An Angus pensioner who tailed a vehicle which was “bouncing off both kerbs” on a busy Scottish motorway is to report Police Scotland to the Independent Police Conduct Authority.
The Arbroath driver, who did not wish to be named, described how he was in fear for his life and those of other motorists during his 60-mile journey on the A9, M9 and M80 between Perth and Glasgow.
Despite four emergency calls to Police Scotland, no police vehicles appeared before the car, driven at speeds of up to 70mph, left the M80 at the Charing Cross slipway in the city centre.
The witness believed the person behind the wheel was either under the influence of drink or drugs, or was “seriously unwell”.
He said: “I drove behind the vehicle and gave the police updates on four occasions.
“I started tailing the car at the Broxden roundabout in Perth when I saw it being driven erratically.
“It hit the kerb on both sides of the road about eight or 10 times.
“I tailed it for about an hour and a half in heavy traffic and never saw a police car or a blue light.”
During his phone calls to a police operator he gave the vehicle registration number of the car he was following, details of his own vehicle, their speed, and location details.
He continued: “There was no reason the police wouldn’t be able to find the car.
“However, the target car peeled off the M80 in Glasgow and headed up the Charing Cross slip road in the middle of Glasgow.
“I am 99.99% sure the driver was either drunk, on drugs or was seriously ill. You don’t drive like that, bouncing off the kerb, how they got to the middle of Glasgow I don’t know.
“I was concerned for myself and other motorists, to me it was an accident waiting to happen.
“The driver was overtaking a number of times and was overtaken by other people.
“The car bounced off the kerb in the middle of the motorway four or five times and on the rumble strip on the nearside verge another five times.
“To travel that distance and not even see a blue light is, to me, astonishing.
“I was raging by the time I made my fourth phone call. The driver could have killed some-one.”
Police Scotland confirmed a man driving between Gleneagles and Glasgow on the A9, M9 and M80 contacted them with concerns regarding the manner of driving of a another car on the same roads.
A spokesman said: “Efforts were made to trace the car in question, and the information regarding it was passed to all police divisions which the vehicle was known to be travelling through.
“The registered keeper of the relevant car was subsequently traced at their home address, and no further police action was required.
“Although no criminality was found, we would like to thank the driver who called us for passing on their concerns.”
