But most Republican and Northern Irish drivers have being breaking the law for years on our roads- and they continue to get away with it on a daily basis!
I’m currently on a nightshift double-man job - driving a double decker down to Birmingham and back from Glasgow.
Night after night we witness “the irish” driving at an average speed of 70mph on the M6. If they can’t pass you on the middle lane - they will quite happily pass you on the outside lane! If you genuinely can’t get out of their road (or you deliberately don’t get out of their road because you’re fed up with them getting away with it!) you’re subjected on occasions to full beam flashing, or even the sound the sound of their air horns!
God knows - if I could catch them I think I’d kill them!
However, what myself and my colleague witnessed last week, beats just about anything we’ve seen in our 20 years each of Class One driving.
It was about 5.30am one morning in the middle of last week, the same morning a truck driver was tragically killed due to the gale force winds up near Tebay.
As we headed north on the roadworks at Carlisle - just beyond Jct 44 - we came to the section where the outside lane narrows down to 6ft wide. All artics are in the inside lane taking it real easy due to the 90mph gusts.
Two southern irishmen appeared out of nowhere and hurtled down the outside lane easily doing at least 65 to 70mph!
They missed us, but oh boy they weren’t caring anyway as they BOTH walloped the guy’s mirrors in front of us! He unbelievably seemed to accept this - but what choice did he have! He couldn’t have caught them anyway - and he had severe weather conditions to deal with like the rest of us!
But the artic driver in front of him had other ideas as he blocked them from getting through, by straddling both lanes.
Okay there’s an argument to say he shouldn’t have done it - but hey, it stopped them from puttting other driver’s lives at risk! Bravo!
The best bit. Were these two maniacs chasing their tails to reach the boat on time at Stranraer? No! Because if the morons had turned on their radios they would have heard that all sailings had been cancelled!
The traffic cops might be busy - but where the hell are VOSA!
without wanting to get into this old argument, its not just the irish, i have had a lot of scottish trucks roar past me on the a1, and english too, dutch fly a lot too, the better behaved seem to be the eastern europeans (and nowadays a lot of irish english and scotish trucks are driven as we all know by polish drivers)
They take the pi$$ big time, the A74 is my patch and is covered by fully operational specs cameras for the full length. They’re not bothered about points on their licence as DVLA can’t put points on a Republic licence! The way some of these drivers go, they’re a fatality waiting to happen, especially in the contraflow section
I was going up to Glasgow the other week and went thru the same set of roadworks, no trucks 7.5 ton limit in the fast lane, there we all were trundling on at 50mph nice and steady, then a DHL CF in white with their logo stuck on the door came tearing past us, the limiter was definatly not working on that, and it surprised me to see that it wasnt an Irish truck (GB plates) he was really going for it and as much as i saw of him he didnt once get in the granny lane where he should have been but stayed in the outside lane all way thru roadworks, then he cut someone up at the exit for Stranraer. Muppet, i hope the average speed cameras were working that night.
A few years ago when doing international work, I came across a few Southern Ireland lads that had to wait days for a ferry direct to Ireland. When I asked them why not get a ferry to England and then go on home from there. The answer was “Because I am banned from driving in England” . So surely there is your answer, they can be banned and quite often are. If you really are fed up with it then grab a witness (very important) take the number and make a report to the police. Stipulate that you want an answer to the procedings taken. I can promise you that they are just as likley to a prosecution as anyone else on the road. The 90km speed limiter is an EEC regulation and the Irish are not exempt in any shape or form. If the police think it necessary they can lock them up for the night and have them before a magistrate first thing in the morning.
Perhaps the police in this area just need to be reminded of their obligations to the general public. Good luck !
Its wacky races on the M77 with them some times !!
personaly i try stay out there way , but i have offten wondered how the SPECs cameras never catch them !
(See the Rieds thread)
Here we go.
