BMW was 'overloaded' with passengers on way to airport
A motorist’s vehicle on the way to Dublin Airport was overloaded when stopped by police in Ballymena.
Marko Kolev (34), with an address listed as Upper Princes Street in Ballymena, was charged with using a vehicle in a dangerous condition and carrying children without seat belts in use.
Ballymena Magistrates Court was told the offences were detected at 2am on September 13 in 2023 at Antrim Road in Ballymena.
It was a BMW and it was overloaded with "six passengers including two young children" despite there only being five seats.
The children - a two-year-old boy was unrestrained in his mother's lap and a six-year-old girl was not wearing a seat belt nor did she have "any form of booster seat".
A prosecutor said the defendant told police he was "in a hurry as he was taking the vehicle occupants to Dublin Airport".
Police told the defendant that because of the overloading the journey could not continue and a taxi was then ordered.
The defendant was convicted, on the basis of the evidence before the court, by District Judge Nigel Broderick.
The defendant was also convicted of charges of having a defective tyre and absence of a driving licence in Ballymena on January 31 last year.
The defendant was banned from driving for three months and was fined £500.