Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
The Daily PollTHIS MORNING, SEVERAL reports indicate that Ireland is facing tough opposition from within the EU regarding its plans to bring in detailed health warning on alcohol products.
The previous government under then health minister Leo Varadkar set out plans last November to introduce five separate health warnings on alcohol bottles, including calorie counts and general health warnings.
Now, 11 EU countries have objected to the plan, including Germany and France, while the European Commission has suggested that the move could be a barrier to free trade. Meanwhile, Fine Gael MEP Brian Hayes told RTÉ that the government “will have a significant problem if they want to get this legislation through”.
But what do you think – should Ireland be introducing these alcohol warnings?
We’re asking: Is Ireland right to introduce health warnings on alcohol?
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
142kph on a motorway isn’t what I’d call excessive . They’re the safest roads we have. People need to Learn how to drive on our motorways stop sitting in the right hand lane, stop tail gating, weaving through heavy traffic and keep safe distance between cars. We could be doin with following what the UK done this week and implement measures to combat all the above. These measures could have the m50 moving a lot smoothly.
I agree with you in a lot of ways Colin. You’re right that they are the safest built roads and people should be educated in how to drive correctly on them. They are not good enough however to treat them as the autobahn with no limit. As it stands the limit is 120 ergo 142 is excessive. Where do you draw the line? Also you will find that at least here most Gardai will allow maybe 15 or 20 over the limit on the motorways whereas in the UK , which you use as an example, they go by the rule of thumb that the limit is the limit not a target.
@Mick Murphy:
Where did you get that info?
People have been brought before the courts for as little as 3 kph (1.8mph) over the limit!
If you have an older car that has just mph scale on the odometer, if you stick to the “previously legal” 40 mph (64kph) speed limit, you can be prosecuted on a current 60 kph road!!
A number of judges have thrown out cases because the Guards/Gosafe crowd refused to release the tolerance applied – because there is none!
The problem is there again is a lack of joined up thought behind Irish speed limits and enforcement, the 80kph zone on N4 Lucan bypass is patrolled night, noon and morning yet cars have past me in housing estates in Celbridge at 90 – 100 kph!
I’ve never seen anything like the speeds people go at in Donegal back roads!
Karl I get the info from working in the traffic corps. It’s annoying when guards are lumped in with the gosafe. Gosafe is operated by civilians and their vans are set at 10% +1 or used to be at least. Therefore in a 50kph it’s 56kph the photos taken. They can’t control this like the guards can with the gatso. I know you can be prosecuted at any amount over the limit. I’m just telling you most guards use their discretion but take into account weather, type of road, manner of driving etc. Contrary to popular belief there’s no targets except to minimise collisions. Also there’s exceptions to every rule. You may meet a Garda who doesn’t give any leeway however as you correctly point out if it appears to be completely unreasonable the judge will simply strike it out so this is rare.
Mick, if it’s not about money, why are there so many speed checks on the link road between Dublin airport and the M1/M50 junction. In 12 years of travelling this route at least twice a day I’ve never seen as much as a fender bender but the Gosafe van and Guards with gatso are regularly there. It’s a 60km zone and the only possible reason for it is to collect money in the form of fines and unfortunately a significant number of the victims are unsuspecting tourists in rental car. Welcome to ireland!
Hiya P. There are designated points for the gosafe vans so that’s why you’ll see them in the same places repeatedly. These places were supposed to be places where accidents happened due to excessive speed most often. I’m not naive P. I believe that they may well be being used as revenue collectors. My point is that this has nothing to do with Gardai except that their name is put on the top of the tickets…
Getting caught for 142km on that motorway is hard to stomach
More than likely someone utterly frustrated after spending an inordinate amount of time trying to get through buttevant or adare.
Try getting points for 113km in a 100km zone. 500 yrds after the 120 finished.
Token gestures…we all know there are many causes of accidents and speeding, the easiest to generate revenue, is just one.
How is it a token gesture Winston. You state in your own comment that speed may be a factor in an accident so preventing it is obviously sensible. What is your alternative suggestion? Don’t stop people speeding? Really in this instance it appears you’re just Garda hating with no logical argument to back it…
And is speeding the only enforcement?
@Mick Murphy: Maybe they should be on the back roads Mick? That seems to be the place most accidents take place….
Mick I don’t hate Garda…there are also private speed enforcers. My point is very simple, the media highlights speed as a killer and it is, but it’s a symptom of underlying reckless driving and then there are the many other factors such as drink and drug driving, faulty cars, bad drivers, weather conditions, distractions….speeding is the easiest offence to catch and generate revenue but it is a crude tool which alienates the largely law abiding motorists.
@Mick Murphy: “Measure what’s important, don’t make important what you can measure.”
I see loads of dangerous driving around Dublin city, and most of it takes place at speeds under the limit.
Of course inappropriate speed can be an issue, but for the most part:
“You can’t measure safe driving in kilometres per hour.”
If we installed red light cameras, we’d be able to pay off the national debt in a couple of months!
@Type17: and parry
You are both right.
Cyclists being the main culprits!
@Larry Smierciak:
Larry not parry
@Alan Cooke: cyclists mowing down pedestrians and killing them wholesale.
Cyclists crashing into cars and writing off the cars.
100% of all accidents are due to cyclists.
In fact, I saw a cyclist on the motorway to Cok, doing at least 190km and he was not wearing a helmet.
Speeding on motorways ? How many accidents does that cause. Speed traps should be set in accident black spots .
100%. Most fatal accidents are after midnight with drivers under the age of 25 yo locked. If you are serious about stopping fatal accidents you would be on national roads or staking out pubs with large car parks where the majority of punters are driving home over the limit. The reality is the local gardai do this too so why check that when you can gain some good publicity for flagging down a guy driving 140 on s motorway. When was the last time that there was a fatality from speeding on a motorway? Tomorrow’s papers, death N* young male driver aged 2*.
@Joan walsh: How is it a trap?
The limit is set and signposted
The areas where checks will be carried out are not only advertised in advance but also put out over social media!
The vans are big white objects that have ‘garda’ or similar on the back and side in large writing
It takes a man of extreme stupidity to get ‘trapped’ in such a manner
These so called speed bumps are a joke, if anything they slow you down.
Aw slow down speed kills but the drivers doing 50 or 60 on the motorway should be banned for driving or even jailed they shouldn’t have licence!!
@Dan Henry:
While I agree with you, a recent RSA add on RTE said that a speed limit is NOT a target. A recent case in the UK where a motorist doing about 40MPH on a motorway was stopped he said that he felt the weather conditions needed that speed for safety. The police officer took no action against the motorist as if he were forced to drive faster, against his better judgement and was involved in an accident, the officer could be held responsible.
60 speed limit on the stillorgan road is a joke speed cameras cleaning up there. I’ve seen 80 on a country road.
About 80 mph in autobahn terms
People had the same attitude to drunken driving in the past…sure what harm…just dont speed…christ ive seen people lash through a carpark…cop on
The N11 became the M11 and the speed limit went from 100 to 120 kph but the road didn’t change. Only the road signs changed from green to blue. I find the faster i am driving the more i am focused on the road ahead. A friend got done on the Arklow bypass for breaking the 100 kph a few years ago. But she would have been under the speed limit now even though the road hasn’t changed.
Mick I was told by a Guard and have been told by drivers caught that you will be done for every kilometer over the limit. You have to remember they need to meet their quota at each month’s end.
@Winston Smith: That’s a fib, even garda commissioner has stated there’s about allowance of 9kmh before issuing a ticket.
Then there’s the evidence of this article. You think ever other driver was under the limit or they deliberately targeted those doing over 140?
Which I personally would consider too fast for a motorway.
@Winston Smith: you need to remember, there’s no quotas. Never in my service was I given a quota to hit
No fear of speeding on the M50 these days
The bottom line is that there is so many people out there today going way over the permitted speed limit . That means they are breaking the law ok.I drive for a living and I see people on the phone,speeding, they just don’t get it.Its no wonder insurance is high when people are effectively breaking the law.What do you want the gardai to do?just say nothing and let them off? It’s a joke here in dublin.L drivers on the M50 on their own in the car speeding and staying in the fast lane. Bugs the he’ll out of me.
Sorry mick I’m not suggesting that we have an autobahn style of motorway maybe cap it at 140 or 150 kph and if u break the set limit then punish. Why not implement the UK measures and have cameras at set distances apart to measure ur average rather than a flash 4 cash at 1 point that along a road which in my eyes is a waste of time.
They have done that on the N7 recently
Agree with you Colin. And believe me it pisses me off just as much when I wander into a 60kph zone out of nowhere and next thing I’m clocked by a gosafe van and have 3 penalty points on my license. The UK measures are smart and progressive. Unfortunately we’re usually around 10yrs behind them. I agree that in this modern age with the quality of cars out there now 120 on a motorway isn’t very fast. When I first started driving 25 yrs ago the cars were totally different and 70mph was as fast as you could travel safely. Unfortunately until the legislation changes to increase the limit that’s what we’re stuck with.
Well said Mick….personally I think the warning signs for speed cameras ahead should be redesigned. I think a good idea would be to post the speed limit on the sign too so at least you know what you are driving into.
Speed kills, no doubt about it, and in my experience as a Paramedic I find that RTCs on motorways have two conclusions……either you are very lucky and walk away, or you are seriously injured, maybe critically. Cars are a lot safer, no doubt about it but as speeds increase then so does the amounts of energy the occupant is subjected to.
@Kerry Blake: those accidents would include a lot of dead gardai and even more dead speeding drivers if gardai decided to stand on the side of a small winding road at night without a hard shoulder
Driving on the M1 in England cars go 90 to a 100 mph with no police on the roads, the police would only pull you over if your being reckless on the road, in Ireland it’s a joke because it’s a money making racket, I’m driving in the uk 2 years now and iv never met a check point yet! Every time I get off the plane in shannon the guards are either pulling on the dual carriage way or have the speed gun out, people driving too slow is worse than people going too fast!
Not true Paul. Once you go over 90mph in the UK you will be stopped & if you hit 100mph automatic ban.
88 mph
Big Deal
Superintendent must be annoyed with them hanging around the station.
Should have no speed limits on the motorway 120 is shockingly slow . Luckily few adhere to it and few get caught.
Good man Stuart. Keep on encouraging people to speed and break the law and probably end up in an horrific crash.good sensible citizen that you are.make sure you tell your kids to speed at 120 km when they get their first car won’t you Stuart, good man!
Can’t believe what I’m reading here in some of these comments . Speeding is the number one cause of accidents . Speed limits are exactly as they say limits not targets . What do all the geniuses here suggest instead of points and a fine ? Drive safely and slow down and you won’t get points or a fine it’s pretty simple .
@eastsmer #IRExit: that’s fast enough to travel back in time
People on here need to get a grip it’s motorway speed and if ur driving at 140kPH ur alert and it’s not that fast depending on the type of car ur driving and how busy the motorway is was behind a car and large trailer on a N road couldn’t believe he was doing 120kph I drive up and down the country never see a guard
Correct me if im wrong here, but when the government announced the change over from mph to kph, they released what the speed limits would be, the motorway speed limit was set at 120kph, (75mph) an increase on the 70mph limit, there was a campaign to go against the very idea of increasing the motorway speed limit?
No motorways in Ireland only dual carriageway I thought!!
Around peak times on the M7, approaching the Newbridge turn-off can be a bightmare. Traffic can be backed up to the N7 because of some fools being in wrong lane. They try and get as near as possible to their turn off on the outside lane, and then indicate to go left, some people let them in, others dont, (me) and subsequently, a slow down occurs, which can cause a tail back , which it does. Often I have driven from the beginning of the M7 to beyond that Newbridge slip at less than 30 K per hour. Madness
There should be no speed limit on motorways once outside the large urban areas like Dublin, Cork, Kilkenny, Waterford, Galway and Limerick. This would enable better attention to be paid to the lesser roads where the majority of the accidents occur. It makes very little sense that the motorway from Dublin to Naas (three lanes each way) has a limit of 100km/p/h and the motorway onwards (two lanes each way) has a limit of 120 km/p/h.
Speed really isn’t the issue. .its the terrible bad drivers .drivers who still do not know which lane the should drive in. Drivers still using phone and texting. Drivers who hog the road and never realise there is 30 cars behind trying to overtake. People really need to refresh the rules of the road….
have your say