£2k fine for OAP who fell asleep at wheel

A pensioner who fell asleep at the wheel of his car after going to visit his elderly father in Auchterarder was fined £2000 and banned for 28 months on a dangerous driving charge at Perth Sheriff Court.

Sixty-nine-year-old James Hardingham will also have to pass the extended driving test before he can get behind the wheel again, despite telling the court he no longer drove - and did not have a car.

Imposing the hefty fine and lengthy ban, Sheriff Neil Bowie told him:“You will appreciate, I am sure, how serious it is falling asleep at the wheel of a car and then losing total control of it, even at a relatively low speed.

“It places all of our road users at considerable danger, including pedestrians in the High Street.

“It is somewhat fortuitous that you only collided with a van rather than a pedestrian.”

The court was told he had driven hundreds of miles to Scotland the previous day to visit his 97-yearold dad who had been selfisolating for three months.

Hardingham lost control of his Subaru Outback in Auchterarder High Street about 2.30pm, veered across the opposing carriageway and smashed into a white van parked at the side of the road.

Depute fiscal Lisa Marshall said: “He caused extensive damage to his own vehicle and damage to the parked van.

“The accused woke up and contacted police.

“A short time later the police attended and traced him standing next to his vehicle.”

He was cautioned and provided a breath specimen which proved negative.

“He told police he fell asleep at the wheel,”added the fiscal.

Hardingham pled guilty by letter to driving dangerously and falling asleep while driving on July 9, 2020.

In his letter to the court, the accused explained he had driven from Kent the previous day to see his father.

“The next day I took him out and fell asleep 100 yards from his home on returning from Perth.”

Sheriff Bowie said he had taken into account a letter from the accused’s GP regarding his “disruptive sleep pattern and condition”.

But the penalties“reflected the gravity of the nature of the driving”.

The accused, who appeared via video link, described the £2000 fine as“unduly harsh”.

He had a previously unblemished driving record.

But Sheriff Bowie told him: “That’s the decision of the court.

“If you wish to take advice it’s a matter for you.”

Hardingham, of Ashford Road, Tenterden, Kent, was given two months to pay the fine.