any trouble whatsoever.

The missing element here is obeying the speed limit and reading the road ahead, since most Irish never seem to think past their bumpers they should restricted to 80.

So, since I hold a proper licence and not something that some people here got from a cereal box, I should be allowed to drive faster.

So there…

And an add on:

What really gets me about this item on the Last Word is that it is another one in a long line of increasingly deranged fascist bullyboys (and girls) who seem to have taken to spouting ever more bizarre nonsense about banning this, forcing us to do that, outlawing something or other.
They must know they are talking utter rubbish and I can only hope for the sake of the Irish that they can see through rubbish like that.
What worries me is the fact that there seems to be an audience for this claptrap, but as Germany has illustrated all those years ago, if someone just shouts loud enough and waves his arms about and bangs the podium and promises to “deal with the problem once and for all”, people will fall for it.
And before you know it the lunatics are running the asylum.
Anyone who spouts this kind of rubbish must know that his party is in very deep trouble, only hanging on by one finger and has to turn to the politics of desperation in order to hold on by any means.
Dustin for Taoiseach I say, better him than those muppets.

1 space just isn’t enough for some people


Northern driver – perfectly able-bodied, no disabled sticker (no tax or insurance either for that matter), parked in a disabled space.

There will be a discussion on motoring, including topics on foreign drivers, the penalty points system and this very web site on the Moncrieff programme on Newstalk 106-108 today at 2pm.

I should be on it talking to Seán about ShiteDrivers.com at about 2.20pm. You can tune in live via the Web here or between 106 and 108FM (Ireland only).

EDIT: I won’t now be on the show. They’re talking to someone from AA roadwatch instead.

I’m a foreign national, have been in Ireland for a few years and it’s bad for me that a few idiots are focusing attention on foreigners and by extension, me. I abide by the law and I see plenty of shite going on on the roads. The statistics are undeniable, there is a growing issue here.
I have a valid license, issued in another country and EU law requires the authorities here to accept this document. That’s the way it is, it’s EU law and there’s no way round that.
It is not my fault if the authorities of here cannot deal with legal, valid documentation. All the handwringing and blaming “dem fordeigners” isn’t good enough. Get the finger out, get organised and get your system in order.
I personally would never, ever drive without having everything in order. My car is Irish registered, taxed, insured, NCT, the works. And since I got it here it’s also right hand drive. It’s just easier for overtaking. You cannot however ban left hand drive vehicles here. Some of those are just passing tourists and since European cars are, by and large, left hand drive, that’s the way it goes. You cannot decide what type of car you will allow on your roads and what not.
If the Irish government does not deem it necessary to provide the legislation it needs to deal with a problem it KNEW would exist in the future, it has left itself wide open for abuse and that’s exactly what’s happening right now.
Don’t blame the foreigners, get a system that works.
If you do anything silly in another country, you are stopped by the police and have to pay an on the spot fine. There and then. If you cannot pay you will be jailed till you do. If you can’t, they’ll crush your car. And then you are forever banned from driving there again. They mean business. Not so here. You can rely on most people to behave responsibly, but some arseholes will take the piss. And the Irish have no one to blame but themselves.

Then on the ordinary N routes, I was repeatedly left sitting at 100 Kph by our Northern Cousins. Continous white lines, hatched markings, approaching corners and speed limits are seemingly minor inconvienences to these dudes (or dudettes !!). Later in heavy fog, at night, the only guys roaring past were again, our Northern Cousins. It was dangerous, as you couldn’t see 20 feet in front of you.

A bit of a Garda presence wouldn’t go amiss ; of course it doesn’t matter a jot to Mr Northern Man, as if he is stopped for speeding, he ignores the postal fine and nothing happens, unlike the rest of us who have to take the “hit”. Presumably it’s hard to serve a summons in Belfast !

It’s obvious that there has been little or no traffic enforcement in the North for the last 40 years as a result of the troubles, and thanks to our lax system, they come down here and basically drive in whatever manner they want. Listen lads, if you want to drive like a s#*#e driver, perhaps you do us a favour and do so in your own country and when you come to ours, behave yourselves.