A pair of joyriding friends look set to be relying on public transport for the next few months after being banned from the road.
A decision to take his mother’s car for a drive as she spent the night in Glasgow landed Euan Cahill in the dock at Perth Sheriff Court on Tuesday alongside friend Allan Doig.
The pair were spotted in the vehicle at around 2pm on April 2, just half an hour after Cahill’s parents had set off on their trip. It was not until 3.30pm that they came to the attention of police, when learner Doig (20) pulled away “too fast and too noisily” from lights in Dunkeld Road, Perth.
Unfortunately for him and his friend there was a police car sitting within the same queue and it quickly caught up with them.
Doig’s solicitor told the court the incident was a “moment of folly” for his client, who had only had around 20 driving lessons.
He said, “He gave in to an impulse to take this car away but I think you will see from the lack of record that it is not something he is in the habit of doing.
“He accepts that he is responsible and I have told him that having points imposed on his licence will have a lasting impact on his driving record.”
Following the offence the car was impounded by officers, resulting in Cahill’s parents having to pay £140 to have it released. The sum has been repaid by Doig.
Cahill appeared without a solicitor and expressed his remorse over the incident in a letter to the court.
The 19-year-old wrote, “I have not done anything like this before, nor do I intend to in the future as I have learned my lesson and I know that it has been particularly upsetting for my parents.”
Cahill, of Old Schoolhouse, Perth Road, Crieff, and Doig, of Sydney Crescent, Auchterarder, both admitted that on April 2, at Old Schoolhouse, Perth Road, they both took and drove away a vehicle without consent of the owner.
They also admitted that, on the same date on the A9 Stirling to Inverness road at the Perth bypass, Dunkeld Road and Gowans Terrace, they both drove without insurance.
Doig admitted a further charge that on the same date, at Dunkeld Road, he drove without displaying L plates and without the supervision of a qualified driver.
Sheriff Robert McCreadie imposed a fine of £200 on Doig and ordered Cahill, a full-time student, to perform a 30-hour Community Payback Order.
He also disqualified both from holding or obtaining a driving licence for six months.