Driver speeding 223kph on the M9 jailed
Photo for illustrative purposes
A MAN clocked at 103kph over the speed limit on the motorway was jailed for six months, while the judge lamented he couldn’t impose a longer sentence.
Florinel Gheorghe (36) with an address at Kiltipper Gate, Tallaght appeared in Athy District Court recently for sentence after pleading guilty earlier for the four-year-old offence.
Outlining the offence, Sergeant Dave Hanrahan said that on 23 July, 2020 on the M9 at Inchaguire, Athy, Mr Gheorghe was clocked at 223kph (140mph) in his Audi A7 at 8pm in the evening in what he described as “moderate traffic”.
“Why were you going so fast?” asked an incredulous Judge Desmond Zaidan.
“I didn’t know, I was stupid,” said the defendant.
The sergeant explained that Mr Gheorghe had eight previous convictions, the most serious for having no insurance in 2015.
“He was in a new car, trying it out. It was a horrendous speed,” said his solicitor Jackie McManus. “He no longer has the car and hasn’t had as much as a speeding ticket since,” she added.
“There’s not much good coming out of these facts,” said the judge.
“He posed a danger to himself and other road users. He wasn’t stupid, he knew exactly what he was doing in a new Audi, testing the limits of the car. The only thing going for him is pleading guilty.
“This was not stupidity, it was downright dangerous.
“If something had gone wrong you’d be history – or paralysed from the neck down, with somebody having to feed you, dress you, help you to the toilet for the rest of your life.
“You were driving your own coffin and you were lucky to get out of it.
“Your arrest was a blessing in disguise.
“This was absolute madness, 223 on the M9, you couldn’t’ve have felt comfortable, it doesn’t matter what sort of driver you are.
“This court can only apply the maximum (six months) but you deserve more than six months in prison.
“I wish I didn’t have to say it, but more people are dying on our roads than from assaults – and that is a powerful and sad thing to say,” he concluded.
He also banned Mr Gheorghe from driving for another six years and set appeal bail at €750.
