VW boss guilty of poor driving

Published on Friday 12 June 2009 00:28

A SHERIFF yesterday condemned tailgating as "wicked" as he punished two drivers – one a VW executive – for panicking another motorist on a motorway bridge.

Sheriff Robert McCreadie described the practice – where one motorist drives close behind the car in front – as becoming "far too common".

He added that it was "unconscionable, and some might even say it is wicked".

The Perth sheriff's comments came after he heard two drivers had come so close to the rear of another vehicle they caused its elderly driver to panic while crossing the Friarton Bridge on the M90 over the River Tay.

Sheriff McCreadie said: "It is a situation we see far too commonly, that people overtaking more slowly should feel pressured to get out of the way.

"For them to overtake in those circumstances on the bridge, I am totally shocked.

"This kind of driving shows gross discourtesy for the interests of others."

The sheriff fined Ian Valentine 1,000 and added nine penalty points to his driving licence. The 58-year-old, from Balmedie in Aberdeenshire, is an oil industry consultant.

The other driver, Alastair Hemmings, 39, a national operations manager for Volkswagen from Glasgow, was fined 750 and had seven points added to his licence.

Stuart Richardson, the fiscal depute, told Perth Sheriff Court that an elderly Peugeot driver pulled out on the two-lane bridge to overtake a slow-moving caravan.

Valentine, driving an Audi, drove close to the driver's rear bumper and repeatedly braked. He then overtook before the Peugeot had left the outside lane.

Hemmings, in the car behind Valentine, also drove in extremely close proximity and the two together caused the Peugeot driver to panic and try and pull in out of their way.

Mr Richardson said: "The incident was witnessed by an off-duty police officer and his wife.

"It is a fair inference that the Peugeot driver looked in the mirror and saw them close behind him and clearly decided to try and get out of the way.

"He started to do that, but too quickly and before he had properly cleared the vehicle pulling the caravan. It was the off-duty police officer's feeling he had panicked.

"The officer was so concerned he phoned Perth police station. Police were placed at the roundabout at the entrance to Dundee 20 miles further up the road."

Valentine was also found to have a blood alcohol reading just one milligram below the drink drive limit.

He admitted driving carelessly on the Friarton Bridge by being too close to the car in front and overtaking when unsafe to do so.

Motoring groups welcomed the sheriff's comments and urged greater action against tailgaters.

Neil Greig, policy and research director of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, called for more police patrols to deter such bad driving.

He said: "People are concerned about this low-level road rage. It underlines that to catch such drivers requires high-profile policing. There is too much emphasis on remote enforcement, such as speed cameras."

A trial of vehicle-activated warning signs to deter tailgaters is planned by the Scottish Government's Transport Scotland agency, as The Scotsman has revealed.

The electronic system, the first of its type in the UK, will flash up warnings to motorway drivers who get too close to the vehicle in front of them.

Sensors embedded in the road surfaces will be linked to signs, which will display messages such as "Keep your distance".