Driver jailed for penalty point fraud

A 20-year-old man who avoided being put off the road by transferring penalty points onto family members’ licences was sentenced to six months in prison for his offences.
Michael Coen, with an address at 3 An Lochan, Headford Road, Galway, was before Tuam District Court for speeding offences on March 7, 2021.
Garda Michael Hehir told the court he was on patrol just after midnight near Turloughmore Village when he spotted a grey Volkswagen Golf being driven by Coen and travelling at a speed of 160km/h – double the speed limit at that location.
Gardaí pursued the defendant over the next 2.2km where he hit speeds of 110km/h before switching off his lights to escape Garda Hehir.
The car was distinctive, said the garda, as it had two yellow fog lamps and they spotted Coen later that evening, following him to his parents address at Ardskea More, Cummer, Tuam.
When stopped, the defendant had been ‘trying to cod’ Gardaí by displaying ‘N Plates’ despite only holding a learner permit.
His NCT had expired and he was not accompanied by a fully licenced driver, said Garda Hehir.
A fixed penalty notice was issued but went unpaid, he continued.
During his investigations, Garda Hehir discovered that Coen had previously received three fixed penalty notices for which he had falsified the details on payment of the fines.
The first, on May 25, 2020, had been addressed to the defendant, but was returned with his father’s – also Michael Coen – driving licence number, and his father was issued with three penalty points.
On December 4, 2020, the defendant paid a fixed penalty notice and using his sister Anne Marie Coen’s driving licence number who had the three penalty points allocated to her.
Just a few days later, on December 16, he paid a third fixed penalty notice using his father’s licence number ensuring that the two penalty points were misallocated once again.
Garda Hehir told the court he had brought this to the attention of the fines-issuing office in Thurles who carried out an investigation and deduced that the points should be allocated to Coen – a process which resulted in him being put off the road for six months on May 25, 2021.
Defending solicitor Gearóid Geraghty conceded that his client had acted in the knowledge of the family members involved.
For dangerous driving on March 7, 2021, Judge James Faughnan fined Coen €300 and disqualified him from driving for two years.
Judge Faughnan, in ruling on the charges against Coen for having penalty points wrongly allocated, said an MP in the UK had been jailed for a similar offence.
Imposing two three-month sentences to run consecutively, he fixed recognisances for appeal and described his offences as ‘particularly nasty’.
“The message needs to go out that you can’t mess with other people’s licences,” said Judge Faughnan.
He said he had considered asking the Director of Public Prosecutions to investigate the actions of the family members involved but said he wouldn’t do so on this occasion.