‘After what happened to me, not to ban him is ridiculous’
Mother who had miscarriage after personnel carrier crash slates fine
A FORMER Territorial Army corporal who wrote off a car after driving a six wheeled ex-military armoured personnel carrier into it has been told he is too old to be banned from driving.
Plumber Robert Shepherd, 68, was peering through a hatch in the front of his 1954 Alvis Saracen while a friend in the turret acted as “tank commander.”
Shepherd allowed the 11-tonne, Rolls Royce-engined, six-wheeler to veer onto the wrong side the road near Alva, Clackmannanshire.
It crashed into a Vauxhall Astra driven by pregnant Amanda Ryan. The mother of two had to be cut free from the car and suffered back, neck and shoulder injuries and blamed the crash for her miscarriage two weeks later.
Shepherd was fined £270 and had three penalty points endorsed on his driving licence after he pleaded guilty to careless driving at Alloa Sheriff Court yesterday.
Sentencing, Sheriff Eric Brown said that “disqualification would be very significant” for someone of his age.
However, the court was not told that Ms Ryan had suffered a miscarriage and she has condemned the sentence as too lenient.
Ms Ryan, 28, who suffered muscle damage and said she expects to need painkillers for the rest of her life, said the decision was “a travesty”.
She said: “I genuinely thought I was going to die and it’s absurd he can just carry on. Shepherd should have been banned. He’s a real danger in that thing.
“I was cut out of the car, immobilised, put on a stretcher and taken to Forth Valley Royal Hospital. I had the miscarriage about two weeks later. I hadn’t actually realised I was pregnant. The doctors said the reason for the miscarriage was between the crash, and the pain relief I had to have for the injuries.”
She added: “When I saw that thing coming towards me I thought I was going to die. I knew I was on a bridge and I thought I was going to end up in the water.”
The college information assistant added: “I used to be a police cadet, and I knew that the charge would get dropped from dangerous to careless.
“After what happened to me, not
‘‘ When I saw that thing coming towards me I thought I was going to die... I was going to end up in the water
to ban him travesty.”
The court heard Shepherd was bringing the Saracen home from a charity gala on the narrow stretch of road and its wheel arch struck Ms Ryan’s car in August last year.
Ms Ryan was trying to cross the bridge over the River Devon on her way from her mother’s to her boyfriend’s.
The Saracen suffered only slight damage.
The court heard that “overhanging foliage” obscured the view of Shepherd’s friend who was unable to warn the driver about the oncoming car. is ridiculous. It’s a
Prosecutor Adrian Fraser said the vehicle “encroached onto the opposing carriageway, and as a result there was a collision.”
Mr Fraser said the bridge carried a 7.5 tonne weight limit, though Shepherd was not charged with exceeding this limit.
The depute fiscal said: “The position adopted by the accused’s vehicle was such that there was not room for the two vehicles to pass.”
Shepherd, of Tullibody, had been due to face trial charged with dangerous driving, which he denied, but the prosecution accepted his plea of guilty to the lesser charge of careless driving.
Defence solicitor Jim Savage said there were “quite sharp bends” on the approach to the bridge, and Shepherd had never exceeded 25mph.
He said: “The way this vehicle is driven is that the driver has a restricted view through a hatch, and there was a vehicle commander, in effect, on the top.
“His role is to be the eyes of the vehicle. He will, as the vehicle approaches difficult obstacles, indicate if the road is clear.
“The driver did receive an indication that the bridge was clear as he approached.”
Mr Savage added the APC was fitted with “flying aerials” and flags, which had the specific purpose of drawing attention to it.
Sheriff Brown said he was “familiar with the vehicle in the general sense, hadn’t driven one personally”.
The lawyer said that any disqualification would be “devastating” for Shepherd, who would have to sack his sole employee. He added that Shepherd’s voluntary work, taking the vehicle around galas would also be lost.
Sentencing, Sheriff Eric Brown said: “You are 68 and I accept that disqualification would be very significant for some at that stage of your career. I also take into account the impact that it would have on your employee.
“I am satisfied the circumstances are such that I can exercise my discretion in deciding not to disqualify you on a totting-up basis.”
Shepherd refused to comment.