Motorist fined £2,000 after careless overtaking attempt
A careless motorist who overtook seven vehicles, while a cyclist was coming the other way, has been banned from driving and ordered to pay a four-figure fine.
Sam Young, 34, of Chapel Lane, Scalloway, appeared at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday, representing himself.
Young previously admitted making a careless manoeuvre in his car to overtake seven vehicles in the face of an oncoming cyclist.
It happened on the 29th April last year along the A970 at the Fladdabister Straights in the South Mainland.
As a result of the manoeuvre, Young had to brake heavily and move back into his carriageway to avoid crashing into the cyclist.
Young, who works as a fisherman, urged Sheriff Ian Cruickshank to consider the “exceptional hardship” that an additional three points on his licence would cause – as he already had nine points at the time of the offence.
The accused claimed he was the only crew member with a driver’s licence and he needed it to transport the foreign nationals he worked with, and to collect supplies for the vessel. He said he worked alongside six other people, who were from abroad.
But procurator fiscal Duncan MacKenzie said he failed to believe Young’s claims.
“Disqualification inevitably involves hardship,” Mr MacKenzie said.
Sheriff Cruickshank told Young he had insufficient information to agree with his exceptional hardship plea and had little choice but to impose a disqualification.
Young was ordered to pay a £2,000 fine and banned from driving for four months.
