Kenneth Cotty, 73, admitted knocking James Lambert unconscious by driving into his path.The pensioner was allowed to stay on the road after a court was told that he had been driving more than 40 years without incident.Cotty, of Lagside Cottage, Crieff, admitted driving carelessly on the A822 Muthill to Crieff road on March 21 this year and injuring Mr Lambert.Fiscal depute Stuart Richardson told Perth Sheriff Court: “This accident took place at 1.30pm. The motorcyclist was driving south on this stretch of road.”He suddenly noticed Mr Cotty ahead of him, pulling out from the side of the road in his car, apparently not having noticed the motorcycle.”Mr Lambert tried to take action to avoid a collision but could not. The result of the collision was that Mr Lambert was thrown from the motorcycle into a ditch at the side of the road and was initially unconscious.”Passing motorists stopped to help. He recovered consciousness and was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee. He was found to have a cut forehead and a broken bone in his hand.”Cotty said: “I honestly didn’t believe I had done anything wrong. Please convey my deepest apologies to all concerned in this sad case.”I have let myself down in my later years and I am deeply ashamed and sorry for all the inconvenience I have caused.”Sheriff Robert McCreadie told the former minister: “This was obviously a serious mis-judgment which could have had very serious consequences indeed.”He placed nine points on Cotty’s licence and fined him £300.

Many drivers do not anticipate a bend in the road and how this will affect their driving.
 
Too many drivers take a bend too fast when they need to consider how tight the bend is, will they need to reduce their speed and when will they need to do this, otherwise other road users behind will not know of their intentions.

As you drive towards a bend it is good practice to check your mirrors.

The way to approach a bend is to slow down sufficiently before the bend so you can come of the brakes as you enter the corner. You can then accelerate gently during the bend if needed. This ensures that your tyres aren’t under too much pressure and reduces the risk of skidding.

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There is a need for additional training in order to iron out the aggressive driving techniques that have been witnessed among some young drivers.
Such is the conclusion of the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), after learning that half of crashes involving individuals under the age of 20 are caused by the “reaction factors” or errors made by the person behind the wheel.
This falls to 42 per cent among drivers in their 20s and 33 per cent for those aged 40 to 60.
Of the road crashes involving young motorists between 2005 and 2009, 14.5 per cent were caused by a loss of control, 10.5 per cent by the driver travelling at too high a speed for the conditions and six per cent by those breaking the speed limit.
Each of these was identified as an aggressive motoring technique by the IAM.
Chief Executive of the group Simon Best said: “Seventeen to 25-year-olds are only 15 per cent of the driving population and yet they have 30 per cent of all accidents and account for 40 per cent of insurance claims. It’s clear that handing a driving licence over without offering further help is putting far too many young people at unacceptable risk.”
He recommended post-test training to provide coaching on using rural roads, driving at night and in different weather conditions.
Overall, however, motorists are becoming more sensible behind the wheel, with the Sainsbury’s Car Insurance Driver Behaviour Index for 2011 revealing that the proportion of Britons using a mobile phone while in control of a car has fallen from 11 per cent to six per cent in the last year.

A doctor, a man in a position of trust and somebody that is a respected role model in society has shamed himself by speeding in excess of 100mph whilst his children were in the back of the car.

Mr Alhous was caught by police and after admitting careless driving was fined over £1000 and given nine penalty points.

However, the courts decided that due to his job he would not be banned from driving as this would make it difficult for him to travel to and from work. But surely he should be made an example of and by losing his licence perhaps he would recognise the seriousness of the offence and the consequences it brings.

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A 34 year old male from the Norwich area has been convicted after police caught him driving on a 70mph road whilst talking on one mobile and texting on another.

Mr Secker, did not appear to be holding the steering wheel, meaning he was found guilty of using a mobile phone whilst driving, not being in proper control of the vehicle and also having no insurance.

He has been banned from driving for 12 months, fined £150 and given 14 penalty points.

He states that he accepts he was in the wrong and will learn from his mistake.

Emily Smith at Britannia Driving School said “It’s not just using a mobile phone that is dangerous whilst driving but many other things like applying make-up, eating food, smoking etc can all cause devastation on our roads. Anything that involves you not having proper control over the vehicle is a crime in my eyes.”

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Barry Ash from Egerton was driving along the M26 when he saw the animal on the white line between the hard shoulder and the first lane.
He said he did a double take while driving along the empty motorway when he spotted the 11in (28cm) tortoise.
“I just put my brakes on, quickly into the hard shoulder and ran back to check him,” Mr Ash said.
The road was empty at the time Mr Ash stopped, although he had to alert an approaching car as he picked up the tortoise from the edge of the first lane.
Defra certificateMr Ash is looking after the tortoise until his owner can be traced.
“He’s doing well, and my daughter has named him M26,” he said.
Mr Ash, who sells tortoises from his pet shop, said the reptiles were good at escaping and would find any gap in a fence.
“All tortoises need to have a Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) certificate and he obviously doesn’t have one so we can’t sell him.
“He will more than likely go to a tortoise rescue centre,” he said.
The Highway code advises people not to remove “obstructions” from the motorway and instead to call police or Highways Agency from the next emergency telephone.

Statistics by Newsbeat show the number of 17 to 22 year-olds taking their driving test has fallen by 19% since 2005, a drop of more than 300,000 learner drivers.

Much of the fall has been put down to an increase in the cost of learning and then running a car.

Some of the prices have risen slightly and others like car insurance have risen rapidly.

According to a recent government survey, almost two thirds of young people who can’t drive said they were put off by the cost of learning.

However, there are signs the cost of insurance is starting to fall.

Emily Smith at Britannia Driving School said: “New drivers can get a large discount on their insurance with selected insurance companies if they take the Pass Plus Course with Britannia. The number of learner drivers taking courses with us has increased by over 25% since 2005-this is due to our reasonable lesson price and our success in getting our clients through with the minimum number of driving lessons. It is a known fact that the younger you start learning to drive, the fewer lessons you will need to pass the driving test.”

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A woman who sped down the motorway for 23 miles in the wrong direction was twice over the drink drive limit.Deborah Hunt tore down the M5 past oncoming vehicles and almost collided with a police car which had blue lights flashing.The 43-year-old drove her Peugeot 806 northbound at 60 miles an hour in the fast lane of a southbound carriageway for 23 miles – despite being chased by police with their ‘blues and twos’ on.Hunt was only caught when her car ran out of petrol on the hard shoulder – almost three junctions after she joined the motorway.When officers arrested her, she smelt strongly of alcohol and was still trying to start her engine.The mother-of-three is now facing jail after she pleaded guilty at North Somerset Magistrates’ Court on Monday to dangerous driving, having excess alcohol and no insurance.Hunt shook uncontrollably in the dock and wept as she admitted the offences.Magistrates Nick Baker, chairman of the bench, said: ‘This was a very dangerous incident. You drove for 23 miles the wrong way in the third lane of the motorway.’You didn’t realise you were being pursued by police, were two-and-a-half times the drink drive limit and uninsured.’ The court heard Hunt had been drinking to drown her sorrows over her impending divorce before she got behind the wheel of her Peugeot on July 14.She joined the wrong carriageway of the M5 at junction 24, Bridgwater, Somerset, at 11.30pm.

Driving instruction should be compulsory in schools to make Irish roads safer, politicians have said.A cross-party committee also wants provisional licence-holders to have to take a full driving test within a specific period and called for parking fines to be halved if paid within 14 days.
Penalty points must also be imposed on the last registered owners of illegally dumped cars, the Oireachtas committee suggested to Transport Minister Leo Varadkar in its submission on new road traffic laws.
Chairman Ciaran Lynch said the committee broadly welcomed the provisions of the new Bill but made a few suggestions to make the law more effective.
“On a practical level, we believe that by discounting fines for parking tickets motorists will be encouraged to pay in timely fashion. Such a system has proved very effective in the north,” said Mr Lynch.
In Northern Ireland, the amount of a parking ticket is cut from £60 to £30 if paid within two weeks, but upped after 28 days.
Mr Lynch added: “We are also recommending that a more stringent system be introduced to encourage more responsible disposal of cars to help combat illegal dumping, which is a serious problem in some parts of the country.”
The members of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Transport, Culture and the Gaeltacht met Mr Varadkar in July as part of a new process which enables members to consider legislation at an early stage and have a more meaningful input into law making.
The committee said advice is needed from the Attorney General on the constitutionality of taking blood specimens from unconscious drivers.
It also raised concerns over proposals to move the tests for roadworthiness of commercial vehicles to a centralised location and away from local garages, fearing it could impact on employment.

A 51 year old woman from Gateshead has escaped jail after being convicted again for drink driving offences.

Ms Rae was given a four year driving ban in May this year and a 12 week prison sentence suspended for 12 months. Police then caught her getting into her car at the end of July.

Courts took pity on the mum of three after she admitted she had turned to alcohol after suffering domestic violence. She claimed the only reason she used her car was because she is a baptism minister and was running late for a ceremony.

The courts have given her a further 12 week jail term suspended for 18 months, she was also given 40 hours of unpaid work.

It has been made very clear to Ms Rae that she will be jailed if she is caught again and that this suspended sentence gives her the chance to seek help.

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