An RAF officer was caught driving 100 miles an hour on a country road while heading to pick his friends up from town.
Police officers followed Steven Daly, 24, as he drove almost double the speed limit on the A941 between Lossiemouth and Elgin at Myreside at half past midnight on Sunday July 15.
Daly is an officer in the RAF and holds an advanced driving qualification which he uses in his day-to-day work.
Defence solicitor Stephen Carty told Elgin Sheriff Court how Daly was called by his friends who had been drinking in Elgin and he had agreed to give them a lift back to the RAF base and his client accepted he was driving too quickly.
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He said: “Daly has been driving for over six years and this is the first time he has been in trouble as he has no points on his licence and in general terms he is a good driver.
“He doesn’t know why he was so foolish and he accepts that he was driving too quickly. This incident is like a double-edged sword in that he is an experienced driver but he is also one who should have known better.
“The locus of the incident is also a double-edged sword as the whole road is fairly straight and has good visibility but this court sees it too often in these sort of cases.”
Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov heard that a driving disqualification would have a significant impact on Daly and his career with the RAF.
Mr Carty said: “It would be an advantage to the RAF if Daly kept his license and the severity of the matter has meant that a lesson has been learnt by him as a result.
“The air force will be making internal sanctions as well.”
Daly who lives at the RAF base, pleaded guilty to exceeding the 60 miles an hour speed limit on the A941 Lossiemouth to Elgin road.
Sheriff Pasportnikov gave Daly six penalty points to “serve as a reminder that any further driving incidents will result in a ban.”
Daly was also fined £800.
