A district court judge has lashed out at slow drivers after an Iranian man was found guilty of careless driving when overtaking near Claremorris.
Ali Mobasser of Ballinfuile, Claremorris, was charged with careless driving on March 15 last as a result of a car crash on the main Balla to Claremorris road near The Beaten Path hotel.
Inspector Paul Cuttle told the court that Mobasser was driving a Volkswagen Passat car fourth in a line of cars driving towards Claremorris. The first car in the line was going slowly, he said.
When traffic reached a wider, straight stretch where it was possible to overtake, Mr Mobasser overtook the first two cars. He continued on to pass the first car, a Nissan Micra, but it was indicating to turn right and collided with him, the court heard.
The court was told that the driver of the car in front has undergone four operations since the crash.
The court heard that Mr Mobasser was an Iranian national who is married to an Irish woman and worked as a theatre porter at Mayo General Hospital, and that he was very familiar with the road in question.
Judge Mary Devins said that ‘exceptionally slow drivers’ can cause as many accidents as fast drivers, and pointed out that slow driving is an offence in other countries. She added that she had sympathy for Mr Mobasser. However, she convicted Mr Mobasser of careless driving and fined him €250.