A man who was caught driving with no licence or insurance told a sitting of Bray District Court that he did so because he was giving his girlfriend a lift late at night because he does not trust taxi drivers.
Mustafa Sekeroglu, who is from Turkey but has been in Ireland for two years, through his solicitor told the court that there was no public transport available on the night in question and that he had therefore decided to give his girlfriend a lift from Dún Laoghaire to Bray.
Gardaí located the 22-year-old travelling on the M11 with the court hearing that Sekeroglu has a Turkish licence and was awaiting his learners permit in Ireland.
Gardaí seized the BMW the health care assistant was travelling in after it became clear that Sekeroglu had no insurance and no Irish driving qualifications.
The court heard that Sekerogl needs his car to travel to work, however the sitting judge asserted that Sekeroglu “knew” that he needed insurance and a licence in order to drive here and that a lack of trust in taxi drivers was not an excuse for driving illegally.
His solicitor informed the court that his client had been refused insurance by several insurance companies saying that he felt this was largely due to Sekeroglu’s young age.
The court accepted that the nature of the man’s driving had not caused concern in and of itself and that the substance of the matter before the courts was the lack of proper documentation.
Sekeroglu was disqualified from driving for two years and ordered to pay a €500 fine with five months given to lodge the payment of same.