A self-employed joiner turned down the chance of a £100 fixed penalty after he was caught speeding on the A9 – and ended up being fined £3,600 for the offence.
Lee Tarran took the advice of a friend and decided to reject the fixed penalty for driving carelessly at high speed, which would have also put three points on his licence.
But the 25-year-old was presumably regretting his decision yesterday when Sheriff Gary Aitken fined him a staggering £3,600 – one of the highest ever imposed for a careless driving offence at Inverness Sheriff Court.
Tarran, of Broomhill Court, Aviemore said nothing when he left court.
However, the good news for the £700 a week tradesman was that he kept his driving licence, although it was endorsed with nine penalty points.
Sheriff Aitken told Tarran he wouldn’t disqualify him because he had just won a two year contract building houses in nearby Newtonmore and a ban would cost his workmate his job.
Tarran admitted driving his sporty black Audi S3 carelessly at speeds of up to 100mph and in adverse weather conditions on the notorious A9 just outside Aviemore on August 10, 2016.
The court heard police followed him at high speed along the B9152 on to the main Inverness-Perth trunk road.
When they caught up with him, he was given a £100 fixed penalty and 3 penalty points if he paid it within a deadline.
But defence solicitor Nigel Beaumont said: “He was advised by a friend not to pay it. It came as a shock when he was later charged with dangerous driving.
“A plea to the lesser charge of careless driving has been accepted. However he needs to retain his licence to drive from his home to Newtonmore for a building contract. His workmate can’t drive and taking his tools on public transport would be impossible.”
“My client has learned his lesson. He has now sold that high performance vehicle and bought a 2 litre diesel instead.”
Sheriff Aitken told Tarran “This was an appalling speed. You could easily have killed someone else or yourself driving at that speed on the A9.”
“You came close to losing your licence today. But you have disposed of your exceptionally powerful car and chosen to focus on your business rather than messing about in cars.”