Moray taxi driver fined, banned
court told man drove too close to back of ambulance on mercy mission to Aberdeen
A Moray taxi driver who drove too close to the back of an ambulance on a mercy mission was yesterday fined £1,500 and banned from driving for 18 months.
Elgin Sheriff Court was told that Roderick McLennan “took advantage” of the vehicle’s dash through traffic as it took a newborn baby from Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
McLennan, 45, of 19 Birnie Place, Elgin, had denied driving dangerously last Christmas Eve on the A96 between Mosstodloch and Huntly but was yesterday found guilty by a sheriff after a two-day trial.
The court heard that paramedic Colin Fisher and ambulance technician Donald Montgomery had “serious concerns” about a car which was behind them as they headed out of Elgin with their blue lights flashing.
Both crew members said the car was so close to them they could not see its headlights in their rear mirrors and relayed their concerns to the control room at Inverness which alerted the police.
Mr Fisher, who was driving the ambulance, said the car was “as close as you could uncomfortably get”, and its presence provided an unwelcome distraction “for at least 10 miles”.
Mr Montgomery described the manner of driving as “tailgating” and said it sometimes happens to ambulance crews on emergency call-outs.
The court heard how McLennan followed the ambulance through a red light at Church Street in Keith while it had blue lights and sirens on to clear a path through the traffic.
After overtaking the ambulance at speed outside Keith, McLennan went on to overtake an articulated lorry on a blind bend ahead of them, the court was told.
Inspector Michael MacDonald and Constable William Murdoch, who were waiting for McLennan at Inverurie, told the court he later apologised to them for “scaring” the ambulance crew.
McLennan, who owns C&R Taxis at Elgin, denied it was his car which was close to the ambulance. He told the court he saw nothing wrong with overtaking the lorry on a bend as he had a view of the road ahead.
He said he was on a “mercy mission of his own” as he was taking blood samples to ARI as part of a contract his firm had with the Elgin and Aberdeen hospitals, and that the traffic light he went through at Keith had been amber and not red.
Sheriff Noel MacPartlin found McLennan guilty and said he took the offence very seriously.
He said: “The men in the ambulance were painting a picture of someone taking advantage of an ambulance, getting on to its tail and following it, even if it
meant going through a red light.
“This was a situation in which risks were deliberately taken and danger was caused.”
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Articl ... z0Vylw1dRB
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