'Ghost brokers' taking Mayo motorists for a ride with bogus certificates

by John Melvin

A Mayo judge has warned motorists, particularly those who are not long living in the country, to beware of bogus insurance certificates from what were described as ‘ghost brokers’.

A recent sitting of Castlebar District Court was confined mainly to motoring offences, which dealt mostly with charges of driving without insurance, speeding and those detected using their mobile phone.

Clearly the message is going out that the scourge of uninsured drivers is pretty serious and Judge Fiona Lydon reflected the seriousness of the offence by imposing some hefty fines, the average sanction being €500, one man being fined €1,500.

There is a huge advertising campaign currently underway in relation to the use of mobile phones while driving, something I do come across myself on a regular basis.

This is arguably worse than not wearing a seat belt, given the stories you hear about mobile phones that have been found having been used in cars that have been involved in serious, if not fatal, accidents.

The line ‘would it kill you to put it away’ is a strong message that will hopefully sink in with those who continue to engage in communication through texting in particular while using their mobile phone while driving.

In one case a motorist who had a previous conviction for using a mobile phone while driving was given a three-month driving ban and fined €500 for having no driving licence.

In two instances of prosecuting uninsured drivers, gardaí used the new (IMID) Irish Motor Insurance Database as a means of detecting drivers and this new system will hopefully see a reduction in drivers risking being caught while driving without insurance.

Specifically in the case where a bogus certificate was issued to a Brazilian man who paid €400 for an insurance certificate which was issued by a British insurance company, which purported to cover him while driving in Ireland.

Investigating officer Garda John Barrett said he stopped a Brazilian national at a checkpoint at Devlis, Ballyhaunis.

The discs on the windscreen of the car indicated the car was insured but a subsequent investigation by Garda Barrett, through the insurance database, indicated the insurance policy was null and void and had been fraudulently obtained.

The defendant told the court he had paid a friend €400 for insurance which he believed to be legitimate.

Garda Barrett said he believed the defendant was genuine in his belief that he was insured.

However, Judge Lydon said she found it a little difficult to believe that anyone who came to this country would get insurance cover for just €400.

The judge felt the cost of his insurance and the period he had been driving, while uninsured, would be closer to €2,000, which she reflected in the fine of €1,500 which she imposed.

The judge did accept the defendant did believe he was insured and she took that into account when declining to suspend him from driving.

In another case involving a motorist originally from Zimbabwe, Garda Barrett softened the blow for the unfortunate man who purchased a rather powerful BMW only to discover no company was willing to insure him.

To make matters worse, he was detected driving the car while uninsured on his way to an insurance company to seek a quote for the car.

“It was a genuine case, I feel, of this man putting the horse before the cart,” Garda Barrett told Judge Lydon.

Garda Barrett said the defendant, who was new to the country, was genuine and had bought a BMW with a rather powerful engine, which didn’t come cheap, not knowing it was going to be difficult to insure.

The defendant said he was on his way to an insurance company in Castlebar to get the car insured when he was stopped at Hopkins Road where he was stopped for driving without insurance.

He later contacted the insurance company and was advised to downsize his car as they declined to give him a quote for a BMW which was said to be a very powerful car.

The defendant did in fact downsize and is now driving a much smaller vehicle which is fully insured.

Again, Judge Lydon used her discretion and declined to suspend the defendant, who was fined €500.