A man who claimed he was test-driving a 4.2 litre car when gardai stopped him for driving at alleged speeds of up to 114 m.p.h. told the High Court yesterday he was never served with a summons.
Mr Justice McCracken gave permission to Mr Michael O'Shea, managing director of Rimec Ltd, Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin, to challenge orders made by a Circuit Court judge who had upheld District Court convictions of the speeding offences.
In an affidavit, Mr O'Shea said he had been told that gardai in civilian clothing arrived unannounced with documentation at the Rimec premises and purported to serve the summons on a Mr Patrick Reynolds.
On June 2nd, 1996, he was test-driving an Audi A8 from Kerry to Dublin which was loaned to him for testing by a Dublin motor company. He was stopped by a garda who claimed he was driving between 97 m.p.h. and 114 m.p.h. in a 60 m.p.h. zone. He became aware the District Court had adjudicated on the matter only when he received a notice of the penalties. He was fined and disqualified from driving for two years.
He appealed to Judge Anthony Kennedy in the Circuit Court in May but with a small variation in one fine, the original decision was affirmed.