Friday 21 December 2012

Operation Freeflow, Blue Flu, speed vans and driving at night without lights

Remember Operation Freeflow?

When the coppers would do a bit of worthwhile work  by helping to keep traffic moving coming up to Christmas?
You know, the sort of stuff they do 52 weeks of the year in most other countries?

They stopped Operation Freeflow last year, in protest at the Garda recruitment ban. That and the infamous 1998
Blue Flu duvet day says much about where their priorities lie. We'd be better off with the Keystone Cops. At least they made an effort.

On a vaguely related note, one of the lads at work described how he was zapped by a Garda "safety van" on the Arklow Bypass as he did 10 klicks over the speed limit on one of the best stretches of dual carriageway you will find anywhere in the country.  

 "Saaaving liiiives" my pert little arse - boosting their "gotcha" statistics more like.  

Fish, barrels and all the rest.  But it will look great come the next Garda/RSA report when people can read how many dangerous, speed-addled, reckless drivers the fuzz interecepted.  

What, though, about gobshites who drive around at night withouth their head/tail lights switched on?  

Imagine my surprise when, driving along Parkgate Street at about 9.30pm on Wednesday, the 19th of December, I was overtaken by an unmarked, speeding Ford Mondeo made visable only by flashing blue illumination.

Are Garda drivers deliberately leaving headlights off in protest at cutbacks? Are they trying to save precious financial and planetary resources?  Is it some kind of Bondesque, super-sleuth thing, blending in with the darkness?

Or are some of them just very bad, very inattentive - and potentially very dangerous - drivers who don't even notice they are driving at night with no headlights on?   See pic above.

I'll have my guess.  Call me a cynic.


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6 comments:

_windwalker_ said...

If you was able to see that Garda car reg plate, instead of ranting here you should have reported to Obundsman.

The Gombeen Man said...

Erm... happened rather quickly.

ponyclause said...

Ah Brilliant - I was agonising what to get you for xmas GM but thanks Winetalker, you've led me to it - Nightvision goggles. pb

Ella said...

@PonyClause ha ha ha!!!
@GM, A few years ago Himself and myself found ourselves behind a garda vehicle for a few kilometeres. Despite making several turns the gardai didn't bother to indicate once, so to hear they drive without lights in the dark doesn't require a huge leap of the imagination. They seem to be involved in their fair share of accidents too, hardly surprising given the above.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/1002/1224324728913.html

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/garda-car-in-crash-with-4x4-198455.html

http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/48326/garda-car-crashes-while-escorting-cash-in-transit-van

DC3 said...

"They stopped Operation Freeflow last year, in protest at the Garda recruitment ban." Some joke? Not a whimper in the Meeeeja! Explains the worst traffic I've seen in years. The traffic in Dublin just gets worse...Horrendous City to drive a car.

The Gombeen Man said...

@ PB. Winetalker is right... Jasus!!!

@ Ella. I'd well believe it. Thanks for the links.

@ DC3. Sorry for the delay in getting your comment up... went into the "spam" folder for some unfathomable reason, yet I had comments which were clearly spam in my inbox. The wonders of Blogger.

Yes, it's not much fun driving around Dublin at the best of times. And sadly, it's no joke at all. Mad place.