Uninsured driver who changed story incurs ire of Judge Carthy
Stock image of car driving on road
JUDGE Geraldine Carthy’s parting words to defendant Jonathan Smith on 9 July at Carlow District Court were: “Don’t come before me again – you are very fortunate.” Mr Smith had been found guilty of driving without insurance and was fined €500.
25-year-old Mr Smith of Bridge Street, Hacketstown, Carlow had incurred Judge Carthy’s ire by changing his story around his ownership of an uninsured car that gardaí found him driving on 26 July 2023.
Initially, Mr Smith’s defence lawyer John O’Sullivan claimed that his client had sold the car in question before the date that it was found by gardaí to be uninsured. He claimed that Mr Smith had sold the car on 21 June 2023. Mr O’Sullivan said that the person to whom Mr Smith had sold the car had not signed the tax book to have the proper transfer carried out.
This meant that although another person was driving the car around, Mr Smith was receiving parking fines in relation to the car.
In response to this claim, Judge Carthy said that it was the seller’s duty to send the tax book to the relevant authority and asked to see the tax book and the date it was signed.
Mr O’Sullivan told Judge Carthy that this information had been shared with the inspector.
Judge Carthy then stated that Mr Smith had taxed his car on 1 July 2023 until 30 September 2023 and asked “why did he tax the car if he did not own it?” The defendant then suggested that it had been taxed automatically as the car was still in his name.
Mr Smith then claimed that he had left the tax book on a wall for the new owner of the car to sign.
In response, Judge Carthy asked: “Why didn’t you subpoena the new owner here today?”
Judge Carthy then asked the prosecuting Sergeant Nolan what the state’s case was. Sgt Nolan said that the state’s case was that Mr Smith “was found driving the car on the day in question”.
The judge then suggested that Mr O’Sullivan should have a conversation with the state to save his client from “digging a bit more”. She said that on the date Mr Smith was stopped in 2023, his car had not been taxed or had its NCT since 2021 and that he had taken out an insurance policy the day after he was stopped by gardaí.
Judge Carthy then temporarily adjourned the hearing.
Upon Judge Carthy’s return, Mr O’Sullivan said that his client was happy to enter a guilty plea.
In stating the facts of the case, Sgt Nolan said that it was a “straightforward no insurance and no production”. He said that at 3.30pm on 26 July 2023, gardaí stopped a car that Mr Smith was driving as the car had been flagged as having no valid insurance. Mr Smith was then given 14 days to produce a policy of insurance at a garda station of his choice and he chose Baltinglass Garda Station.
Mr Smith did attend Baltinglass Garda Station within the allotted time period, but he produced a policy of insurance that began on 27 July, the day after he was found driving with no insurance.
Speaking for his client, Mr O’Sullivan said that Mr Smith truly apologised. He said that his client had left school at 16 and was a contractor in the agricultural sector. He said that this time of year is high season and that his client really needed his licence to work. Mr O’Sullivan hoped that Judge Carthy would not impose a driving ban on his client.
Judge Carthy convicted and fined Mr Smith €500, with 120 days to pay, but did not impose a ban on him driving.
She finished by saying to Mr Smith: “Don’t come before me again – you are very fortunate.”
