Motorist who 'took off at speed' caught driving while intoxicated for second time in a month

A motorist who was observed 'weaving in and out of traffic' while driving at high speed on one of the busiest roads in the country, is facing prosecution before the courts for multiple road traffic offences, including driving while intoxicated.

Gardai have released details of a detection which was made earlier this week on the M8 Cork-Dublin motorway, near Watergrasshill on the outskirts of Cork city.

In a thread on X, formerly Twitter, they stated that gardaí who were on patrol in an unmarked car were "dangerously overtaken" by a BMW car.

"When they prompted the driver to pull in he took off at over 200km/h while weaving in and out of traffic. The driver was eventually stopped and it became clear to gardaí that he was intoxicated," they added.

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According to gardai, the driver was arrested after he failed a roadside breath test. Having been transported to a garda station, he was found to be almost twice the legal (alcohol) limit.

"We also discovered that this was the second time this month that this driver was detected driving while intoxicated in the very same car, and he was on bail. He is now before the courts for both occasions," added the spokesperson.

A photograph, posted on X by gardai, suggests that quantities of beer and spirits were found in the BMW after it was stopped.