Cork man who was 'rushing' charged with three counts of dangerous driving

A marine engineer from West Cork who was charged with three counts of dangerous driving was “rushing” when the incidents happened, the district court has heard.

Jason Whitely, aged 23, from Toormore, Goleen, Co Cork, appeared before Judge John O’Leary at Youghal District Court charged with three counts of dangerous driving related to three incidents that occurred on the main Cork to Waterford N25 road near Ardmore, Co Waterford, on April 16, 2025.

The court heard that a motorist heading west towards Cork observed a red Volkswagen Golf GTI car approaching from behind at 7.20pm. The Volkswagen overtook “abruptly” and swerved back in front of the witness, causing her to brake hard.

The Golf then overtook another vehicle, swerving out abruptly again in the Grange area. 

A little further on at Bawnard, the Golf overtook another vehicle while heading uphill, forcing oncoming traffic onto the hard shoulder in order to avoid a collision. 

The incidents were reported to gardaí and Whitely was identified as the registered owner and admitted he was driving at the time.

 Aaron O’Sullivan, defending, said his client had no previous convictions and admitted full responsibility for his actions. He said that Whitely fully accepted he was at fault and was “rushing” at the time. 

He said that Whitely was a marine engineer who had recently set up his own business and needed to drive for his work and had no previous convictions. 

Mr O’Sullivan said that Whitely had since got rid of the Golf and now drove a “lower-powered” van and was willing to undertake a driving course if the court so directed.

Mr O’Sullivan said that a mandatory disqualification following a dangerous driving conviction would have a very severe impact on his client and he asked Judge O’Leary to consider reducing the charges to careless driving, which does not carry an automatic disqualification penalty.

Judge O’Leary said that two of the incidents could be considered careless but the incident at Bawnard was more serious. 

He said, however, that as Whitely had no previous convictions and was clearly a hardworking young man, he would agree to reduce all three charges to careless driving, to which Whitely pleaded guilty.

Whitely was convicted and fined €100 on each count and given three months to pay the fines. 

He was also placed on probation on his own bond of €300 for six months on condition he engages with the Probation Service and undertakes restorative justice to include an advanced driving course.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme