A Co Cavan man who drove at almost twice the speed limit has been told by a judge that if he had his way he would “ban him for life”.
Michael McCooey (25), of Duncollig, Lisboduff, Cootehill appeared before Judge Raymond Finnegan at Cavan District Court on Thursday charged with dangerous driving at Killyduff, Virginia, Co Cavan on September 3rd.
Sgt Damien Galligan told the judge that McCooey had been recorded driving at 184km/h.
Finnegan disqualified McCooey from driving for two years and fined him €500.
He asked McCooey what would have happened if a child had crossed the road at the time of his offence. McCooey said he would have been driving “too fast” to stop in time.
“You would have made mincemeat of [the child],” the judge said. “At 184km/h, you would not have control of your vehicle.
“It’s people like you that [have] road deaths are the way they are. They think the law doesn’t apply to them.
“You were at about two times the speed limit,” he said. “In your hands a car is a very, very dangerous weapon.”
The judge said McCooey, a self-employed electrician working in Dublin, had been caught “this time”.
He advised McCooey to consider using the next two years to think about how lucky he was that he did not kill someone while driving in such a manner.
Defence solicitor Damien Rudden submitted that the offence occurred on “a straight stretch” and that there was no traffic at the time, but that the road conditions were “wet” and that his client was “a bit heavy on the pedal”.
“A bit?” Finnegan asked.
The court heard McCooey has lodged an appeal.