Stopped twice by the Gardai in 10 mins!

[CByrne]

Driving towards town on the Lucan Road (think thats the N4) I was pulled over twice in the space of 10 mins.
It was three in the morning Sat nite, I had been at a mates playing poker.
Would never drink and drive and actually about the only time i really obey the speed limit is at night when they seem to be about, prob looking for drunk drivers.
Anyway the first time I was pulled over, I was in a 50mph (80 km/h) zone and was doing 50 on the button on the inside lane.
It was funny, I was in no rush, and noticed at least 6 taxis fly by me on the outside lane, doing at least 70, prob trying to get back to the town for the last of the crows leaving late bars etc.
Flashing lights came along side me and I could see the driver pointing towards the hard shoulder, so in I went.

I wound down the window, he said nothing, just looked at me, walked round to the front, checked my Tax and Insurance etc ( the Tax thank god I had only renewed last Thurs, it was two months overdue)
Came back to the window, asked for my license. Had it on me for once, gave it to him and asked if there was a problem.
He simply said " I'm not sure yet" and looked at my license.
After looking at it for at least 30 seconds, he then asked me what speed I was doing.

I replied I was doing 80kms on the button, and I knew I was because when the 5 or six taxis blazed by me on the outside lane, I double checked my speed.
He just smirked, so i asked him why he had put on the blue lights and pulled me over.
He just said If i drive a car like that I'm asking for trouble.....
I probably shouldnt have, but I said that that was a very pregidous comment, and that just aswell I wasnt black or muslim.
He just walked back to his car, waited for a minute, and then he took off again. I was just left sitting there, no "off you go" or "that'll be it"

Ten minutes later i was stopped (standard road block thing) and they checked my details and license again.
Funny how they make you feel guilty, when you havent done anything wrong.

[Myfeckin FTO]

........He just said If i drive a car like that I'm asking for trouble.......

Very stupid comment for a Garda to make.
I had a similar problem a few years ago in Dublin.
Got stopped in Blackrock by an undercover car that had been stuck to my tail for 10mins trying to get me to race - then got stopped a further 4 times before I reached Malahide (where I lived) after I had remonstrated with the first Guard.

[kevinod]

Think I would have written down his number, maybe dropped a line to the garda station... especially when other cars passed you out going faster, and you did nothing to cause suspicion!

Feicers....

[CJ]

These people need to understand that this sort of behavior just serves to tarnish the already bad name that the police force in this country have, chances are a hundred or so people will read this thread and think 'shower or barstewards'. I think you did the right thing questioning his comment, very stupid thing to say on the guards part.

I must be lucky, I was only ever pulled over once for 'amber gambling', that aside, I never get any undue attention from the guards.

CJ

[agent s]

I got pulled over on the Naas Rd by an undercover guard for doing a dodgy manouver while I was in my (slightly done up) Civic. He stormed up to the car & shouted that he was going to arrest me for dangerous driving (crapped myself!!). But he got such a shock when he came up to the tinted windows & I rolled them down. He must have been expecting your typical boy racer (burburry cap et all!) but there I was instead! I'd just been to 2 job interviews & was looking the part of a well-groomed business woman! Black suit, hair & make-up immaculate! He just stared at me in disbelief & then tried to compose himself saying that I was to watch what I was doing. Then he laughed & went back to his car!!

Still got a fright tho! Imagine if I'd been dressed differently, or worse still, been an icky... BOY!!!!

[soc]

These people need to understand that this sort of behavior just serves to tarnish the already bad name that the police force in this country have, chances are a hundred or so people will read this thread and think 'shower or barstewards'.

Guys, the problem here is that it really isn't as straight forward as we'd like it to be - on the one hand we want the garda to be more vigilant, catch the car thieves, etc. and on the other we complain when we're stopped.

Ok, so before I get flamed I'll try to explain where that statement came from

Problem is that the garda associate certain car types (based on appearance) with certain elements of our society, i.e. jap coupe's, civic's, etc. associated with boy racers. As a result, when they do stop people they've already got attitude before they ever see who's driving.

[sidenote]
(I've certainly noticed I got a much more friendly reception the few times I've been stopped in the golf and in all cases I had no tax!! In the FTO the response was much agressive.)
[/sidenote]

Anway, the lucan, blanch, clondakin direction are well known for stolen cars roaming around and/or getting stored - this was what I was told after my 1st golf was stolen - so the garda will stop any car that would be considered a performance car and check if it's been stolen. They generally check a number of thinks, i.e., insurance, tax, is car key present and licence. The reason for this is (well car key is obvious) that they need to have a solid reason to run a computer check on a car, e.g. no tax, which could show it up as being stolen.

W.r.t. this specific incident, the real problem here is the attitude of the garda in question - it sounds like he was aggressive and obnoxious. But instead of us tarring them all with the same brush we need to make specific complaints against specific garda/incidents. I for one would prefer to be stopped every now and then if it means more scumbags will get caught. When I get stopped, if the garda is overly aggressive or obnoxious I make sure to note his number and that way I can make a complaint specifically against his behaviour.


Just my 2 cents.....

[agent s]

You make very valid points Shane

I would definately rather be stopped every now & again, and know that if anything ever happened to my car (again ) then at least something was being done about it. When a half-yard is rude, we should say nothing & then report him to his station. I guess that's all we can do.

[CJ]

These people need to understand that this sort of behavior just serves to tarnish the already bad name that the police force in this country have, chances are a hundred or so people will read this thread and think 'shower or barstewards'.

Guys, the problem here is that it really isn't as straight forward as we'd like it to be - on the one hand we want the garda to be more vigilant, catch the car thieves, etc. and on the other we complain when we're stopped.

I've no problem getting stopped and I'm not against checkpoints, I think the main point being made is that a lot of traffic cops find it difficult to extend some courtesy to the general public, that said, most guards I've dealt with are fine.

CJ

[soc]

I think the main point being made is that a lot of traffic cops find it difficult to extend some courtesy to the general public, that said, most guards I've dealt with are fine.

CJ

Agreed - some are severely lacking in the customer care skills department

[JD]

Very stupid comment for a Garda to make.

I agree, while it's nice to think they are out there doing their job they really don't seem to appreciate the negative effect that that type of attitude has on general members of the public.......a comment like "looking for trouble" in that situation is a little over the top imo.

[steelroe]

As regards making a complaint one shloud always remember they are the law and could make things worse in the in the future. One might find himself being stopped a lot more regular for no reason.

[IANO C]

while i agree that its welcome news that the gardai will constantly check high perfomance cars to make sure they are not stolen , its the way some of them speak to you when the find everything in order , this has to be down to jealousy.
Its the being treated like a criminal before they even check your details , that pizzes everyone off.

My philosphy is if/when you get pulled , only answer with yes and no , unless the guard treats you with respect.
save the smalltalk for the decent ones

[soc]

My philosphy is if/when you get pulled , only answer with yes and no , unless the guard treats you with respect.
save the smalltalk for the decent ones

This is exactly what I do

[IANO C]

My philosphy is if/when you get pulled , only answer with yes and no , unless the guard treats you with respect.
save the smalltalk for the decent ones

This is exactly what I do

shows him you aint impressed without seeming like you have a bad attitude

[pergau]

You need to be careful in West Dublin. There's only about 10 gaurds in Lucan so if you piss off one of them, he doesn't have to tell a lot of people to look out for an FTO.

I'll have to say that I have had a lot of luck with the guards around here - I was stopped recently doing 70kph on a 50 road. I had also just removed the stereo and there was a massive hole in the dash with wires hanging out etc. I had just popped down to B&Q so I was in dirty, paint covered clothes etc.

The guard looked in the window and gave me a bit of a talk about slowing down and didn't even give my licence a glance when I offered it and he jst told me to take it easy and let me go.

I've also been through a few of the checkpoints on the roads and they never even give me a second glance.

YMMV

[Keith]

Coming home from work one night about 11:30pm on the n11, nothing on the road ahead or behind me, about a minute later there was a car right up my ass, nearly touching my bumper. It was on the new dual carriageway and my first thought was it was someone looking for a race. Tempting and all as it was i wasn't in the mood to floor it, they were there for about a minute and then they flew by me. Much to my surprise it was a cop car. Any other day and I probably would have been in a lot of trouble