Treacy Hogan drove from S. Kerry to Dublin and saw only one Garda checkpoint along the way – at the point where the speed limit on the M7/N7 goes from 120KPH to 100KPH despite the fact the road is wider and, to my eyes, safer at this point.
I have just finished two days of driving from Dublin-Limerick-Clare and back and during the whole trip I saw one checkpoint – on the wide open N18 from Ennis to Limerick on Tuesday evening. Traffic was light and some people were treating the road, which is indistinguishable from a motorway, as a motorway. I was obeying the limit, but did feel sorry for those who were nabbed. And, like Hogan, I saw no Gardai at all along some of the deadly roads in the area. I did, however, see my life flash before my eyes more than once when some young moron in a souped-up grandmother's car was heading right at me while he was overtaking a driver with the temerity to drive at or even slightly less than the limit on some narrow, windy road.
Supposedly this sort of thing is going to stop soon. The Gardai will be targeting the smaller, more dangerous roads. If I were a native I'd probably say, "Yeah, sure, pull the other one". But, seeing as I've only been living here for the past 15 years I'm more skeptical than cynical. My response is, "I'll believe it when I see it".
