A man charged with careless driving for tailgating cars going through the N25 toll plaza several times in one week was recently handed a disqualification, with a judge describing his behaviour as “stupid and dangerous”.
Liam Fitzgerald (30) of Ballaghderneen, Fenagh, Carlow, appeared before Judge Kevin Staunton at a sitting of Waterford District Court this month, where he pled guilty to four counts of careless driving, contrary to Section 52 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961. This all related to incidents in January 2025.
Sergeant Alan Hayes told the court that between 13 and 15 January 2025, Gardaí received a report of a car tailgating other vehicles through the SouthLink N25 toll plaza. CCTV footage from the toll booth showed a man, identified the accused, driving behind other cars that were at the barrier, and following them through it without paying.
Sgt Hayes said the accused has five previous convictions for other matters including speeding and non-display of tax, and was co-operative with Gardaí following the incident.
Acting for the defendant, solicitor Ken Cunningham said that his client was a student at the time, was travelling from Carlow to Waterford for his studies, and was associated with a peer group who learned that toll barriers can stay up for longer and won’t immediately go down if there is another car right behind.
Mr. Cunningham added that the accused “got away with it once, so went back and did it again.”
The solicitor also highlighted his client’s guilty plea, stating that he “did not waste court resources” by allowing the matter to go to hearing, and added that the accused is a ‘well-regarded’ mechanic in his local area, and online reviews of his business say he does “top-class work” and is an “extremely nice man”.
Mr. Cunningham outlined that as the offences occurred on different days, this would mean that the accused could be subjected to a total of 20 penalty points, and a six-month disqualification, leaving him with eight penalty points on his return.
The solicitor asked Judge Staunton if the court would instead consider imposing a one month disqualification from driving on each count, as this would mean he would have no penalty points upon the reinstation of his licence. He added that he is ‘confident’ his client would not be before the court again.
Judge Staunton said the accused “certainly deserves” a disqualification and that his behaviour was “stupid and dangerous.”
The judge also questioned whether the accused thought people would see the CCTV footage of the offences.
Judge Staunton decided to hand the accused a two-month driving disqualification on each count, meaning he will be off the road for a total of eight months. The judge also handed down a €750 fine and postponed the disqualification to 1 September 2026 at the request of Mr. Cunningham, to allow his client to make arrangements for his business.
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
Robyn Power
