Quigley’s Point man (45) ‘stupidly’ drove his car to work without insurance

A Quigley’s Point man who ‘stupidly’ drove his car to work without insurance cover has escaped a driving ban.

Brian Tracey, of 5 Westpoint Manor, Quigley’s Point, pleaded guilty to driving without insurance, road tax, or a valid NCT certificate when he appeared before Buncrana District Court.

The 45-year-old represented himself in court, telling Judge Deirdre Gearty that he was guilty as charged.

Sergeant Conor Mulkerns summarised the facts of the case, explaining how Mr Tracey had come to the attention of the authorities at a multi-agency checkpoint at Three Trees, Quigley’s Point on December 10, 2024.

His vehicle – a 2009-registered black Peugeot 308 – was stopped by gardai at the checkpoint for having no tax, no insurance, and no NCT.

Sgt Mulkerns told the court that all three had long expired. The last tax date was December 2022, the insurance was July 2023, and the NCT was September 2023.

A lawful demand was made, but no insurance documents or certificate of exemption were produced, and the vehicle was subsequently seized.

Upon hearing the evidence, Judge Gearty asked the defendant: “Okay, Mr Tracey, what were you doing driving this car with no insurance, no tax, and no NCT?”

He replied: “It happened after my lift for work had let me down at the last minute. The car had been in my driveway off the road for a while, and I made the stupid decision to take it to work that day.”

Mr Tracey said he tried to retrieve the car from Garda storage the following week, but without any success.

“I tried to pay to get it back, but I was working and by the time I got to Ballybofey a week or so later, it wasn’t worth the amount for what the car was worth.”

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Sgt Mulkerns informed the court that there’s an “incremental fee” for storage, which keeps rising the longer the car is left.

The court heard that Mr Tracey, who works at E&I Engineering in Burnfoot, has no previous convictions.

Judge Gearty fined him €250 for driving without insurance cover. However she did not impose a ban.

“I won’t disqualify you from driving for a first offence, and I have discretion in relation to that.”

She imposed an additional fine of €150 for having no road tax, allowing five months to pay the €400 total. She took the NCT charge “into consideration”.

“Thank you,” Mr Tracey said, as he left.