car pooling

[jenniferalan]

Does anyone know of anything like this happening in Ireland? My friend was on Eramus in Quebec last year and they had a great car pooling system over there. I think if u had a car and u were going long distance eg Quebec to Montreal you posted the date and time you were leaving for the journey and how many seats u had available in ur vehicle then people could message u and offer u an amount to cover petrol and u could choose who u wanted to take. He said this was the norm and it wasnt a bit unusual to sit into a car with someone u didnt know!

I wonder could this ever happen here? It would be a great idea, i am learning to drive but i dont have a car, i see many people driving to work with one person in the car.
For example I live on the Headford Road in Galway and i bet there are thousands of cars driving past my house everyday going the same direction as me, we could have a system where a small amount of money could be for the journey, it would be more economical and greener!

[elbo]

Does anyone know of anything like this happening in Ireland? My friend was on Eramus in Quebec last year and they had a great car pooling system over there. I think if u had a car and u were going long distance eg Quebec to Montreal you posted the date and time you were leaving for the journey and how many seats u had available in ur vehicle then people could message u and offer u an amount to cover petrol and u could choose who u wanted to take. He said this was the norm and it wasnt a bit unusual to seat into a car with someone u didnt know!

I wonder could this ever happen here? It would be a great idea, i am learning to drive but i dont have a car, i see many people driving to work with one person in the car.
For example I live on the Headford Road in Galway and i bet there are thousands of cars driving past my house everyday going the same direction as me, we could have a system where a small amount of money could be for the journey, it would be more economical and greener!

Sounds a bit dangerous, to take a complete stranger into your car.
That poor woman taxi driver comes to mind who was murdered.
I certainly wouldn't do it anyway. Would you?

[jenniferalan]

I think this system was somewhat safe as u had to provide ID etc on registration. I would think that it would be the same as getting into a taxi when u dont know the driver.

I was thinking this system could be more localised with word of mouth etc and something like ebay or bookmooch where u can leave a msg about the service. For example if the person said they were going X to Y at 10am and didnt leave til 10.30 and u were late for work then u could leave feedback saying that they were unreliable?

[jeana]

Taxi drivers have to get Garda clearance and they have to past a difficult test, hmmm, I reckon most murderers wouldn't go to the trouble-lol
A mate of mine was driving with a good friend in the car- the tyre blew out and they crashed- the so-called mate claimed to have a whiplash injury and sued them for not having the car in a roadworthy condition - even though she says the tyres were grand- so basically she told me never to give a mate a lift- hmmm, a bit extreme but it makes you think.

[Cosantoir]

I think its a fantastic idea. I mean if your talking about someone who lives near you it wouldnt be that hard to find out about them to make sure their ok before you let them in your car. And it would be safer than a taxi because you could let friends and family members know who will be travelling with you before hand as the journey and the guest would be pre-planned.

Personally I would love something like that for travelling long distance around Ireland.

Great idea!!

[jeana]

A taxi driver is a professional driver who drives thousands of miles a year, they are safe, you can get in and text your mate the roof sign number, each one is registered to a name and an address.
I often gave friends lifts and they never asked me if I had a full licence, I didn't, I had failed 3 times and there I was bringing them home-- I have a full licence now but I am reluctant to give people lifts and if money changes hands then you're into a grey area with your insurance company.
I often thought about sharing a car though--- both insured, one as named driver-- I'm sure we'll all have to think of a lot of cheaper ways to do things as this recession kicks in.
My battery is so dead on my car that the lights won't even turn on--any tips- I have jump leads- just don't know what to do with them!

[Chris P]

Hi Everyone,

The following car-pooling website was set up a few years ago:

http://www.dublintraffic.ie/

Regards
Chris P
Admin

[Chris P]

Car-pooling doesn't suit everyone, so here's some info on an informal alternative -- slugging.

It's well-established in American cities such as Washington DC, and has evolved as a way to get around traffic-lane regulations. Only HOV's (High Occupancy Vehicles) can travel in the fast last, so it's in the interests of drivers to have at least two passengers or "slugs."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3134002.stm

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=FMdQSFz_8ZA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slugging

http://www.slug-lines.com/

[Bubbles2]

My battery is so dead on my car that the lights won't even turn on--any tips- I have jump leads- just don't know what to do with them!

We had the same problem here with my daughter's car - she hadn't driven it for a while and the frosty weather plays havoc with car batteries - the hubby took the battery out of the car put it on to charge for the day and when he put it back in the car started no problem!! Hope that helps.
B2

[bings]

Hi A number of years ago I was going into my local town ( live on the outskirts about 2 miles) I had my 2 kids in the car with me and it was lashing rain. I saw one of my neighbours walking out of the estate and pulled in to offer her a lift. She got in and just as we were pulling up to a set of lights the car in the next lane cut across in front of me and this is what she said " It's a pity that he didn't hit you as I could have had a nice claim of both of you" I let her out and never gave her a lift again. She never said was I ok or that was dangerous. All she was interested in was why they didn't hit us so she could have had a claim. That made me think about giving people a lift. If something happens then what.? This is not to put a damper on the idea but just something to think about.

[mrsl]

Doesn't any passenger in a car have the right to claim off your insurance if you have an accident? Isn't that part of the reason why we have insurance?

I knew someone once who had an accident while taking her daughter to school. The drivers sister made a claim off the mothers insurance on behalf of the daughter. The passenger (the daughter) sued the driver (the mother) through the aunt. Big money was paid out for facial injuries.

My advice - be careful, be very careful, unless its regulated you don't have a leg to stand on against claims. That's why taxi drivers have public liability insurance as well.