A Co. Cork motorist who narrowly avoided hitting a group of cycling police officers head-on has avoided a conviction, after a judge ruled that the incident failed to amount to careless driving, despite the driver pleading guilty to the charge.

41-year-old Denis O’Callaghan, who has eight previous convictions, including one for careless driving in 2006, was driving his BMW near Ahamilla, Clonakilty, Co. Cork on 17 September 2024, at 3.20pm, when he attempted to exit onto a minor road at a junction.

However, Clonakilty District Court heard this week that, as he entered the road, O’Callaghan failed to see a group of five Garda cyclists, who were undergoing mountain bike training at the time, approaching the junction.

O’Callaghan also failed to stop at the junction and narrowly missed the two officers riding at the front of the group, Echo Live reports.

> “We are fair game for crazy drivers”: Cyclist says “I need to cycle with a police officer from now on” after bike camera footage of close passes rejected as “insufficient evidence” due to lack of witness

Defence solicitor Colette McCarthy told the court this week that her client was pleading guilty to careless driving.

McCarthy described the junction where the near miss took place as a “difficult one” where the road “curved to one side”. She also said O’Callaghan drives on the road in question “all the time”.

The motorist claimed that he had “glanced up” as he took the turn, but admitted that he did not properly see the cycling police officers and had been “taken by surprise”.

The court was also told that O’Callaghan had no recent convictions, was working, and was the father of two children.

Striking out the prosecution, Judge Joanne Carroll concluded that, based on the evidence, she was not satisfied that the incident amounted to careless driving.

Instead, she argued that ‘driving without due care and attention’ was “probably a more accurate description” of O’Callaghan’s driving.

> Taxi driver avoids assault conviction for pushing cyclist who called him a “p***k” after dangerous close pass – because judge said driver was “taken aback by bad language”

While O’Callaghan managed to escape punishment for almost hitting a group of police officers on bikes, he isn’t the only Irish driver to get off scot-free following an incident involving a cyclist in the past year – despite pleading guilty in court.

In October 2024, we reported that a Dublin taxi driver who pushed a cyclist during a confrontation sparked by the motorist’s “dangerous” close pass avoided a conviction for assault, after the judge concluded that the motorist might have been “a bit taken back” by the cyclist’s “bad language”.

Eamon Judge, a 52-year-old taxi driver from the Irish capital, said he felt intimidated by the cyclist, who called him “a p***k” and asked him “what the f*** are you doing?” after the motorist committed a dangerous close pass on him, forcing the rider to swerve out of the way.

While the judge threw out the assault charge, which the taxi driver had nonetheless admitted to, he did fine the 52-year-old €300 for careless driving.