Driver cleared of dangerous driving for handbrake turn

Driver cleared of dangerous driving for handbrake turn in busy car park


A SWINFORD man who performed a handbrake turn in a Tesco car park was cleared of dangerous driving after the judge commented it was the ‘testosterone fuelled equivalent’ of taking off your shirt and beating your chest.
Ethan King (21) of 18 Rathduff, Swinford, admitted he performed a handbrake turn in the carpark of Tesco Claremorris on December 6, 2014 telling gardaí he ‘was just being a pr***, I’m a d**k’ when asked why he did it.
Judge Mary Devins explained that she was not satisfied that his actions met the threshold of dangerous driving, and she dismissed the charge of dangerous driving. He was convicted of the lesser charge of careless driving, however.
At a previous sitting of Castlebar District Court, evidence was heard from Mr Daniel Hyland who was loading shopping into his car accompanied by his wife and 14-month-old daughter when he observed an Opel Corsa 50 metres away do a handbrake turn.
Mr Hyland reported the incident to Claremorris Garda Station and Garda Olga Treacy attended the car park. She followed the Opel Corsa to a quieter area, where she questioned Mr King, asking him why he performed the turn.
Mr King replied, ‘I was just being a pr***, I’m a d**k’. King had a learner permit but he did not have a fully qualified driver accompanying him. The car had no NCT certificate, and no learner plates were displayed.
Garda Treacy told the court that the car park was busy with many families going to and from the supermarket, where a ‘Santa’s Grotto’ event had been taking place that evening.
Mr King said he drove into the car park at ‘normal speed’ and did the handbrake turn in a ‘quieter part’ of the car park where there was no cars or pedestrians.
Mr Brendan Donnelly, defending solicitor, said his client had never been in court or in trouble before. He added that he worked in a tyre-fitting garage in Swinford, that he was in a relationship and that he had a child.
Before sentencing Mr King, Judge Devins told Mr King that she hoped he would not repeat his actions. She fined him €250 for careless driving and €50 for not having a qualified driver beside him. The other charges were taken into consideration.