A man recorded travelling at 111mph on the A90 as he drove his girlfriend home to Forfar from a party in Dundee has been convicted of dangerous driving and banned from the road for a year.
Craig Simpson (21), now living at Blairs Road in Letham, told officers, “I’m an idiot.”
However, the apprentice plumber pled not guilty to a dangerous driving charge when he appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court on Tuesday as his solicitor Tom Cruickshank claimed there was insufficient evidence to suggest the speed detection equipment being used by police was functioning properly.
Giving evidence in relation to the incident which occurred on May 17 last year on the stretch of road between Tarbrax and Gateside, PC Michael Fullerton told the court he had carried out routine checks on the Unipar laser device before using it.
PC Fullerton, who is based at the road policing unit at Forfar, added that there were no problems with the machine when he and his colleague, PC Frank Donald, checked it again at the conclusion of their shift.
When asked by fiscal depute Hannah Kennedy what speed he thought Simpson was travelling at when he and PC Donald first noticed the vehicle, he replied that this was “well in excess of 100mph.”
Following a reading using the laser equipment, PC Fullerton ascertained the 15-year-old Cavalier had reached 111mph.
The court also heard there were deer in the fields nearby and had they ventured on to the road while Simpson was driving at such a speed there would have been potential for a “fatal collision.”
However, during cross examination Mr Cruickshank argued there was no concrete evidence which suggested the machine was properly calibrated and therefore completely accurate claiming that PC Fullerton’s insistence that the equipment was upgraded annually was simply “hearsay” in legal terms.
Simpson admitted in evidence that he had been speeding but said the speedometer in his car had read 95mph and said he was “not aware” that he had been travelling any faster despite the fact he did not challenge the reading when initially presented with it by officers.
Sentencing Simpson, Sheriff Kevin Veal said it was impossible to ignore the fact that the accused had been driving at almost 60% above the speed limit on a bus route where there was also a significant risk of encountering deer.
“Although we have had some interesting arguments on the point, I’m absolutely satisfied that the officers correctly recorded a speed of 111mph.”
Sheriff Veal fined Simpson £500 and ordered him to resit an extended driving test following his 12-month disqualification.