A woman pregnant with her fourth child was jailed for three months and disqualified from driving for 10 years after pleading guilty to driving with no insurance at Wicklow District Court yesterday.
Carol Knowles (27), Fourwinds, Blackglen Road, Sandyford, Dublin, had 85 previous convictions, including nine for driving with no insurance, 11 for not having a driving licence and two for drink-driving, the court heard.
Jailing her, Judge Murrough Connellan said she was laughing at the system, courts, gardaí and everyone around her.
Because she was pregnant, she was looking for some form of sympathy from the court.
He pointed out that the offence in question, at Coolbeg, Ashford, on August 18th, 2009, came five days after her last conviction for driving without insurance.
Asking for the sentence to be suspended would make the court look stupid, he said.
