A teenage garage handyman who played “cat and mouse” with a bus on the busy main road north of Inverness yesterday avoided disqualification.
John Clark kept his licence and his job – working in his father’s garage – after a Sheriff decided not to disqualify the 19-year-old.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told that Clark, of 4 Whitecroft, Kinkell drove in such a way that the bus could not pass him on the A9 between the Kessock Bridge and Tore roundabout as his friends laughed about it in his car.
The incident happened on May 28 last year, when Clark was 18 years old. But when a passenger reported his driving to the police, officers didn’t find it a laughing matter.
They charged Clark with dangerous driving for weaving from lane to lane on the dual carriageway to prevent the bus from passing him.
However when he appeared in court yesterday, Clark’s guilty plea to the lesser charge of careless driving was accepted.
Fiscal depute Stewart MacIver said that Clark had moved from lane to lane on several occasions during the seven-mile journey.
Defence lawyer Claire Russell said: “He accepts it was very stupid behaviour which is totally out of character. His father is a director of the garage he works for and has decided to take a back seat from any disciplinary action.
“The works manager will decide and if he loses his licence, it is expected he will be treated like any other employee in a similar position and lose his job.
“His father does not wish to show favouritism.” Miss Russell added.
Fining Clark £450 and endorsing his licence with five penalty points, Sheriff Sukhwinder Gill told Clark: “Your behaviour was inappropriate and immature. You treated it like a cat and mouse game and you had the passengers in your car laughing about it.
“This sentence will mean you will not lose your licence or have it revoked by the DVLA.” the Sheriff added.
