Newsbot Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Random roadside checks are to be carried out on vehicles in the Isle of Man to help improve road safety. Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/...man/7669129.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbms Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Not before time too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouse30 Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 All well and good if the spot checks are to be carried out fairly. However, what will probably happen is that r-plate drivers and younger people will be discriminated against, whilst the more mature motorist will get a caution. Same with speeding..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gidderwook Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 All well and good if the spot checks are to be carried out fairly. However, what will probably happen is that r-plate drivers and younger people will be discriminated against, whilst the more mature motorist will get a caution. Same with speeding..... If the car is roadworthy and you don't speed it's not a problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 It sounds a good idea. Hope that they pick safe places to do it! I think random breath testing road blocks are the biggest life saver. Last year went out on 5 nights on a short visit to Melbourne. On 3 nights there were road blocks and breath testing complete with the 'booze bus' equipped to do more thorough cheks if the breathalyzer showed up positive. Makes the locals think very hard about drink driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbms Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 To me it's a simple answer: If you drink and drive you deserve to be caught and punished, if you drive an unroadworthy car in a dangerous state it deserves to be take off the road. There can be no grey areas, don't drink and drive, don't drive dangerous vehicles no excuses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith lard Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 seen they were in ballasalla this evening, didn't see many cars being stopped though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTF Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 All well and good if the spot checks are to be carried out fairly. However, what will probably happen is that r-plate drivers and younger people will be discriminated against, whilst the more mature motorist will get a caution. Same with speeding..... they stop commercial vehicles mainly, it would have to be a real shed of a car to be stopped. transit van man watch out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monasqueen Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 How many people check whether they have all lights working properly (there are a lot of "one eyed monsters" about after dark) or that they are not showing fog lights illegally (in clear conditions - thus blinding the drivers behind them). Both are safety hazards, without necessarily having any relation to the age or decrepitude of the vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 If you are out driving what is your level of expectation of being stopped for a) a random vehicle check? b) a random breath test? I'd have to say that on the Island for me that expectation is close to zero. I made the comment about Australia because there you expect to be stopped a few times every year. The likelyhood of enforcement influences behaviour significantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebrof Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 I love threads like this. All the smug, sanctimonious, holier-than-thou, brigade wheel themselves out in force. It's really comforting to know that we have so many good, upright, citizens amongst us who have never sinned in their lives. They're the same ones who claim that prison is like an hotel. "Lock 'em up and throw away the key!", they cry. Behind closed doors, of course, they're beating their wives, torturing the cat, or fiddling their taxes. Hypocrites! S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonan3 Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Behind closed doors, of course, they're beating their wives, torturing the cat, or fiddling their taxes. Hypocrites! I'm not up to beating my wife (even at Scrabble), I don't even have a cat and....ermmm....errrm..... ...Getting back on the thread, the police were doing checks at the Grandstand yesterday evening just after dark - they seemed to be pulling anyone who had a light out initially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silentbob Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 I don't mind it, if I have a light out, I would expect to be alerted so I could fix it. I have a fair few skeletons in my closet, and I have always been open about it, as is usually the case, most of my infringements were in my early days of motoring when I thought I was god's gift to the roads. Which is why the 'persecution of R plates' argument doesn't hold any water for me. People in the early part of their driving career do not full understand the ramifications of their actions on the rest of the driving community, it comes with experience. Therefore they are more likely to break rules in the view that the rules are for someone less godly than themselves. Sometimes with tragic results. Road side checks are a small price to pay for not having to get an annual MOT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monasqueen Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Road side checks are a small price to pay for not having to get an annual MOT. Agreed. For every one that ensures that their car is kept properly serviced, there must be a few that do the minimum maintenance, "to save money". Tyre tread depth must also be a factor that some people give little thought to, and with winter coming on....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazza Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 thay been out for the past month pulling in cars vans, dont know why thay decideing o say there doing it now, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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