Dangerous driver filmed by shocked motorists on A96
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DANGEROUS driving by a Nairn man was so bad on a stretch of the notorious A96 that a passenger in another car filmed him.
Motorists feared Dale McLean would smash head on into other cars when he lurched out to overtake between Nairn and Inverness on a blind bend.
The 23-year-old driver, of Cameron Road, pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving and was hit with a huge £800 penalty plus a one-year driving ban and had his licence endorsed.
McLean appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit the charge while on bail for another matter.
Depute fiscal Ross Carvel said: "The incident happened on August 29, 2016 when the accused was driving ahead of a couple who were in their vehicle.
"The female is a taxi driver and the male is a coach driver and they’re used to driving and they were so concerned at the driving of the accused to the extent that the passenger in that vehicle got out their phone and recorded his driving.
"There was a particular overtaking manoeuvre when the accused could not see around the bend coming up, and when he was on the opposite side of the carriageway overtaking another vehicle in front, a car came around towards him.
"He managed to pull in, but the other car had to break to avoid being hit in a collision with the accused.
"One of the witnesses said in their statement that he was a ‘danger to himself’ and that ‘someone could have been killed.’"
McLean’s solicitor Marc Dickson said: "My client says that immediately in front of him was a car which someone was driving erratically and breaking at intermittent times.
"However, he exercised poor judgement in that rather than pull back, or pull over, he elected to over take the car because he wanted to put some distance between him and that car.
"He accepts his standard of driving fell far below what it should’ve been."
Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood: "You will be fined £800 and have your licence endorsed. You will also be disqualified for a period of one year and re-sit your test to drive. There is also a fine of £100 included in the penalty for the offence being committed while on bail."
