An Armagh woman who made several careless overtaking manoeuvres in front of police has been handed five penalty points.
Court heard the 64-year-old overtook a vehicle on a bend and then narrowly missed a head-on collision with a lorry whilst navigating her way past another.
Maureen McCourt, of Woodford Drive, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention at the city’s Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
Prosecution outlined that on April 11, at 10.50am, police were on patrol of the Markethill Road in Armagh when they were overtaken by a Peugeot 208.
The officers observed the car continue along the hatched lines in the road at speed whilst travelling around a bend.
They then watched as she overtook further vehicles and had to move back in to avoid a lorry. At this point police initiated their vehicle’s lights and pulled the car over.
During a notebook interview, the driver, who identified herself as the defendant, said that she would not have overtaken on the bend if she could not see beyond it.
She also said that at the time she believed she had enough time to complete the manoeuvre before the oncoming lorry but accepted in hindsight that this was careless.
Defence barrister Kevin O’Hare stated: “Ms McCourt felt at the time that she had sufficient time to overtake the vehicles; in fact she did, as none of the other vehicles had to take evasive action.
“However, upon being spoken to by the police officer she accepts that she should not have done this.”
McCourt was handed five penalty points and ordered to pay a fine of £250, along with the offender’s levy of £15.
