Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Angry motorist confronted man with metal bar
A road- rage driver who confronted another motorist with a metal bar has been banned from driving for five years.
Barry Price was told by a sheriff he was lucky not to be jailed for his behaviour.
Price, 30, admitted driving a van dangerously on Dunbeth Road and Sunnyside Road, Coatbridge, on September 16.
He also admitted acting in a threatening or abusive manner.
Airdrie Sheriff Court heard another driver sounded his horn and gestured at Price because of the way he had negotiated a roundabout.
This prompted Price to pursue the other vehicle, overtaking when it was unsafe and driving on the wrong side of the road in the face of oncoming traffic.
He then got out of his van and brandished a metal tyre bar.
Defence solicitor Simon Gilmour admitted Price’s behaviour was “entirely unacceptable”.
Mr Gilmour said: “He lost his temper when the other driver peeped his horn and gestured.
“That’s why he followed the vehicle and then exited his van.
“In the cold light of day he accepts he shouldn’t have acted in this manner, but he was very emotional at the time.”
Price’s partner gave birth to their first child recently and Mr Gilmour added: “The baby is a wake-up call for him. He realises he now has responsibilities far beyond what he had previously.”
Sheriff Paul Haran told Price, of Clyde Crescent in Lanark: “This case is finely balanced. Given your record and the nature of the offences, custody is easily justified.”
The sheriff said he had reservations about imposing unpaid community work as an alternative to prison as Price had told a social worker he would struggle to cope because of mental health issues.
However, Mr Gilmour insisted he is fit to do such work.
Sheriff Haran then ordered Price to complete 270 hours of unpaid work, warning him: “The fact you are signed off sick by a doctor makes no difference and is no excuse for not doing this.
“If you are brought back to court for breaching this order you won’t get another chance.”