Careless BMW driver on wrong side of road told gardaí he was ‘avoiding potholes’

August 11 2022 02:30 AM

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A CARELESS driver who repeatedly went on to the wrong side of the road was in a BMW vehicle that had big wheels and he was only trying to avoid the potholes and any damage to his car, a court was told.

Maciej Gurba (37) was also found with an asp baton between his car seats when he was stopped by gardaí and he claimed he had it for his own protection as he was “living in a bad area”.

Judge Gerard Jones convicted and fined Gurba €400, but did not disqualify him from driving.

The defendant, with an address at Scariff Hall, Waterville Terrace in Blanchardstown, admitted careless driving and possession of an asp baton.

Garda Gareth Byrne told Blanchardstown District Court that he was on mobile patrol at Snugborough Road in Blanchardstown on February 12, 2021 when he observed a BMW that was continually crossing over the white line in the middle of the road.

Gda Byrne said he activated the blue lights and sirens and indicated for the vehicle to stop.

The vehicle returned to the correct side of the road but drove off at high speed on the wrong side of the road towards Waterville.

Gda Byrne said the vehicle drove into a parking space at Waterville Terrace.

When Gda Byrne spoke to the defendant he saw an asp baton between the front seats.

The court heard Gurba had one previous conviction.

The defence solicitor said Gurba’s BMW had quite big wheels and on the day the defendant was crossing over the white line to try to avoid the potholes, and avoid causing damage to his car.

She also said Gurba failed to stop for gardaí simply because he did not realise that the gardaí were indicating for him to stop.

She said the defendant was originally from Poland and had lived and worked in Ireland for over a decade.

He worked in construction and had a partner and two children, the court heard.

She said the baton was not produced, and the garda had simply noticed it in the car.

The solicitor further said that Gurba had the baton for his own safety as he was living in a bad area and there had been a spate of assaults and robberies, and even a hijacking, in the weeks leading up to this incident.