Leitrim man given ‘final chance’ in dangerous driving case

Judge Éiteáin Cunningham issued a clear “final chance” warning to a Leitrim man after exercising discretion in a serious road traffic case at Carrick-on-Shannon District Court on December 16.
The court heard that 66-year-old Malcom Bryan, of Byrne Heights, Keshcarrigan, Co Leitrim, was stopped at a Garda checkpoint while driving a silver Opel Insignia (registration 10-KE-998) and failed to produce a valid driving licence or insurance.

Gardaí seized the vehicle and a subsequent PSV inspection found it to be dangerously defective. A PSV inspection found the car to be dangerously defective, with Garda evidence detailing faults including bald tyres with the ply exposed, a faulty ABS system, brake defects, a significant oil leak, defective lights and a broken wing mirror with sharp edges exposed.

The inspector concluded the vehicle was not roadworthy and posed a danger to the public.
Addressing the defendant, Judge Cunningham said the matters before the court were “of the most serious nature”, adding that the vehicle “should not have been driven on the road in that condition”.
Mr Bryan told the court he held an English driving licence, but said he had been advised it was not valid in this jurisdiction. He said he believed the vehicle was insured through his partner, but accepted his name was not on the policy. He told the judge he was no longer driving and accepted he had been “completely in the wrong.”

The court was told Mr Bryan had one previous road traffic conviction, dating back to 2016.
In sentencing, Judge Cunningham said she was giving Mr Bryan “one opportunity”, warning that she would not hesitate to impose harsher penalties in the future.

“You cannot drive on the road without a valid licence, without insurance, or in a vehicle that is not roadworthy,” she said, adding that the defects identified “could have had huge implications not only for your own safety, but for other road users.”
Mr Bryan was fined €150 for having no driving licence, €250 for driving a dangerously defective vehicle, and €200 for having no insurance, with six months allowed to pay in each case.

Judge Cunningham confirmed she was not imposing a driving disqualification on this occasion, but stressed it was a “final chance”, warning that any further road traffic offences would likely result in disqualification.
Other matters were taken into consideration by the court.

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