Highland plasterer’s collision with oncoming vehicle costs him his job, hears Inverness Sheriff Court
No explanation could be given why a 55-year-old plasterer veered his van onto the opposite carriageway to cause a collision with an oncoming vehicle which seriously injured the driver.
Andrew Maclean, of Allarburn Place, Kiltarlity appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court and admitted causing serious injury by careless driving outside Beauly on July 11, 2023.
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His lawyer John MacColl told Sheriff Gary Aitken: "There is no averment of excessive speed. At first we thought he may have had a blow-out but photographs showed the tyres were intact.
"He cannot explain why this happened. He drives up to 50,000 miles a year and has had a licence for 38 years with only two speeding convictions. The inevitable disqualification has cost him his job."
Sheriff Aitken commented: "It is often a momentary lack of attention which has dramatic consequences."
Fiscal depute Martina Eastwood told the court that Maclean's VW transporter van strayed over the centre line as an oncoming Land Rover was accelerating out of Beauly in Station Road.
"There was a collision and the driver suffered an injured shoulder, aggravating a similar injury incurred in another road accident in May that year,” she said. “He also suffered bruising and back issues."
Maclean was fined £680 and was banned from driving for a year.
