I agree with cc. I dont understand the mindset of some of these young lads driving cars - it just seems so immature with them out cruising, racing, tailgating etc. Stronger police presence is critical and not just on Bank Holiday weekends on main roads. Some of these accidents are a result of careless driving because these lads think theyre invincible but there are also cases of them being totally reckless and almost asking for it. I know theres a pack of fools down in Wexford who go racing each other along rural roads a few miles outside town for example. Its crazy to be honest.
Sorry, i wouldnt know; im not a bogger
Every weekend all the little boy racers meet in the Tesco car park in Galway and race off from there. Twould be awful easy to nick them but the guards don’t. I don’t get it.
The Cops were doing a fantastic job in Gorey on Sunday morning at 11.30am (one of the most dangerous times of the week), caught me doing 60km/h in a 50km/h. I’ve no problem with getting the points, I was in the wrong but where will the cops be at 3am on Sunday morning? I’ve never ever in all my nights going out in Gorey seen any traffic operation like that at 3am. If the Cops started doing that and it became common knowledge that there was strong chance getting caught then it might have an effect, but as it is all these guys know that they have f**k all chance of being caught at that time so they do whatever they want.
I think the post-Mass rush in Gorey is infamous for the number of accidents over the years. Women rushing back to get the dinner on before fear an t wakes up and starts throwing digs because his roast isn’t ready for him.
Wouldn’t always agree with Kevin Myers but heard him arguing last night that the media are far too unquestioning in these situations. Generally rush to describe it as a tragedy for which the government are to blame whereas, as this thread attests, in many accidents the majority of the blame should be placed on the young men going out and driving recklessly. Yes the Government of the day could do more to prevent it, but the primary responsibility rests with the drivers themselves. Personally when I hear about road deaths on the morning news I’m always relieved if it’s a case of a motorcyclist driving into a wall or something - a tragedy for their family but at least they didn’t take anyone else with them.
Generally I don’t think there’s enough personal responsibility these days. Someone goes out driving recklessly, causes an accident and the response is “why didn’t the government stop them?” Or in the Gort/Abbeylara cases, come out aiming a shotgun at the police and the response is, “why didn’t the police disarm them more gently?” Fcuk that, let’s not forget where the main responsibility lies.
I’d agree with some of that law, though I find it hard to agree with anyone who is in turn in agreement with Kevin Myers.
Anyway I think you’re being a bit unfair with the Gort/Abbeylara cases - there is a difference between reckless, selfish behaviour and mental illness. In the case of John Carthy in particular there was a massive responsiblity on the state to treat the man with caution and compassion. If you expect a man who is prepared to take a shotgun out and aim it at the police to act responsibly then you’ll end up with a lot of blood. The state can’t absolve themselves of their duty of care.
I agree with the points you’ve made previously about what led up to Abbeylara, but I feel once John Carty came out the door with the gun, he was primarily responsible for what followed. And yeah I’m stretching the point a bit to cover these incidents, but I think we complain when the government does too little, and complain when they do too much.
Well I think they require different actions to be honest with you. The road deaths are not the fault of the government in many cases, but they can affect the attrition rate by introducing more drachonian legislation and establishing a more meaningful body to look after road safety (they might also consider a chairman who is involved in road safety, not a washed-up presenter).
On the Abbeylara incident there is very little responsibility on the government but there is plenty on the state, namely institutions like the HSE and the Gardai. There was no governent policy that dictated what happened at Abbeylara but the government do need to dictate state responsibility. (i.e. there should be reprecussions from the Barr report that result in changes to procedures when dealing with such instances).
I suppose what I’m saying is that people blame the government for road deaths, because the government can enact legislation and control strategic police policy. Whether FF or FG were in power Abbeylara would have happened, that may not be true for road deaths (not saying one is better than the other on this issue - but it is possible for ministers to have influence).
Once John Carty came out waving a shotgun the situation was no longer contained and decisive action was required. I thank my lucky stars that we have cops with the balls to shoot the guy there and then as opposed to waiting for that fooker to shoot. Good riddance