Christmas Driving

[Meridian]

So, the Irish Road Haulage Association had a meeting last Saturday and have agreed to up their costs as these speed limits reductions are going to affect their productivity.

I imagine Bus Eireann will have to get onto their controllers in NTA and they will also increase their fares.

Just goes to demonstrate the Green Party's lack of common sense

 

[Crankycorner]

So, the Irish Road Haulage Association had a meeting last Saturday and have agreed to up their costs as these speed limits reductions are going to affect their productivity.

I imagine Bus Eireann will have to get onto their controllers in NTA and they will also increase their fares.

Just goes to demonstrate the Green Party's lack of common sense

Wasn’t it Jack Chambers that brought this through? Also, the IRHA are a shower of chancers. This doesn’t affect Motorway or National Primary route speed limits

 

[Ogre Moran]

Wasn’t it Jack Chambers that brought this through? Also, the IRHA are a shower of chancers. This doesn’t affect Motorway or National Primary route speed limits

Yes, in response to that crash near Clonmel in 2023. He had to be seen to be doing something. The payment for a speeding offence was also doubled in response to another such incident (Hildegarde Naughton in that case) - again, the need to be seen to be doing something resulting in a crass response. Expect more when other such incidents inevitably occur in the coming years.

 

[Ogre Moran]

Controversial opinion but Ireland has some of the best drivers in the world. Much better than most countries.

It also has some of the worse. I think the standard of driving on Irish roads has deteriorated sharply since before the pandemic. It's almost like people forgot some of the fundamentals of driving when in lockdown. A failure to use an indicator when turning or shifting lanes would be the mark of a bad driver and there are loads of those on the road.

 

[Matlock]

It also has some of the worse. I think the standard of driving on Irish roads has deteriorated sharply since before the pandemic. It's almost like people forgot some of the fundamentals of driving when in lockdown. A failure to use an indicator when turning or shifting lanes would be the mark of a bad driver and there are loads of those on the road.

I think it is phones tbh. I think people are distracted by them to the extent that the forget to do the basics in terms of indicator, lane changes etc

 

[Ogre Moran]

I think it is phones tbh. I think people are distracted by them to the extent that the forget to do the basics in terms of indicator, lane changes etc

And a courageous minister then would penalise phone usage while driving by putting the offender off the road for six months and by requiring get them to re-sit their driving test. But the likes of Chambers and Naughton wouldn't have the bottle to do so.

 

[SoundsAboutRight]

I think it is phones tbh. I think people are distracted by them to the extent that the forget to do the basics in terms of indicator, lane changes etc

They're actually lethal. I can be stuck to my phone a bit too much in everyday life but I don't go near it when driving. The few seconds you're looking at it could be deadly.

 

[BoggyRoad]

Yup seeing quite a lot on phones while driving.

 

[Crankycorner]

I think it is phones tbh. I think people are distracted by them to the extent that the forget to do the basics in terms of indicator, lane changes etc

Completely agree. Was divining home this morning from dropping the small man to pre-school and there’s a secondary school just around the corner from my house. As I was driving past it I saw a woman with her head buried in her phone. She looked like she had just dropped off her own kid to school. It’s endemic.

 

[Meridian]

Phones are definitely an issue, well actually it's the humans using them.

The other thing which I believe is a huge distraction now in modern cars is those screens in the middle of dashs, those things are an issue also.

I believe anyone caught on their phone, having been caught visually by someone or a Garda and with a digital footprint, should be off the road akin to a drunk driver, but Immediately, and then they have to sit a retest to get back on the road

I agree also that when the masses got back on the roads after the Wuhan Wheeze, the standard of driving definitely slipped and I say that as someone who was regarded as an essential worker so it was blatant alright.

I read earlier that Spain did likewise and it had no effect on the level of road deaths, I cannot see it having any difference here either.