Man banned from road after A9 U-turn

A man who drove the wrong way up the A9 past cops after performing a dangerous U-turn has been disqualified from driving for a year.

Iomhar Mackenzie (35) claimed he did not know he was driving onto a dual carriageway when he first pulled out onto the A9 on August 11 last year.

He told Perth Sheriff Court last week he was“extremely unfamiliar”with the A9 between Gleneagles and Blackford and that he thought he was driving onto a single carriageway.

He said he there were“no signs” indicating he was about to drive onto a dual carriageway and that there were no cars on it to indicate what the direction of travel was either.

He went on to admit that immediately after driving onto the A9 he then performed a U-turn so he could head towards the nearest petrol station.

It was only when he spotted an unmarked police car heading towards him at 70mph in the opposite direction that he realised his mistake, he told sheriff John Rafferty last Friday.

The court had earlier heard from the detective constable who was driving the unmarked car as well as from a colleague. They said they saw Mackenzie drive his Skoda Octavia up onto the central reservation when he was executing the U-turn in front of them.

They said Mackenzie then passed them heading in the wrong direction and that after apparently realising his mistake he then performed a second U-turn behind them. Mackenzie, of Wardlaw Terrace, Edinburgh, went on to overtake them and it was then they decided to pull him over. Asked why they did this one constable replied:“I felt his driving was dangerous and could have caused an accident.”

When it was put to Mackenzie by a prosecutor that he knew all along he was driving onto a dual carriageway and was in a hurry to fill his car up he replied:“I can’t believe you’re suggesting I would do such a thing.”

Sheriff Rafferty found Mackenzie guilty of driving dangerously and disqualified him from driving for a year. He also fined him £400.