Thurso driver three times limit crashed due to ‘low sun’
A Thurso driver was said to have been blinded by a low sun when he crashed into a stationary car in front of him, the sheriff at Wick was told on Tuesday.
Craig Manson (30) admitted charges of careless driving and failing to stop after an accident.
It occurred on the A836 east of Swallow Croft, Claredon, on September 9.
Sheriff Neil Wilson was told that Manson collided with a car which had stopped behind an agricultural vehicle which was blocking the road.
Fiscal depute Grant McLennan said that the accused approach at speed and hit the car, shunting it forward. Police officers who arrived on the scene found the driver of the car he had hit in “a hysterical state”.
Manson, of Ormlie Crescent, Thurso, drove away, his airbag activated, and eventually was traced to a lay-by at Thurso East where an officer spoke to him and detected a smell of alcohol.
Manson failed a roadside breath test and a follow-up test revealed a breath-alcohol level of 67 mcg - the legal limit is 22 mcg.
George Mathers said that the accused had been momentarily blinded by a low sun and the car he collided with was coloured white.
The solicitor added that Manson, a scaffolder, was unemployed but hoped to find work, although the loss of his licence would make that more difficult.
Sheriff Neil Wilson commented on the accused’s high reading, just over three times the limit, and banned him for 16 months. Manson was fined £600 for that offence and further fined £400 for failing to stop.
