The head of the Garda Traffic Corps has warned those out to destroy the enjoyment of this weekend’s Joule International Rally that they will be arrested and dealt with.
Inspector Michael Harrison warned that his officers will take a zero-tolerance approach to those who break the law on and off the roads of Donegal during the three-day-event.
Last year a total of 56 people were arrested during the event.
Inspector Harrison said he will have every available officer covering the rally to ensure that it goes off safely.
He also said that the court service will put on a special sitting of the local court if it needs to process people who break the law.
‘We are very serious about ensuring the rally goes off as smoothly as possible. This is the biggest event in Donegal each year,” he said.
He added that genuine rally fans will behave impeccably as usual but events such as King of the Cone were unwelcome side-shows which had nothing to do with the main rally.
“The problem with such events is that the people who take part or attend these events take that adrenilan onto the roads with them and that is when problems are created.
“Rally car drivers and the genuine rally fans are great ambassadors for the sport and for the event. It is the small minority who turn up and are not even interested in following the event that create problems for us.
“But I do want the message to go out that we will not tolerate any misbehaviour and people can expect the full force of the law if they do,” he added.
Tags: