A young Carndonagh digger driver, who drove a dangerously defective and lowered vehicle with a loud exhaust and blacked-out windows, has been ordered to complete a motoring education course.
Louis Merritt, of Station House, Bridge Street, Carndonagh, pleaded guilty in court to a series of motoring offences, including driving a dangerously defective vehicle and having excessively tinted windows.
The 23-year-old also admitted having no silencer fitted on his exhaust and having a non-conforming back identification mark on the offending vehicle, a Peugeot Partner van.
Judge Brendan O’Reilly, who was shown photos of the vehicle, said it was concerning that “a young man who’s qualified to drive diggers and dumper trucks would be driving around in a heap of junk like this.”
Sergeant Conor Mulkerns summarised the evidence in the matter at Carndonagh District Court, which continues to sit monthly at Buncrana Courthouse.
He explained how Garda Tara McGrory had been on mobile patrol on Sunday, August 18, 2024, when she observed a blue 2006-registered Peugeot Partner being driven on Station Road, Carndonagh.
Garda McGrory observed the vehicle to be excessively lowered, with excessively tinted windows, while there was a large sticker in the centre of the windscreen.
The van also had an excessively loud exhaust and was emitting a large cloud of black smoke from its exhaust upon acceleration.
The vehicle proceeded to stop at a car park on Station Road, and Garda McGrory spoke with the driver, who identified himself as Louis Merritt.
Garda McGrory was immediately of the opinion that the vehicle was dangerously defective, and she informed Mr Merritt that it would be detained for the purposes of a PSV inspection.
The vehicle was inspected a number of days later, on August 22, by Garda Damian Mulkerns, PSV inspector.
A detailed report was subsequently forwarded to Garda McGrory, showing a number of defects on the vehicle. It was Garda Mulkerns’ informed opinion that the vehicle was in a dangerous and defective condition to be driven in a public place.
Defence solicitor Frank Dorrian did not dispute the dangerous vehicle finding.
“That’s undoubtedly the case; lowering the vehicle in this manner is dangerous. It’s conceded that the vehicle was short of the acceptable standard,” he said.
Mr Dorrian said his client had bought the vehicle from a friend.
“He advises that he bought the van a couple of months before, and that these works had been carried out at the time.”
“Some people would see this as an attractive feature of a vehicle, regardless of the fact that it’s dangerous. The same goes for the darkened windows. The vehicle was well maintained and well looked-after otherwise.”
The Buncrana solicitor said Mr Merritt is a young man who “lives with certain difficulties in his life”. He handed in a number of references on his behalf, including one from the Donegal Youth Services and another from a potential employer.
“They speak very well of him, and they also address certain obstacles which he’s had to navigate. He’s dealing with his difficulties on an ongoing basis, and appears to be progressing well,” Mr Dorrian said.
“There’s a stabilising influence in his life now in the form of a partner, who’s by his side and very supportive of his endeavours,” he continued.
Mr Dorrian told Judge O’Reilly that none of the charges are serious enough to warrant a mandatory disqualification.
“It’s a matter of discretion for the court – and I would ask the court for leniency, given the manner in which he’s dealt with it. He was utterly cooperative with the gardai, and there was no accident here.”
“He later went along to recover the vehicle from the pound, and he had to pay €360 to get it back,” Mr Dorrian explained, adding that the vehicle is “now gone”.
Judge O’Reilly adjourned the case until February 17 next, for Mr Merritt to complete the prosocial driving course.
“This young man has potential, and it should be nurtured,” he ruled.
The judge said Mr Merritt should have known better than to drive such a vehicle though.
Young man who drove van with loud exhaust and puffing smoke to do driving course was last modified: September 30th, 2025 by Staff Writer
