Kerry Gardaí nab drug-driver speeding at nearly 160km/h with baby in the car

A driver in Co Kerry was arrested after being stopped for speeding at nearly 160km/h and testing positive for drugs – all while a baby was in the car.

Gardaí pulled over the BMW after it was clocked racing along the N21 at a dangerous 158km. The road connects Limerick and Tralee and has a limit of 100km/h in the zone where the car was caught speeding.

When an unmarked Roads Policing Unit vehicle pulled the car over, Gardaí tested the driver with a roadside drug test. The motorist failed, testing positive for cocaine. A blood specimen will be sent for drug analysis.

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Worryingly, Gardaí found that the dangerous driver had a small child – a baby just 11 months old – in the car at the time. The motorist was arrested on the spot.

The penalty for drug driving in Ireland is the same as the penalty for drink driving: a maximum of €5,000 fine and up to 6 months imprisonment if convicted.

The penalty for speeding is three penalty points on your driver’s licence – which remain on your licence record for a period of three years – and a fixed fine of €160.