“Prawo Jazdy” was an alleged Polish criminal supposedly active in the Republic of Ireland. The name was listed on PULSE, a computer system used by the Garda Síochána, with at least 50 traffic violations, including speeding and parking violations, recorded across the country, but there were suspicious aspects such as each incident being associated with a different address. “Prawo Jazdy” was also listed as a name on the Fixed Charge Processing System (FCPS). An investigation was launched into this person whom the Gardaí considered to be Ireland’s worst traffic violator.
An internal Garda memorandum in June 2007 revealed that, upon consultation with an online Polish–English bilingual dictionary, prawo jazdy was not a personal name, but instead the Polish term for ‘driving licence’, misidentified by Garda officers as the traffic violator’s name due to the phrase being printed at the top right-hand corner of Polish driving licences (with the licensee’s name and personal details printed beneath in a smaller text size). The error became public knowledge in February 2009.
The Gardaí received the satirical Ig Nobel Prize in literature in 2009 for the mistake, but did not attend the award ceremony. The prize was accepted by Karolina Lewestam, a Polish philosopher and writer, and a “holder of a Polish driver’s licence”.
The situation was a source of embarrassment for the Gardaí. It generated discussion on issues such as cultural ignorance or institutional racism within the Gardaí as a result of changing ethnic demography in Ireland due to immigration from other European Union member states.
In 2013, a common format for driving licences was implemented for all newly issued documents across the European Economic Area (EEA), of which both Ireland and Poland are part.
reminds me of the classic 90s joke “who is this General Failure and why is he reading my drive?”
Nothing beats this gem
This is the relevant section of the article:
Prawo Jazdi is my favorite baseball squadron
I’m not even in the army, much less a squad leader. Who exactly is this Private Parts of mine that you want to see?
I assume you heard about that from Gen. Consensus. Don’t mind him, that ol’ fossil’s always acting like he speaks for everyone.
Colonel Oftruth is often at odds with him though
The last time they got into it, Cpl Punishment had to get involved.
He was out sick, Major Pain took over for him.
Thankfully, Cpl. Punishment’s still in solitary. 😶
Yeah he was out drinking all night with Moderation.
What a shite DD that guy always is.
Don’t get me started on that motherfucker Peer who always reset my connections.