A man who was clocked doing 177kph on the N17 in a rush to get to a Christmas Day service in Galway was lucky he didn’t end up attending his own service, a judge commented.
Judge James Faughnan made his comment at Tuam District Court when Iulian Dumitriu, of Martino’s Take-Away, The Square, Dunmore, was before him on three counts of dangerous driving on December 25, 2024.
The defendant was detected travelling at 177kph in a black Mercedes at Knockdoe. Gardaí observed him tailgate another vehicle for two kilometres and then overtake on a single white line. He also failed to slow down to 60kph at traffic calming in Knockdoe.
His solicitor said the defendant was a Romanian national who worked in a fast-food outlet in Dunmore. He was rushing to get to a Christmas religious service in Galway when detected.
“He might be going to his own service if that’s how he drives,” the judge said.
However, as he was a working man, he was going to use his discretion and only impose one conviction on a reduced charge of careless driving.
Imposing a driving disqualification of one year, the judge said this was as opposed to the up to six years off the road which he could have got.
