Driver caught in a lie as gardai use app to catch them out and seize car

A driver in Naas was recently caught in a lie by gardai before his car was seized and he was handed a fine.

The Roads Policing Unit was on patrol in the Celbridge area and pulled a driver for a routine check.

When the motorist was asked for his driver’s licence, they claimed they had forgotten their ‘full’ driver’s licence and only had their provisional on them.

READ MORE: Garda checkpoints: Motorists warned of change in speed limit after vehicle seized and driver court date looms

Little did they know, that gardai have an app that can quickly pull up the status of a driver’s licence, and it was found that they were actually an unaccompanied learner.

The car was seized by gardai on the spot and a fine was issued to the driver as others are warned.

A spokesperson for An Garda Siochana wrote online: “Naas RPU were conducting a checkpoint in Celbridge when they stopped this car.

“The driver claimed to have forgotten his "Full" driving Licence. A check using the #MobilityApp revealed that the driver was an unaccompanied learner.

“The car was seized and an FCPN was issued.”

In Ireland, it is against the law for you to drive unaccompanied on a learner permit, and penalties apply if you are convicted of driving unaccompanied or you allow your vehicle to be driven by an unaccompanied learner driver, according to the Road Safety Authority.

If you are convicted of driving unaccompanied or you allow your vehicle to be driven by an unaccompanied learner driver, the following penalties apply:

• If you are an unaccompanied learner driver and the vehicle owner, you are liable to have your vehicle impounded.
• If you are an unaccompanied learner driver but not the vehicle owner, the owner faces their vehicle being impounded and being fined up to €1,000.

This is in addition to the penalty points and fines which can be applied to unaccompanied learner drivers:

• up to four penalty points
• a fine up to €120

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