The Court of Appeal has quashed a four-year driving disqualification imposed on Andrew McCormack after his conviction for careless driving causing serious harm, ruling that the mandatory ban did not automatically apply in his case.
The court found an error in principle in the disqualification order. It said the relevant factor was whether the appellant had two previous careless-driving convictions within the three years before the offence. The judgment said he had none.
The court has not decided whether McCormack should receive a discretionary driving disqualification. It said it would hear submissions from the parties on re-sentencing, particularly on that question.
McCormack pleaded guilty on 27 May 2020 to careless driving causing serious harm under section 52 of the Road Traffic Act 1961, as amended. He had initially been charged with the more serious offence of dangerous driving causing serious harm. Monaghan Circuit Court sentenced him on 15 June 2020 to 150 hours of community service in lieu of nine months’ imprisonment. The only issue in the appeal was his disqualification from driving.
The appeal arose from a collision on 21 September 2017, at about midday, on the N2. McCormack was driving an articulated lorry when it struck the last car in a line stopped at temporary traffic lights, resulting in a six-vehicle pile-up. The judgment said a tachograph examination showed the lorry was travelling at about 92km/h.
The court also recorded that McCormack stayed at the scene, cooperated fully with Gardaí, passed a preliminary breath sample and had no previous convictions. His documents were in order.
In reaching its decision, the Court of Appeal referred to its ruling that day in DPP v McCann. It quashed the part of the sentence order concerning disqualification; the remaining sentence was not identified as an issue in the appeal.