All charges dismissed in relation to height restriction sign clipped at Watergrasshill toll plaza

A motorist clipped a height restriction sign at the Watergrasshill toll plaza with a truck he was driving to Kinsale but now he has emerged from Cork District Court clear of any conviction.

Sammy Campbell of Kilgarron Park, Enniskerry, County Wicklow, was on his way to Kinsale to pick up a small boat when the disputed incident occurred at the toll plaza.

The middle-aged man pleaded not guilty to causing criminal damage to a sign and a hit-and-run charge related to an alleged failure to remain at the scene of an incident.

After hearing all the evidence related to the 2.2 metre high sign which is suspended from overhead chains, Judge Marian O’Leary said the state had failed to reach the threshold in terms of proofs on which she could convict. Both charges against Mr Campbell were dismissed.

Management at the toll put the cost of a crack to the height restriction sign at €2,500.

Garda Louise Casey testified that gardaí in Fermoy were notified of an incident allegedly occurring on February 25 2021, where operations manager James O’Sullivan said one of the height restrictors at the toll plaza had been hit by a truck going from Watergrasshill towards Cork city and that a Dublin-registered truck was identified on CCTV going through the Express Lane and making contact with the yellow sign which hangs on chains. Garda Casey said there was a crack on the sign.

Cost of repairs 

The operations manager, Mr O’Sullivan, said the sign is 7mm thick rubber sheet and that this was sheared. In terms of the €2,500 repair bill, he said the €550 sign comes from Belgium, two maintenance technicians would have to replace it over a period of hours and that a special vehicle with a crash cushion would have to be hired for the day at a cost of €1,500 for the day. 

As for the work, “It is a pretty arduous job getting it in,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

Testimony from driver 

Mr Campbell, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, said he did stop, he checked the vehicle he was driving and that the uppermost part was not damaged or marked in any way when he stopped to check it. He said he did hear a tapping noise when he drove under the sign. He said he had driven under a similar sign at Portlaoise toll plaza earlier that morning and there was no impact of any kind. The motorist confirmed to Inspector Ray Dunne that he did know he had hit something.

Pat Horan solicitor said there was almost a week between the date of the alleged damage and the report being made to gardaí and that the damage could have been caused by another vehicle. Dismissing the case, Judge O’Leary said the operations manager could not say for sure if someone else had caused damage to the sign. 

“I am dismissing all charges,” the judge said.