'I was foolish': Learner driver avoids jail after string of offences
Driver who admitted falling in with a “bad crowd” avoids jail after dangerous overtaking
A learner driver who told a court he had been "hanging out with bad company" was given one final chance after appearing before Carrick-on-Shannon District Court on a lengthy list of road traffic and drug offences.
Tommy Lee Doyle (22), of Ardagh Road, Granard, Longford, appeared before the court facing a number of matters including dangerous driving, driving unaccompanied, cocaine possession and other road traffic offences. The most serious charge arose from an incident near Leitrim Village where Gardaí alleged Doyle overtook two vehicles while crossing a continuous white line and approaching a blind bend.
A Garda told the court another motorist narrowly avoided a collision following the manoeuvre. Doyle accepted crossing the continuous white line but disputed parts of the Garda evidence. Judge Ciaran Liddy described the manoeuvre as "inherently dangerous". "There's no escaping that," he said.
The court also heard Doyle failed a roadside oral fluid test for drugs. However, subsequent laboratory analysis returned a negative result. Gardaí outlined a number of further offences before the court, including driving unaccompanied on several occasions, failing to display L plates, driving a vehicle with a defective tyre and possession of drugs valued at €280 for personal use.
The judge noted Doyle was already subject to a suspended sentence and a community service order. Addressing Doyle directly, the judge said: "You can't keep going on with this, Mr Doyle. What's the problem with driving?"
Asked about his behaviour, Doyle told the court: "I was foolish. I was hanging out with bad company and all that, which I've been away from that now for the last five months," he said. The defendant also told the court he had recently secured housing and had sold the red Audi involved in many of the offences.
"The best I can do for you is I'll impose another suspended sentence," he said. "You're not going to go to prison today." The judge then issued a stark warning. "Part of the suspended sentence will be, if you're ever seen near a red Audi or any other car, this prison sentence will be activated."
Convicting Doyle of dangerous driving, the judge disqualified him from driving for three years and imposed a six-month prison sentence, which he suspended for three years on condition Doyle remain of good behaviour and not drive a mechanically propelled vehicle in a public place. "If you are caught in a vehicle in a public place, you will serve a six-month prison sentence," the judge warned.
The judge also imposed a concurrent two-year disqualification in relation to a separate driving offence, fined Doyle €200 for dangerous driving and imposed further fines on other matters before the court. Concluding the case, the judge told Doyle he was being given one final opportunity to stay out of prison.