Enniskillen Court House, RMGFH03
A LISBELLAW man who over-took two lorries as he approached a bend on the Belfast Road, forcing an oncoming car onto the hard shoulder, has been convicted of dangerous driving.
Robert Elliott (20) of Drummeer Road, Faughard, Lisbellaw contested a charge of dangerous driving at Enniskillen Magistrates Court on Monday, instead entering a plea to careless driving.
The court heard that on December 8 last, a woman had been driving to work in Enniskillen along the Belfast Road at Brookeborough at around 7.50am. She was driving along a straight stretch of road, approaching a sweeping bend, on what was a dark, wet morning. The next thing, an Audi came around the bend on her side of the road, forcing her to instinctively pull into the hard shoulder on her side of the road to avoid a collision.
The Audi, which Elliott was driving, had overtaken two lorries before the bend but had not broken the 60mph speed limit. He told police he had wanted to get past the slow moving lorries and the manoeuvre had been a “misjudgement”.
In his evidence to the court, Elliott, who had overtaken a police car a short time before, said he’d had enough room to pass the first lorry, and then decided to pass the second. It was only then he saw the woman’s car when he overtook the second lorry. He said he pulled back into his own side of the road before the bend.
Defence solicitor Niall Bogue handed photos of the stretch of road into the court, showing that the hard shoulder ended before the bend and stating the hard shoulder ended before the bend, confirming Elliott, who had been on his way to work in Fivemiletown at the time of the incident, had pulled back in before the bend.
Mr Bogue said the question before the court was whether Elliott’s driving fell well below the level expected of a confident and careful driver. Stating Elliott had held his licence for three years, he suggested it had been a misjudgement that could be put down to his relative inexperience.
District Judge Nigel Broderick said the manoeuvre had forced the woman to pull into the hard shoulder, and if not for her quick reaction there could have been a head on collision causing serious injury or even death. He added the dark, wet conditions of the morning should also be taken into account.
Judge Broderick said he felt the criteria for dangerous driving had been met. Convicting Elliott, who had no previous convictions or penalty points, he fined him £300 and disqualified him from driving for 12 months. The judge granted Elliott permission to continue driving pending an appeal.
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