Ciaran Mather, 19 Mar
A woman was convicted at Naas District Court on Thursday, March 9 for
driving while impaired.
A garda appeared before Judge Desmond Zaidan on the date in question to
give evidence against Laura Bawn, with an address listed as 6
Morristown Court, The Paddocks in Newbridge.
The judge was told that on the afternoon of April 28, 2020, the garda
stopped the 36-year-old during a Covid-19 checkpoint located in Naas.
The garda said that when she stopped Ms Bawn, her eyes were closing
during the conversation, and she noticed that her speech was slurred.
When she asked Ms Bawn if she had taken any medication prior to
driving, Ms Bawn told her that she was a former heroin addict and was
on methadone.
Following a breath test, the results showed that while she had no
alcohol in her system she did have opiates and benzodiazepines in her
system.
Afterwards, she was administered a blood test at a local garda station
by a designated doctor, the results once more showed that Ms Bawn did
not have alcohol in her system but had opiates and methadone in her
system.
"The amount she had (in her system) would have impaired her cognitive
abilities," the garda told Judge Zaidan.
However, the garda also acknowledged that the drugs were legal,
provided they came with a prescription.
It was heard that Ms Bawn had seven previous convictions for road
traffic offences.
After consideration, Judge Zaidan imposed a four-year driving
disqualification on Ms Bawn, in addition to a fine of €500.