Jockey fined for driving uninsured car in West Cork

When gardaí stopped the car, an insurance disc for for another vehicle, which had expired in November 2025, was displayed on the car, court heard

Driver pleaded guilty to the offence and was fined €200. Picture: Dan Linehan

A Brazilian freelance jockey has been fined €200 after an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) alert showed the Audi he was driving in Bandon had no insurance. 

Jose Otaviano Rodrigues Alves, 50, of Railway Cottage, Upton, pleaded guilty at Kinsale District Court sitting in Bandon.

The court heard gardaí stopped a black Audi A4 at the Circle K garage in Ballylangley, Bandon, at 6.30pm on June 5 after the ANPR system flagged the vehicle. 

An insurance disc for another vehicle, which had expired in November 2025, was displayed on the car. 

Gardaí established there was no insurance policy in place for the Audi. The vehicle was detained and released the following day.

A Portuguese interpreter assisted Alves in court. 

Defence solicitor Plunkett Taaffe said his client had worked as a freelance jockey in Ireland for three years and had no previous convictions. 

Mr Taaffe said Alves had been “going through a cashflow crisis” at the time. 

He said the jockey immediately paid to have the vehicle released and took out insurance the next day.

Judge Joanne Carroll convicted Alves and fined him €200, allowing four months to pay. 

She warned him a further conviction for driving without insurance would result in a mandatory driving disqualification.

• This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme