Motorist banned for racing at 190km/h

A YOUNG motorist who was seen racing a Honda Civic with another unidentified car on a dual-carriageway at 190 kilometres per hour has been banned from driving for a year.

The incident was seen on the Cork/Mallow road and on to the dual-carriageway at Commons Road on the outskirts of Cork city at about midnight on June 12.

Judge Con O’Leary said at Cork District Court that he had an old-fashioned way of looking at speed and asked how fast the car was travelling in miles per hour. Inspector Eddie Golden said it was approximately 120 miles per hour.

This meant that the Civic driven by Martin Greaney was travelling at almost twice the national speed limit for the roads in question.

Greaney, aged 20, of 37 Shannon Lawn, Mayfield, Cork, pleaded guilty at Cork District Court to a charge of dangerous driving arising out of the incident.

Judge O’Leary said the incident was highly dangerous. He imposed a €500 fine on the motorist as well as disqualifying him from driving for a period of 12 months.

Garda David Ahern and Michael Collins were on duty on the Cork/Mallow Road on the night and they saw the Honda Civic and another car ahead of it that they could not identify. Gardaí subsequently identified the Civic as being driven by the defendant.

Emmet Boyle, solicitor, said there was no excuse for the defendant’s driving.

“It was a racing situation. There is no other inference to draw from the circumstances. It is a very good stretch of road,” Mr Boyle said.

The solicitor said the defendant had all matters such as NCT, tax and insurance in order in relation to the car, and was in the process of seeking employment.