Derry court bars man from driving for “highest speed I have seen in this court”

A man caught doing 129mph has been barred from driving after a court heard it was the “highest speed I have seen in this court”.

The self employed plasterer from Co Donegal who was clocked driving at 129mph on the Glenshane Road on the outskirts of Derry earlier this year. He was fined £400 and disqualified from driving for six months at the Bishop Street Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

Patrick McColgan, 24, a father of two from Guladuff in Moville, admitted committing the offence on the A6 dual carriageway on April 30.

His solicitor Seamus Quigley told District Judge Barney McElholm “it is the highest speed I have seen in this court. This is a speeder in every sense of the word”.

A solicitor for the Public Prosecution Service said the speed was 59mph in excess of the maximum speed for driving on a dual carriageway. She said when stopped by the police McColgan made no reply before he was arrested and charged.

Mr Quigley said he was “not going to get into the business of where this happened”.

He added: “It is an excellent stretch of roadway. He was driving a V7 which is a powerful car. The one thing the police did say was that the weather conditions were good at the time of detection and there was light traffic on the road.

“He is a self employed plasterer who works all over Ireland. He is deeply apologetic for what he did and he is acutely aware there is only one way the court can deal with this. He is in a way lucky not to have been charged with dangerous driving, but he was not.”

Imposing the fine and disqualification the District Judge said “this may be an excellent stretch of road but it is not a race track. There is no excuse for this sort of speed”.

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