Road menace escapes with a fine

Nov 6 2008

A STONEHOUSE man was caught driving a car on the main Hamilton-Larkhall road at speeds in excess of 80mph.

And Stephen Currie, of Townhead Street, had no insurance.

Currie, a stove fitter, had initially been charged with dangerous driving. The charge had stated that the 21-year-old had swerved from one side of the road on to the other and gesticulated aggressively at other drivers.

But he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of careless driving, accepted by the Crown, which made no mention of this. Currie’s not guilty plea to a charge of not wearing a seatbelt was also accepted.

The fiscal depute said two traffic police in an unmarked car spotted Currie in Carlisle Road at 7.40pm on May 12. They saw him take a bend at speeds which they estimated to be more than 80mph, and lose control of the vehicle.

They feared for the safety of pedestrians walking on a nearby pavement.

Currie’s lawyer, Charles Ferguson, told Sheriff Marie Smart last week that his client’s bad driving would not be repeated.

When Currie, who has a previous conviction for speeding, was charged with dangerous driving, he faced the possibility of losing his licence and his job. His work required him to travel to various locations, and a driving licence was essential.

The lawyer claimed that Currie had understood his sister was in the process of insuring the car, but she had been unable to do so because of the nature of the vehicle and its age.

However, the car was insured after Currie was charged.

Sheriff Smart told Currie he had been very lucky that the fiscal had agreed to accept a guilty plea to a careless driving charge.

In the circumstances, she said, she would not ban him from driving.

Currie was fined a total of £500 and his licence endorsed with eight penalty points.