Careless bread van driver sped away from garda checkpoint with lights off in ‘moment of madness’
A bread van driver who drove away from a garda checkpoint at high speed and with his lights off panicked in what was a “genuine moment of madness”, a court heard.
Cillian Dyas (33) was on paternity leave at the time after the birth of his sixth child, and he was not insured by his usual work policy.
Judge Stephanie Coggans convicted and fined Dyas €800, but did not disqualify him from driving.
The defendant, with an address at Oriel Cove, Clogherhead, Co Louth, admitted uninsured driving and careless driving.
The car then turned and drove off at speed, crossing a continuous white line
Garda Robert Berg told Balbriggan District Court that gardaí were conducting a checkpoint at Naul Road in Balbriggan, at 11.30pm on July 15, 2025, when a car slowly approached the checkpoint.
The car then turned and drove off at speed, crossing a continuous white line.
Gda Berg said gardaí followed the car, which turned left onto the M1 and continued along the M1 at high speed and with his lights off.
Gda Berg said Dyas subsequently stopped and later made full admissions to his driving.
The court heard Dyas had no previous convictions and the incident was “a genuine moment of madness”.
Defence lawyer Annette Kealy said Dyas was a bread van driver, and usually had insurance through his job.
However, at the time he was on paternity leave, did not have enough money to buy insurance and he drove his own car, forgetting he wasn’t covered by his work insurance.