R driver hit speed of 111mph because he was 'concerned about getting out of Larne before 11pm'
An R driver who hit a speed of 111mph three months after passing his test has been banned from the roads for three months and fined £150.
Alexander McAvoy, aged 19, whose address was given as Trench Park in Belfast, admitted a charge of exceeding his restricted speed of 45mph at 11pm on August 20 this year on the A8 dual-carriageway at Larne.
At Antrim Magistrates' Court, sitting in Ballymena, District Judge Nigel Broderick dismissed a charge of dangerous driving which the defendant had also faced in relation to the speed.
The district judge said he had dealt with another R driver who had been doing 114mph and that prosecutors had not charged him with dangerous driving.
The court was told that McAvoy had no previous convictions.
A defence lawyer said that on the evening in question the defendant had been visiting his girlfriend in the Larne area.
He said the speed occurred due to the defendant's mother wanting him home by 11pm because of concerns she had about trouble in the Larne area.
The lawyer outlined that there had been public disorder outside the town's Leisure Centre earlier in the summer.
The trouble in Larne took place during a period of disorder and rioting in several towns in Northern Ireland, including Ballymena, which lasted several nights.
The court was told the defendant is a university student who "plays sport at a high level".
The defence lawyer added that the speed had been "grossly excessive" and that the defendant apologised.