Court is told driver speeding in Tipperary 'could have caused carnage'

A man driving at 182km/h an hour could have caused “carnage”, Thurles District Court has heard.

Twenty-two year old Cathal Crowley, of Ashbrook Heights, Lehenaghmore, Tougher, Cork was convicted of dangerous driving.

The arresting guard told the court that on July 15, 2022, he was operating a mobile speed detection device on the M8 Longford Pass, Thurles.

He detected the defendant driving at 182km/h in a 120km/h zone. He stopped the driver, showed him the readout and asked him why he was driving at that speed.

The defendant told the guard that he had been kickboxing in Dublin and returning to Cork with his girlfriend. He told the guard he didn’t know he was driving so fast.

The guard told the court that it was a busy Friday evening.

“That speed would have compromised the safety of the other drivers in the area,” said the guard.

MR CROWLEY

Mr Crowley told the court he accepts that he was driving at 182km/h, and even though he didn’t say at the time, there was a reason. Mr Crowley told the court that he had received a call from his mother that his grandmother had a heart attack and he was rushing home.

He said it was his first time being arrested, he panicked and said he didn’t know.

The defendant’s solicitor Colm Morrissey confirmed with his client that he had good vision and weather conditions on the road meant his visibility was not compromised. He said that if his client was convicted of dangerous driving, it would have serious consequences for him as he needed to go to Dublin regularly to train.

However, speaking for the State, Inspector James White of Thurles Garda Station told the court that speed alone would have impaired the defendant’s ability to see.

He said the defendant was going at 50% over the limit, and he found it hard to believe he didn’t notice.

“You could have caused carnage at the speed you were going at,” said Inspector White.

Judge Elizabeth MacGrath noted the evidence and the speed the defendant was driving. She fined him €350 and disqualified him for two years.