Gardaí issue warning after 14 year old caught driving tractor in Westmeath

Gardai in Westmeath have issued a road safety warning after local officers came across a 14-year-old driving an untaxed tractor. The tractor was insured.

The young driver was accompanied by a 13-year-old passenger when they were stopped by gardaí at an unidentified rural location in the county earlier this week. The tractor the teenager was driving had not been taxed in 11 years.

The Twitter post below says the that tractor was uninsured; the owner of the vehicle has asked us to point out that that is not accurate, and it is insured.

In a post on its X account, An Garda Síochana issued a safety warning ahead of what are the busiest months of the year for the farming community.

"You must be 16 years of age or above and licensed to drive a tractor.

"Proceedings will now follow for both the teenager driving and their father.

"As we approach silage season and children's summer holidays from school, tractor safety on and off the farm is paramount."

A post about the incident in Westmeath was shared on the popular @GardaTraffic account on X (formerly Twitter), and at the time of writing it had been viewed almost 90,000 times.

Earlier this week, gardaí also posted a tweet about a 16-year-old being stopped on the N3 in Cavan after the SUV he was driving was detected travelling at 140kmph in a 100km zone. The youngster was accompanied by their mother.