Teen drove wrong way down one-way system
By Brendan Grehan
A TEENAGER who overtook another car on a blind turn and drove the wrong way down a one-way system while uninsured left Tallaght Court with €1,150 in fines.
Judge Patricia McNamara chose not to disqualify Dale O’Brien.
O’Brien, aged 19, with an address at Avonbeg Drive, Tallaght, pleaded guilty to no insurance and no driving licence at Belgard Road, Tallaght, on February 5, 2017.
He also pleaded guilty to careless driving at Belgard Road and to careless driving at High Street, both Tallaght, also on February 5, 2017.
O’Brien had originally been charged with two counts of dangerous driving but these were reduced to careless driving on a guilty plea after Judge McNamara heard a summary of the facts.
Sergeant Michael Ahern told Judge McNamara that on the above date O’Brien was observed overtaking a car on a blind turn onto the Belgard Road and then drove the wrong way around a one-way system.
He was stopped and later failed to produce his insurance certificate and driving licence at Tallaght Garda Station.
O’Brien’s solicitor, Michael Hennessy, asked Judge McNamara not to impose a disqualification.
He said O’Brien had pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity and had put his hands up.
Judge McNamara fined O’Brien €450 for having no insurance, €300 for having no driving licence and €200 for each careless driving charge.
She told O’Brien: “You could have taken a life with that driving. It’s like a gun.”
TAGS Courts
