A motorist who accelerated away from a marked police car at a speed of 117mph on the M9 near Pirnhall was last week banned from the road for four years.
David Graham had repeatedly failed to indicate while changing lanes, driven at excessive speed and failed to leave a safe stopping distance between other road users on the motorway – causing other motorists to take evasive action to avoid a collision.
The 33-year-old, who appeared for sentence at Stirling Sheriff Court last Wednesday, had admitted a charge of dangerous driving.
Fiscal depute Lindsey Brooks told Stirling Sheriff Court at the time of the offence - 5.45pm on January 10, 2022 - it had been dark and was raining.
Officers in a marked police vehicle had been approaching Pirhall Services when they spotted a vehicle entering the motorway from a slip road. It was between an HGV and another vehicle, added Ms Brooks.
She said Graham’s car moved into lane two (right) without indicating and was seen to accelerate. Police followed the vehicle and tried to keep up with it. Graham’s vehicle had reached 107mph. However, when the police activated their blue lights Graham’s car accelerated to 117mph.
The fiscal depute added that the accused’s vehicle was held up by other traffic in lane two and moved into lane one adding there had been further movement between lanes without indicating.
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After moving into lane one again, he applied the brakes of his car causing an HGV to brake. A short time later, Ms Brooks said, his car stopped on the hard shoulder and Graham was spoken to by officers. The incident had been captured on dashcam.
His lawyer, referring to a report prepared for the court, accepted that the sheriff would be unimpressed by the quality of driving and “throughly unimpressed” by Graham’s explanation for it.
However, he said the report was a “positive” one and suggested a sentence combining a number of options as punishment.
Sheriff Derek Hamilton told Graham that he had an “unenviable” driving record with numerous road traffic convictions.
He sentenced Graham, of Slamannan, to a community payback order comprising 200 hours’ unpaid work to be completed within 12 months.
Graham was also given a six-month restriction of liberty order (tag) confining him to his home between the hours of 5pm and 5am.
He was also disqualified from driving for four years and ordered to resit his test.
