A district court judge hearing the case of a Roscommon man who drove at “motorway speeds” along a busy city bridge, a stretch of road which was the scene of previous fatalities, has warned that speeding will not be tolerated.
Judge Mary Fahy made the comments at Galway District Court this week before convicting Allan Kelly (23 ) with an address at Knock, Taughmacconnell, Roscommon, of dangerous driving, fining him €500 with three months to pay, and imposing a disqualification from driving for a period of two years.
The court heard that on November 23, 2010, at 1.40am gardai had set up a speed check point on the Quincentenary Bridge, a 50kmph zone, when they observed an Audi A4 being driven at a speed of 119 kmph. The investigating garda explained that the speed was made even more dangerous by the fact that the weather had been wet, with heavy fog setting in, and it was beginning to freeze. He added that this section of roadway was a busy area with the NUIG campus and student accommodation on either side.
Kelly’s solicitor said that his client’s car had not been “souped up”, that at that time in the morning there had been no traffic and no pedestrians, and that the defendant had been coming home from work in a city centre pub. He added that Quincentenary Bridge is a dual carriageway and that it was not icy at the time.
Inspector Mick Coppinger then reminded the court that the speed Kelly had been driving at was 119kmph which is “motorway speeds in the middle of town”. He also pointed out that this stretch of road has been the scene of previous road accidents.
Judge Mary Fahy noted that there had been a “horrific fatality” in this location which is so near the university. Referring to the carnage on the nation’s roads she added that many young people “seem to feel it does not affect them”.
“He was working that evening, this isn’t a young man cruising the streets,” said the solicitor who explained that Kelly acknowledges that the speed was stupid and has since changed his vehicle to a 2001 Mondeo.
“If he had gone out of control, he wouldn’t be here today. I feel I have to do my public duty,” said Judge Fahy who added that because of the “carnage on the roads the message has to go out” that this kind of driving will not be tolerated.
Kelly was then convicted and fined €500 with three months to pay and disqualified from driving for two years. Leave to appeal was granted.
