Letterkenny drug-driver with no insurance put off the road

A Letterkenny man caught drug-driving and driving without insurance has been banned from driving.

Josh Quigley was put off the road for two years when he appeared before Letterkenny District Court.

Inspector Tony Byrne told the court that Quigley, a 23-year-old, of Windmill View, Letterkenny, was stopped by gardai at 8pm on September 5, 2023 at Cottian, Kilmacrennan.

After failing a roadside drug-driving test, he was arrested and conveyed to Milford Garda Station, where a sample of blood was taken and returned positive for the presence of cannabis.

A demand was made for Quigley to produce insurance or a certificate of exemption and this was not done, the court heard.

The court heard that Quigley had a previous conviction for driving without insurance dating back to 2020.

Solicitor for Quigley, Mr Rory O’Brien, quoting the Road Traffic Act, told the court that where a period of four years or more have elapsed since a person’s last previous conviction for an offence under the relevant section, the court may deal with the offence as a first offence.

After considering the submission, Judge Éiteáin Cunningham banned Quigley from driving for one year for drug-driving. He was also convicted and fined €150.

Judge Cunningham said that the court was minded to use discretion in relation to the driving without insurance charge. For this offence, Quigley was disqualified from driving for two years.

A charge of driving without a licence was marked as taken into consideration while charges of failing to produce documentation were struck out.