Posted by Published on 28 January 2026Courts Reporting Scheme
A roads policing garda who collided with another driver while responding to an emergency call has had his careless driving conviction dismissed on appeal, with the judge finding that the defendant “couldn’t be branded as a criminal”.
The District Court Appeals Court heard that Garda Keith Lambe (44), who has 20 years of experience driving emergency response vehicles, drove through a junction in a marked patrol vehicle while responding to an emergency call.
Gardai are permitted to break red lights or drive in excess of the speed limit in emergency situations if they have certain qualifications, which Garda Lambe was confirmed to have.
Garda Lambe was convicted in the District Court of driving a vehicle in a public place without due care and attention in Clonsilla, Dublin 15 on July 4, 2023, contrary to section 52 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961. He was convicted and fined €500. He later lodged an appeal against his conviction.
At the appeals court, Judge Ronan Munro found that Garda Lambe was acting in the execution of his duty when he collided with a civilian driver at the junction and that he wasn’t driving in this manner “for the sake of it”.
Defence counsel for Garda Lambe, Martin Dully BL, had told the court that his client saw the other road user was stationary at a green light and made the judgement that she had recognised the approach of a garda vehicle.
The other driver told the court that she did not see the garda vehicle approach, that she didn’t see or hear lights and sirens and that she had not stopped on the green light.
The woman told the court that she remembered being at the junction, getting a green light and proceeding to go.
She said that she didn’t see any lights or sirens from the garda vehicle and that she only saw it when it was centimetres away from her.
The woman said that the garda vehicle impacted with her car and she had only briefly seen the headlights of the car before the crash.
She said that she had sustained a head injury and suffered pains in her neck, lower back and jaw from the incident. She said that the crash took a “massive toll” on her life and described it as an “awful, awful time”.
Mr Dully said dashcam footage shows that the flashing blue lights were deployed for a considerable distance before Garda Lambe reached the junction.
The woman said that she wasn’t stalled and hadn’t stopped at the green light.
Garda Lambe told the court that he is a serving garda member who has been working in the roads policing unit since 2008.
He said that he had specialised road traffic training and has 20 years of experience driving emergency response vehicles.
The appellant said that as soon as he got the emergency call over the radio, he turned on his blue lights and sirens.
Garda Lambe said that other road users had slowed or moved while he was driving and that they were aware of his presence.
He said that he had a full view of the entire junction on his approach. He said he saw that the other driver’s lane got a solid green light but that her vehicle was stationary at the stop line.
Gda Lambe said that as he was approaching, he saw that the driver had a green light and was anticipating her to turn, so he was breaking.
He said he made the determination that she had remained stationary on the green light because she was aware of the garda vehicle approaching and was allowing him access through the junction.
Prosecution lawyer, Rory Staines, said that coming to the assumption that the woman was waiting and proceeding through the junction was a careless decision.
He submitted that Garda Lambe was “clearly careless” and that he had a duty to all road users. Garda Lambe replied that he had made a dynamic decision.
Mr Dully said that gardai are given the permission and must drive at high speed to attend an emergency.
Judge Munro said that Garda Lambe was acting in the execution of his duty when he collided with the woman at the junction. He said that both parties had been injured and that he could make inferences that the flashing lights were on.
He said that society asks gardai to respond to these incidents and it was Gda Lambe’s duty to respond.
Judge Munro said that Garda Lambe wasn’t just driving in this manner “for the sake of it” and just because a bad thing happens, it doesn’t mean he is criminally liable.
He said that he could not see this as criminal behaviour and found that Gda Lambe “cannot be branded as a criminal”. He said that it was clear to him that the charge must be dismissed.
Judge Munro said he also appreciated that the woman did nothing wrong, that she had lost a lot in the crash and that it must have been very upsetting for her. He said she was to be commended for her positive steps and wished her a speedy recovery.
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