Uninsured Donegal man who crashed on way to scrapping car avoids driving ban 

A Donegal man who crashed his car while taking it to be scrapped has been spared a driving ban.

Jimmy O’Donnell was allowed to keep his licence after pleading guilty to driving without insurance.

The 51-year-old was before Glenties District Court following an incident at Tullynaglaggan, Glenties, on April 25, 2024.

Garda Inspector Aoife Curley told the court that officers responded to a report of a single-vehicle road traffic collision. The car in question had collided with a ditch and O’Donnell was identified as the driver.

O’Donnell, of Lower Street, Mountcharles made admissions that he was not insured. He was charged with an offence contrary to section 56 (1) and (3) of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 as amended by section 18 of the Road Traffic Act, 2006.

Solicitor for O’Donnell, Mr Francis Gillespie, said his client was going through a “rather difficult period in his life” having suffered two bereavements in a short space of time. He said O’Donnell “simply couldn’t afford to insure the car”.

Mr Gillespie said O’Donnell was taking the car to a car breaker to have the vehicle put off the road.

“He went off the road due to the very inclement weather,” Mr Gillespie said.

The solicitor added that his client, a father-of-three, has a chance of a job opportunity, which involves driving for a company over Christmas.

He told Judge Emile Daly that this was O’Donnell’s first offence and noted that he pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

Judge Daly convicted O’Donnell and fined him €400, allowing 12 months to pay. Judge Daly applied her discretion on the basis of it being O’Donnell’s first offence and did not disqualify him from driving.