Man wins speeding case, after judge rules that there was no evidence he was driving
Judge agrees with defence solicitor and tosses speeding summons out of court
A judge has tossed a speeding summons against an Inishowen man out of court after ruling that there was no evidence he was driving.
Daniel Hamilton, of 25 Ard Chlochar, Convent Road, Carndonagh, appeared before Buncrana District Court, where he denied a charge of speeding last year.
Go Safe speed van operator Conor McLaughlin gave evidence against Mr Hamilton.
He told the court how he had been on duty on the R238 main road at Tullyarvan, Buncrana on Sunday, September 29, 2024.
At 2.39pm that afternoon, the Go Safe employee detected a vehicle – a 2010-registered Ford Galaxy – travelling at a speed of 77 kilometres per hour in a 60km zone.
Mr McLaughlin said that after his shift was over, he returned to base, and all the information was uploaded onto the system.
He told the court that a fixed charge penalty notice would have been issued in respect of the offence, handing in a certificate as proof of postage.
At this stage, however, defence solicitor Frank Dorrian interjected and pointed out: “There was no evidence that this man was driving the vehicle at the time.”
Judge Ciaran Liddy agreed, and he immediately dismissed the summons against Mr Hamilton.