Driver blames Classic FM for falling asleep at the wheel
THE soporific effect of Classic FM radio was brought home to Rosie Bryant with a jolt as she drove home from a lakeside walk.
The 55-year-old church organist had switched her car radio to the station, that “normally sent her to sleep”, as she headed home from a five-mile stroll around Derwentwater in the Lake District, Carlisle Crown Court was told yesterday.
Bryant, a mother-of-four of previously “unblemished character”, nodded off at the wheel, swerved across a busy road and hit a road sign at 30mph.
The incident led to a criminal conviction, tarnishing her reputation and ruining her hopes of becoming a church deacon. The piano teacher was sentenced to 80 hours’ unpaid work, banned from driving for a year and ordered to take an extended test when she admitted dangerous driving.
The court was told that Bryant was lucky to be alive after her Vauxhall Corsa veered across the A595 at Mealsgate in Cumbria on June 28.
Beccy Mcgregor, prosecuting, said Bryant admitted she had struggled to stay awake that day. After her Lake District walk, she embarked on a 34-mile journey home to Port Carlisle.
“She had put the windows down and put Radio 4 on,” said Ms Mcgregor. “She realised she was tired, and this would allow her to concentrate, keep her alert while driving.” However, having decided against stopping for a coffee, she closed the windows and made the “mistake” of switching to Classic FM. “She knows Classic FM is the type of music that would normally send her to sleep,” Ms Mcgregor told the court. Bryant dozed off for “one to two seconds”, before being jolted awake by the 30mph impact.
At 4.22pm, she called 999 to report the crash and was “very co-operative,” telling an operator she had “swerved across the road” and hit a sign after falling asleep.
Mark Shepherd, defending, said the impact of a mandatory driving ban would be “significant” as Port Carlisle was served by only two buses.
He said she was unlikely to drive again due to the financial impact that the conviction would have on her insurance, which was expected to soar to around £5,000 a year. “Life is going to be very difficult for her,” he said.
Judge Peter Hughes QC told Bryant: “You could so easily have crossed the road into the path of oncoming cars, and the consequences could have been horrendous.”