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‘Unique case’ sees drunk passenger walk free

‘Unique case’ sees drunk passenger walk free

A 33-year-old car passenger who was five-and-a-half times the legal drink-drive limit, found himself in court after it transpired the young driver had not passed his test.

Philip MacLean, of 10 Dulaig Court, told Inverness Sheriff Court he was unaware that his friend Danny Macdonald, 19, was a L-driver when the teenager drove him the short distance from his home into Grantown in March this year.

Neighbour Mr Macdonald of 9 Dulaig Court, told MacLean’s trial there were no L-plates on his Peugeot 306 at the time.

But he denied having told MacLean that he had passed his test.

However MacLean and another neighbour, Andrew Rattray, 36, of 1 Dulaig Court, Grantown, gave evidence that Mr Macdonald did say he had passed his test.

Police received a tip-off that Mr Macdonald was an unqualified driver and stopped the pair in the town centre.

Mr Macdonald said: “I only asked him if he wanted to go for a run. There were no L-plates on the car.”

MacLean claimed in court: “As we were walking from his house to the car, he said he had his full licence. I believed him because the L-plates were not there. I couldn’t believe it when I got charged. I was drunk because I had been drinking a lot of stuff because a relative of mine had recently hung himself.”

Mr Rattray told the court: “I heard them talking as they walked down the close. They wouldn’t have seen me because it is a ‘L’ shape.

“I heard Danny tell Phil that he had passed his test and Phil replied: ‘That’s good. About time. You have been learning for a while’.”

He denied a suggestion by fiscal depute Karen Smith he was lying to help his friend.

After considering previous case law with defence solicitor Duncan Henderson, Ms Smith said she was not seeking a conviction due to the “high degree of uncertainty” that MacLean knew he was a supervising driver. A not guilty verdict was then returned.

MacLean said later: “I am very relieved not to have been convicted. I didn’t know I was a supervising driver.”

Mr Henderson said outside court: “It was a unique case. Neither I nor the fiscal depute could find anything similar and there is nothing in the Road Traffic Act to state the duties and obligations of a supervising driver.

“In this case, my client didn’t know he was to perform that function. It was very fair of the Crown to take this action.”