An 18-year-old apprentice mechanic escaped a driving ban after pleading guilty to driving without insurance. Shane Power, 146 Sean Bhaile, Doughiska, Galway, was stopped by Garda Peter Sarsfield at Clare, Claremorris at 10.12pm on May 9 2009. He demanded that Power produce his driving licence and insurance within 10 days, which he failed to do.
The court was told that Power had taken out insurance the previous January and had paid a large lump sum and was to pay the rest by direct debit, but one of those direct debits didn’t go through. He only became aware of this when he went to get proof of insurance from the company and was told his insurance had been cancelled. The court was also told that he did not currently drive on his own insurance and only drove for purposes of his work, for which he is covered by his employer’s insurance. For having no insurance he was convicted and fined €500, for failure to produce insurance he was convicted and fined €100, but no driving ban was imposed on him.
