Would you join a Motorist Action Group

[CrapCountry.ie]

Just a simple question. Im a professional driver whose had enough. While sitting here pondering the state of nearly all our aspects of motoring. From costs related to parking, tolls, disgraceful road surfaces, harassment from Gardai, to mention a few. It occured to me if you add up all the revenue gathered from the motorist, that, without it, this country would go under. Think about it, i would say if you tried getting figures on this, you would find the freedom of information act, probably been shut in your face on this one. Mafia and all that. Revenue like...

1, Tolls M50 and all others
2, All parking charges in every city and town
3, All tax from car sales including our OTHER rip off VRT
4, All tax related revenue from petrol and all car part sales,
5, All tax related revenue from Insurance premiums
6, All on the spot fines dished out by our sad police force
7, All fines handed out in every court relating to motoring


Theres undoubtedly many more. Come to think of it, our government should be in fear of upsetting the motorist, but when we dont complain, how d'you expect to get any respect from them. Here's hopeing to see some changes through some action.
BTW, the PC brigade can fook off. :P

[HanleyS]

Something like the Irish Driver's Association but properly run? Possibly.

[flyer]

If the campaign is to reform the first 5 on your list then I would join.

BUT if you leave points 6 and 7 on the list then the campaign would be protrayed as just a campaign against limits on speeding and drunk driving and the organisation wouldn't be taken remotely seriously.

[CrapCountry.ie]

If the campaign is to reform the first 5 on your list then I would join.

BUT if you leave points 6 and 7 on the list then the campaign would be protrayed as just a campaign against limits on speeding and drunk driving and the organisation wouldn't be taken remotely seriously.

I know what you mean. No, it wouldnt be aimed at higher speed limits or that kinda thing. Just some common sense initiatives, and a halt to the ever increasing costs.

[Podolski]

No, I wouldn't - all the previous ones ended up as private consortiums that made money out of motorists.

The Automobile Association (AA) was formed in Britain in 1905 to protest against police speed traps! It was a campaigning organisation made up of ordinary drivers for a few decades but gradually it was controlled more and more by private interests - it's now run by private finance interests although it still has "members" but they have no real say in most matters. The Irish AA is a subsidiary.

The Private Motorists Protection Agency (PMPA) started off in a similar vein but was controlled largely by one person, Joe McGrath. It evolved into an insurance company owned mainly by McGrath and his successors until collapsing and being taken over by AXA.

[Aindriu]

We need something that agitates on behalf of drivers to prevent us being ripped off (tax on fuel, VRT, tolls etc) and also demands that a) the driving test is seriously upgraded and b) that the gardaí actually enforce the laws they do have (L drivers unaccompanied !)

[Kevin Doyle]

We need something that agitates on behalf of drivers to prevent us being ripped off (tax on fuel, VRT, tolls etc) and also demands that a) the driving test is seriously upgraded and b) that the gardaí actually enforce the laws they do have (L drivers unaccompanied !)

Aindriu, that will never happen.

What passes for a traffic corp in this country amounts to a bunch of mindless goons who sit and stalk portions of road that are inappropriately catagorised for speed limits in a revenue generation exercise. It is not and never will be law enforcement. It is mass entrapment and amounts to fiscal police brutality sprung on an unsuspecting public.

Anyone who drives regularly in Dublin knows where some of them are. I believe that DCC are fully complicit in this fraud as they are the ones who assign the speed limits.

It is absolutely disgraceful that a limit of 60kph should be placed on any stretch of dual carriage.

Speed limits are imposed for safety reasons yet cops have no problem allowing you to motor on over the limit once they have you and your reg captured on camera and a fine in the offing.

I have no problem with the rules of the rule or the necessity of appropriate speed regulation which reflects the type of road you are on, but being cheated by my own local authority and basically being stung by ridiculous speed limits and having a section of gardai in the business of entrapment is a total disgrace.

[ultra-vire]

Something like the Irish Driver's Association but properly run? Possibly.

Absolutely well said!

[BluntGuy]

There is obviously a group of mindless, flapping PC critics who have nothing better to do but bouce around in support of all these expenses.

My advice is to DEMAND MORE OF YOUR GOVERNMENT.

Our collective problem as a nation is simply shrugging everything off with either an 'ah sure' or superficial complaining, whilst not really caring about these issues.

Some of these taxes and tolls are unacceptable abuse of the motorist, and I think it's about time they were stamped out, starting with the hideous M50 toll which should NOT still exist (barriors or no barriors).

[alonso]

oh for Christs sake, we should do EVERYTHING in our power to tackle car dependency not faciulitate it. The best thing anyone can lobby for is public transport and better planning to REMOVE ALL non-esssential motorists from the roads leaving space free for those that need them for work or those that use them to keep the economy going. Fianna Fail have pandered to motorists since 97 and have done shag all to provide alternatives