"I’ve heard of people rushing to get to a funeral but why were you speeding coming from one?" a Judge asked a woman who was clocked doing 168kph on the M6.
Before Judge James Faughnan at Ballinasloe District Court was Jennifer Fri, 21 Leana Thuaidh, Cappagh Road, Galway, charged with speeding on August 31 last. Conditions on the motorway were wet at the time.
Judge Faughnan agreed to the reduction of the charge from one of dangerous driving to careless driving on a guilty plea to that offence.
Fri told the Court that her friend had died and she had attended the funeral on the day she was detected.
“What was the rush?” the Judge asked, and was informed by Fri she was coming from the funeral. He said he had heard of people rushing to get to a funeral but rushing home from one was a new one on him.
Fri explained that she was driving a rented electric Cupra and needed to get the car back to the rental company in time. The defendant said she worked for a medical devices company in Galway.
She was fined €750 for careless driving; however, confusion arose when she was asked to present her driving licence to the court registrar for endorsement and the process of accruing five penalty points.
It transpired that Fri didn’t have a licence, as she had been put off the road for four years at Galway District Court, a month after the M6 speeding incident, for a second conviction for driving without insurance. She had also received a four-month suspended sentence at the time.
Judge Faughnan said that as she was already off the road he’d keep the penalty at €750 and “leave it at that”.
