A man clocked at 101mph on the Gosford Road outside Markethill has been warned that courts “won’t tolerate this type of speed”, as a district judge used his case to deliver a stark message about road deaths.
William James McKinstry, of Greenhill Road, Katesbridge, appeared before Newry Magistrates’ Court charged with exceeding the 60mph limit on January 18, 2026. The 32-year-old, who was driving a company vehicle at the time, was recorded at 101mph by a roadside camera on the Gosford Road.
District Judge Eamon King said he was “in the horns of a dilemma” but insisted he could not ignore the wider context of road fatalities while dealing with such a high speed.
He told McKinstry: “There seems to be a degree of acceptance in society that it’s alright to breach road traffic legislation and the consequences of that are that so far this year, there’s been 57 people have lost their lives on the roads in the Republic of Ireland – that’s not including the number that have lost their lives here in Northern Ireland. And that has to stop. It has to stop, and the only way it can stop is that people abide by the speed limit.
“People don’t drink, take drugs and drive. People don’t be distracted on their phones, and they slow down.”
Judge King went on to reference his own experience of speed restrictions imposed during the 1970s oil crisis in the United States.
“When I was a student in America in the 70s, there was a speed limit introduced in America; vehicles weren’t to exceed 55 mile an hour to save fuel. Do you know how many lives it saved? 25,000 lives were saved because people slowed down,” he said.
“Really, as I say, you’re probably unfortunate that I’m dealing with this today… but the message just has to go out, and it’s coming out from here that the courts won’t tolerate this type of speed, and somebody has to do something about it. If nobody does anything, well, then there’ll be 150 people dead by the end of the year.”
The court heard that on the morning in question – a Sunday at around 9.45am – McKinstry had received a call from his father to say cattle had broken out from the family farm. His father, the court was told, is in poor health and was not able to bring the animals back in.
Defence counsel, Mr McShane, said McKinstry had been driving home from the Republic of Ireland, where he had been collecting parts for farm machinery, when he got the call.
“He accepts that he was going too fast,” said Mr McShane. “But because he heard the cattle were on the road, and knowing that the father was not capable of putting them back, his speed got to where it went to, Your Worship.”
The court was told McKinstry had immediately informed his employer, as it was a company vehicle, after learning he had been caught by camera. He cooperated fully with the subsequent investigation, accepted responsibility and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
Mr McShane said McKinstry was highly regarded by his employer and had been driving professionally for 11 years, clocking up at least 40,000 miles a year across Northern Ireland and parts of the Republic, with no previous points, speeding matters or convictions of any kind.
Judge King said he had to balance the personal circumstances with the need to send out a clear warning on speed.
“I’m taking into account everything that Mr McShane said on your behalf. I’m taking into account your reference. I’m taking into account that for 11 years you’ve been employed by the same firm, and that over the course of the year, you do upwards of 40,000 miles a year,” he said.
“What I’m reading from that is, if you were in the habit of exceeding the speed limit, it would manifest itself on previous court appearances. So I’m taking those things into account, and it’s for that reason the penalty that I’m going to impose will be a financial penalty only. You’d still be able to drive because you’re working.”
McKinstry was fined £400, ordered to pay an offender levy of £15, and had three penalty points endorsed on his licence.
