"I did not know I was going that fast" – Conor McGregor fined 1,000 euros and a six-month driving ban on speeding

MMA champion Conor McGregor was banned from driving for six months and fined € 1,000 for speeding.

MMA champion Conor McGregor was banned from driving for six months and fined € 1,000 for speeding.

The UFC star (30 years old) apologized in court stating "I did not know I was going so fast," before Judge Desmond Zaidan pronounced it ". invalidation and fine.

McGregor was caught driving at 154 km / h in an area of ​​100 km / h on the N7 at Co Kildare during the incident last year, and did not pay the penalty fine set due to an administrative error, said the Naas District Court.

Judge Zaidan said he was convicted twelve times driving his car and sentenced him to the road, adding that McGregor was lucky not to have been charged with a more serious offense.

McGregor, with an address given in Laraghcon, Lucan pleaded guilty to violating the speed limit at Blackchurch on the N7, Kill, Co Kildare, on October 11, 2017.

He had also been charged with three other driving offenses – driving without a license and no driver's license on site or within 10 days at a Garda station.

However, the prosecution withdrew these summonses and the judge struck them out after hearing that McGregor's license was in good standing.

Today, McGregor 's black BMW stopped in front of the Naas courthouse around 1:45 pm He stepped out and walked briskly toward the door of the house. entrance, greeting the press photographers gathered by saying "hello" to them.

Dressed in a blue and gray suit, with a white shirt and a blue tie, he stood at the door of the court, smiling and chatting occasionally with people while waiting for his business is called.

He then moved forward and stood behind his lawyer, Graham Kenny, while the case was settled by Judge Zaidan.

Sgt Michael Keevans of the Guard stated that he stopped McGregor at 10:57 pm because the accused was driving in moderate to light traffic conditions in good weather.

It was detected while driving at 154 km / h in an area of ​​100 km / h.

McGregor gave his parents' address to Laraghcon, no longer remembering his own address at the K Club, said Sgt Keevans.

"During my relationship with him, I found him polite and he apologized for the offense," said Sgt Keevans.

McGregor was seen delivering a notice of fine for fixed costs that was not paid.

Sgt Keevans then read about McGregor's previous convictions, lying between his last fine for speeding in Blanchardstown High Court on November 30, 2017 and one for breaking the red light in 2008.

The list of offenses included other charges of speeding, parking on double yellow lines, contravening a road sign, possession of a mobile phone and driving with provisional license without a license, then that McGregor was barely 20 years old.

Sgt Keevans stated that he was in a marked police car using a laser speedometer and that the offense had occurred on a dry night.

McGregor was alone in his car at the time.

"I talked to him for about five minutes, I advised him to drive more slowly. He just said, "I'm sorry," that's all, "said Sgt Keevans at the Court.

The potential fine was 2,000 €.

"Do not hesitate to call your client," Judge Zaidan told Mr. Kenny.

The lawyer said he was allowed to apologize on behalf of his client, but the judge said the accused was the best person to do so.

"Of course I apologize," McGregor said of the court body.

"Take an oath please," Judge Zaidan and McGregor first said "what?" Before entering the witness stand and to be sworn.

The judge had to ask for silence as the whispers around the crowded court grew louder and louder.

Mr. Kenny told McGregor that he had heard evidence of his previous convictions, some dating back to "considerable time".

"I think you understand the seriousness of the offense in court," he said. "Is there anything you would like to say in court?"

"There are a lot of things out there, are not they?" Said McGregor, referring to previous convictions that "went back".

"I'm sorry, I did not know I was going so fast," he said. "As the man said, I was polite, I apologized."

Judge Zaidan asked why he had not paid the fixed penalty notice and McGregor replied, "I made him pay to get paid".

McGregor "travels a lot" and Mr. Kenny said his intention was to pay the notice.

He took the case very seriously and did not want that she "advance". The fine "should have been paid", but it was an administrative error, he said.

McGregor then left the witness stand and held hands clasped in front of him, occasionally peeking around him.

Judge Zaidan said that he was somewhat surprised by the number of previous convictions, some dating back to the late adolescence of the accused.

Mr. Kenny stated that it had been "well documented that Mr. McGregor's life had changed" thereafter.

Judge Zaidan stated that the court was disappointed by the fact that McGregor was detected at 154 km / h and that the fine remained unpaid, knowing that nearly a year ago, he had been arrested at a speed of 158 km / h.

McGregor was fortunate that the state chose to give him the same opportunity as drivers detected at 60 km / h in an area of ​​50 km / h, rather than pursuing him for reckless or dangerous driving.

"The speed here is at the highest level," he said. "Obviously, the higher the speed, the greater the risk."

"Speed ​​kills and that's what makes the speed dangerous," Judge Zaidan said. "When speeds are bad, the consequences are catastrophic and lives change, no question. Unfortunately, we have lost more lives on our roads because of speeding, dangerous speeding and other bad things on our roads, and that's more than just violence. "

He acknowledged that McGregor's apology "seems to be sincere"; the sergeant had said that he was polite and respectful and that it had been so in court, "the judge continued.

Mr. Kenny fully agreed with the judge's comments.

McGregor's profile was "higher than the average individual," the case would be reported and that would "have a very bad image" as an international sportsman.

Negative advertising would be a form of punishment in itself, he said.

The judge acknowledged McGregor's remorse and the fact that he had delegated the task of paying the penalty, but that it was "not an excuse".

"He is lucky not to have been accused of a much more serious allegation of reckless driving or dangerous driving on the road," Judge Zaidan said.

The judge gave McGregor six months to pay a fine of 1,000 euros and said it would "mark the gravity" of the offense by preventing him from driving.

"Thank you for your honor," McGregor said as he stepped out of the courtroom before being led into a counseling room to speak to his lawyer.

He reappeared a few minutes later to applause and shouted at the questions asked by a crowd of spectators waiting in the rain at the steps of the courthouse.

McGregor did not stop to talk to reporters, but said, "You must drive safer, no," as he walked with his lawyer to his car, where a guard was standing at the back pbadenger door with an umbrella.

When asked if he was going to slow down in the future, Mr. McGregor replied, "yes, yes, yes," before getting into the BMW and being chased.

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