A woman has been banned from the road after admitting driving past a Fife primary school at almost two and half times the speed limit.
On Monday, Cupar Sheriff Court heard pupils were playing outside Dunbog Primary School near Newburgh when mum-of-two Sarah Warren (49) sped into sight.
The art therapist told the court she had been in a hurry to get her own children to school in Perth when the offence occurred.
She was fined £335 and banned for nine months.
Warren, of The Mount, Cupar, was standing trial on a dangerous driving charge but pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of speeding.
She admitted that on August 18 last year, on the A913 at Dunbog primary, she drove at 49mph contrary to the temporary 20mph limit.
Prior to her guilty plea, the court had heard from Police Constable Robert Drummond. He described how he was monitoring traffic with a “radar” speed gun when he saw Warren approaching in a powerful Audi A6.
“I felt that it was being driven too fast … and I used the radar gun to record the speed of the vehicle. I first registered the car going at over 50mph but when I let go of the trigger the reading was 49mph.
“There were children in the school playground,” Mr Drummond said. “School was just about to start and there were still kids arriving in cars.”
He said the Audi “began to slow down” after Warren noted the police presence at the school.
“We instructed the vehicle to stop … and she (Warren) said she was going to drop the kids off at school,” he continued. “She was informed she would be prosecuted for the speeding offence and made no reply.”
Defence agent Douglas Williams said Warren had been willing to admit speeding from the outset, but had taken exception to the dangerous driving charge.
After around 45 minutes of evidence, depute fiscal Laura McLaughlin said she was prepared to accept a plea to the alternative charge of speeding.
Mr Williams said any loss of her licence would have a devastating impact.
“Mrs Warren works as an art therapist and has two children,” the solicitor said. “Her husband is a lecturer in geography at St Andrews University.
“Mrs Warren is responsible for taking her children to school and she travels this road regularly. This was the first day of term for state schools and Dunbog was back in session.”
He said the temporary limit, indicated by flashing lights and warning signs, was only in place during term time.
“It was moment of inadvertence,” he said. “She has children of her own and is mindful of her responsibilities to their safety.”
He said Warren had not slept the night before the offence as she was worried about a relative who had been sectioned under the mental health act.
“She found the news very distressing,” he said. “This was a momentary lapse of concentration.
“Mrs Warren accepts that the purpose of this speed limit is for public protection, particularly children who attend Dunbog primary.”
He said it would be hard for her to juggle her duties as a mother and businesswoman if she was banned.
“She needs to drive to enable her children to go to school in Perth,” he said. “She is also building up her own business … and reliance on public transport would be impractical.”
Sheriff Charles Macnair said he had little alternative but to mark the severity of the offence with a period of disqualification.
He said, “You were driving at two and half times the legal speed limit outside a primary school. Having regard to the speed, I consider the public interest requires me to impose a period of disqualification.”