Gaybo slams fine for 200kph ‘galoots’

ROAD safety boss Gay Byrne said yesterday the real issue was not how a video of two men speeding at 192kph was passed to the media but the behaviour of the convicted men, whom he branded as “galoots”.

“The focus should be: ‘Are the gardaí lying when they said that these guys were travelling at 120mph, weaving in around the traffic at night and making a video in the cars while they were doing that? That’s the story,” he insisted.

“I think it is disgraceful behaviour and I think in the light of those facts that the sentence was appallingly and disgracefully lenient, and the members of the board of the Road Safety Authority all feel the same way.”

He continued: “The gardaí in question, in an unmarked car, risked their lives to put a stop to these two galoots doing what they were doing and I think the gardaí should be commended for doing what they did.

“And I think they must be enormously frustrated, just as we in the Road Safety Authority are, that the sentence was so lenient.

“I would have banned these guys for at least three years, as well as a fine, and then I would have stacked them with penalty points so that when they came back to driving eventually they would know they had four penalty points before they ran out of time.”

Mr Byrne added: “Let’s face reality. They were behaving like galoots and they deserve to be treated like galoots, and we feel very strongly about it.”

Meanwhile, Fine Gael transport spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell claimed last night that motorists convicted of dangerous driving were escaping penalty points due to Government incompetence.

She said an “oversight” by the Department of Transport meant the offence had been left off the schedule for the top-up points system.

Ms Mitchell said the Mullingar case had highlighted the anomaly and ministers should now move to close the loophole.

“Public concern at the lenient penalties for dangerous driving imposed in Mullingar District Court will turn to fury at the revelation that the offence doesn’t even attract penalty points.

“Neither is there any legislation which would make dangerous driving subject to either mandatory or discretionary disqualification.

“There is little point in railing against the judge’s decision when, in the absence of specific legislation, there was little choice but to base the judgment on precedent,” she said.

Ms Mitchell said “sloppy” legislation was responsible for the oversight, which should now be rectified.

“I am calling on the minister to legislate for a clearly delineated schedule of penalties appropriate to the offence.

“Bizarrely, there are penalty points for entering a yellow box but none from driving at 200km an hour.

“A driver will receive two penalty points for being one kilometre over the speed limit but those charged with dangerous driving, like the defendants in the case in Mullingar, will remain free of penalty points for their offence, much less a disqualification from driving.”