A lorry driver who crashed into a car in Dunfermline when he was more than six times over the limit had driven more than 100 miles from Aberdeen before the accident.
Colin Kirk, 56, of Porterfield, Comrie, was driving a works’ articulated lorry with a trailer attached when he crashed into the back of a car stopped at traffic lights.
At Dunfermline Sheriff Court, he admitted driving carelessly and with excess alcohol (138 mics) on February 28, westbound in Baldridgeburn, Dunfermline and colliding with a car.
He has lost his job with the Grangemouth firm for which he was driving.
‘Consequences… could have been graver’
Depute fiscal Amy Sneddon said Kirk had driven the lorry to Aberdeen and returned to Dunfermline when the incident occurred at 6.20pm.
A driver had stopped his Vauxhall Corsa at traffic lights when it was hit from the back by Kirk’s lorry.
The impact pushed the Corsa forward and it collided with another stationary vehicle.
The Corsa driver got out of his car to speak to Kirk and could smell alcohol, as could police who arrived later and he failed a roadside breath test.
Defence solicitor John Harper said, “He’s well aware the potential consequences of his actions could have been much graver.
“This will have a life-changing impact on him as he’s been an HGV driver for decades.
“It’s been his sole career but it’s no longer open to him.
“He’s lost his job as a result of this incident.
“There had been an increasing reliance on alcohol by him at the time as a result of mental health issues.”
He added Kirk and his wife decided to move to the Aberdeen area and look for work there.
Prison warning
Sheriff Charles Macnair inquired why Kirk was deemed, in the social work report, unfit to carry out unpaid work.
When told it was because of mental health issues, Sheriff Macnair called for the defence to obtain a GP’s report on whether Kirk could do community service.
The sheriff commented the offence “goes well beyond the custody thrreshold” and if there is no alternative sentence available then a jail term would have to be imposed.
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