Who am I? I’m Donncha O Caoimh and I run a number of other blogs and dabble in WordPress code for most of the day so hopefully I’ll find time to do some interesting things with this site.

shitedrivers.com now lives on one of my own servers. Some features of the old site haven’t made it over and I probably won’t run a forum here. The old forum only managed 2 or 3 threads in total and are a magnet for spammers.

We need a list of writers (listed on site) who will guarantee the site a story on a weekly, or monthly basis.
We need to have a greater presence in the print, radio and television media. We can delegate an individual member to look after  the promotion of the site.
Seek the assistance of interested members in the legal and accountancy  professions who will look after the legal and financial affairs of the site on a voluntary basis.
Use your vast experience in the radio media world to seek assistance from other interested parties, on behalf of all those who feel part of this road safety campaign.
Place an advertsement on the site seeking this assistance.
Set up a subscription fund in order to finace media support and car window stickers promoting the site. (Use Paypal)
We may need to slightly change the name of the site in order to make its name more acceptable to people who  otherwise may not publically identify themselves as supporters or visitors to the site principally because they have to say the name of the site to others. Dont forget we still live in a conservative, Catholic Ireland where certain things are best whispered rather than spoken aloud.
One  such name could be
BADDRIVERS.com  or SHAMDRIVERS.COM

Before you decide to throw in the towel, change the name now  and lets start to  work on the other problems that  are forcing you to close down the site.  Come back,  throw us your suggestions or proposals on how we can move the site from here into the future. Let’s discuss this situation before it is too late.
Dont give up, the good parts are just beginning to emerge. As a community let us all get together and see how we can move the site along from this point.

Not only has the site highlighted the situation of bad driving on our roads, it has also enabled people to comment on the decisions made by people who are supposed to be professionals and who allegidely work in our interests.

The RSA made a mash of the Provisional drivinging licence debacle and is now pursuing the speed camera idea (authorities in the UK are now reassessing the effectivness and continued use of cameras) as if speed cameras were the answer to all our problems. In the United Kingdom, authorities are now looking at their  past decisions to use camera as an effective method of reducing speed and other related road issues. Heavy goods vehicles, truck and bus drivers are now obliged to take a test and receive a certificate of competency from the RSA before they can drive such vehicles on the road. But these sections of road users are currently obliged to take certain tests in order to drive such vehicles on the road. What the RSA has consistently failed to address is the problems associated with the taxi industry and its members blatent refusal to adher to the rules of the road.  Both the Gradai and the RSA have consistently turned a blind eye to the antics of the taxi industry  for as many years as I can remeber.  Our cities are used as bumper car arenas  by the taxi industry in their blstent display to all road users on how to  break every rule of the road and get away with it. The RSA should  be called the ETA (Easy Target Authority) for it total inability to change the way in which the taxi industry is permitter to operate with no driving standard tests, continious driving assessments and enforcment by the authority and the Gardai in making members of the taxi industry comply with the rules of the road (as operators of public service vehicles) in the interests of both the general public and its customers. The RSA consistently targets sections of the motoring public where they can appear to be making change but in actual fact are using their authority in order to secure financial reward for the state on the backs of moorists who are used as footballs by the people who see more in their power and authority rather than a genuine need to make our roads safer.

The taxi industry display a blatent disregard for the rules of the road, which can be seen for all to see, every night of every week in all the cities and towns around the country, We ask ourselves why our young people appear to have a complete disregard for the rules of the road, the taxi industry is a visible example of why nobody appers to give a shit, sure if they can do it  then why cant I. There again gaybo does not drive a car, has never driven a car, and by the way, has consistently ignores the taxi industry possibly because he has spent more time in taxis listening to people who  see everybody else as being the problem and a hinderence in their efforts to generate capital.

Mr Byrne said he would go if nothing changed while he was chairman of the authority. Nothing has changed, if anything the vast majority of people have a total disregard for the ability of the RSA to bring in measures that will lead to  an increased level of road safety and awareness across the board. The provisional driving licence debacle was a clear example that the people at the top of the Road Safety Authority were lacking in the ability to develop a plan that would be fair to those that previous governments directly contributed to the current situation.  Mr Byrne  was made a scapegoat for government and ministerial inabilities to tackle all our road safety problems without standing on the toes of those who hold a vested interest in mainaining the status quo. Mr Byrne now needs to go, the RSA has lost the respect of the public as an authority that has the interest of road safety at the forefront of its objectives to make our roads safer. It has U turned on decisions its has made  and has  pandered to ministerial interference  when those decisions  fell foul of the general public.

The driving instructor  iniative was brought in at a time when  the authority  was attempting to  force people off the road when in actual fact there was not enough fully qualified instructors  registered by the authority in order to meet the increased demand for tuition when the June 30th deadline came. Another situation by an authority that put the cart before the horse by not getting all the backup services full in place before it came out with this JUne 30th deadline. New recruits in  the Gardai now find they cannot drive back and forward from the training college in Templemore  because such action may loose them their ability to complete their training due to dismissal from the Gardai for breaking the law. Talking about building a house before laying the foundation.

The Road SAfety Authority has promoted some good initiatives since its conception, but it needs a new figure that can speak as a driver, road user and an authority on issues relating to all aspects of road safety and enforcement of the rules of the road, Conor Faughnan in the AA may be the person who as head of the RSA will be able to bring back the public confidence needed in order for the authority to move forward. One thing is absolutely certain, the longer Mr Byren and Mr Brett remain as figure heads within the RSA  the  more painful it will be for everyone to accept that road safety is not just an election  issue but a issue that qill affect ourselves or our loved ones.

Due to a lack of activity on this site, I am planning to close it and take it offline in the next 3 weeks or so (by mid-July).

It all seemed like a good idea at the time – and it was! – certainly, it got the word out there about bad and ignorant driving, parking etc. as many newspapers, radio stations and even television stations had articles, interviews and panel discussions featuring myself and the site which helped get the message out there that certain people’s competence and attitudes behind the wheel just aren’t good enough any more.

With nearly a quarter of a million page views since the site launched last August, we’ve had some brilliant articles, some very entertaining videos and images and some very interesting polls on the site and it’s done its part in highlighting a problem we have here in Ireland – one that may be tackled somewhat by the stricter provisional license laws that are being implemented from next week on. Only time will tell on that one.

However there has been a drop in the number and quality of articles on the site of late and the number of visitors to the site has dropped dramatically in the past few months and unfortunately I no longer personally have the time to give to promote the site – so therefore I’ve decided to call it a day.

If someone is interested in taking over the site and domain name and breathing new life into it (hosting it yourself, of course), please contact me within the next 2 weeks.

Thanks to all of you who have contributed since the site opened last year. We’ve made our point!

BBC Radio Northampton

[audio:080530-BBCRadioNorthampton.mp3]

(Note: The presenter goes on for 4 minutes, introducing the topic before the interview itself starts)

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

We do not currently have a recording of this interview, but if we get one, it will be put onto the Media page with the others.

When voting begins (and that will be very soon), we’d appreciate all the votes we can get! Cheers!

The topic is “How Irish people can improve their driving”, and the main question Niall will be answering is “what are the common mistakes and deeply engrained bad driving habits in Ireland and why do you think it is?”.

This is where you, the readers of this site, could be very helpful! If there’s anything you would like to hear raised during this interview, post a comment here or send an email now!

● Best Blog Post – for “RSA – They talk the talk but do they walk the streets?” by Jim Travers
● Best Blog
● Best Group Blog
● Best Newcomer

Wow…!

Thanks to all who nominated us… here’s hoping that the site (or Jim’s article!) goes from being in the current “long” lists to actually being shortlisted for an award. Keep an eye on shitedrivers.com and on www.awards.ie/blogawards/ for more!