A diabetic driver told a court his blood-sugar levels dropped before he led police on a 10-mile low-speed chase around the outskirts of Perth.
David Skene insisted he “wasn’t running away” as he crawled around the city ring-road at fluctuating speeds as low as 15mph.
The 34-year-old accelerated away from cops after they pulled him over in an A9 layby.
He repeatedly hit the roadside verge, used the wrong indicator at a roundabout and ran a red light.
Skene, of Stranraer, was finally brought to a halt when a second police car joined the pursuit and helped box him in.
But even then, he refused to leave his vehicle.
Skene was found guilty of dangerous driving on the A9 and A85 in early 2020, following a one day trial at Perth Sheriff Court.
He was banned from the road for a year and fined £550.
Swerving across the road
PC Laurie Spence told the trial he had been on the look-out for a black Vauxhall Astra, following a tip-off from a member of the public.
He spotted the car, driven by Skene, on the A9 between Aberuthven and Perth, just after 9pm on January 12.
“It was swerving from side to side and striking the nearside verge,” he said.
“Given the concern I had about the manner of driving, I pulled back and put on our rear red lights to warn the traffic behind us.”
PC Spence said: “The car’s speed was varying between 15mph and 60mph as it travelled north towards Perth.”
The constable and his passenger colleague PC Ian Cattrell activated their blue lights. Skene pulled his vehicle into a layby near the Kinkell Bridge turn-off.
The trial heard that officers then pulled in behind Skene’s car.
“I got out of the car and made my way towards the subject’s vehicle,” said PC Spence.
“He then pulled out into lane one. He narrowly missed a van, which had to brake heavily to avoid a collision.”
Shouting out the window
The court heard that officers continued to pursue Skene with their blue lights and sirens activated.
Skene’s speed continued to vary as he swerved across the carriageway. “He never exceeded 60mph,” said PC Spence.
“He had his head out of his window and was shouting at us,” said the officer. “But we couldn’t hear what he was saying.”
A second police car arrived on the A85 at Huntingtower to “block his escape route”.
Once boxed in, Skene gripped his steering wheel and refused to get out of his vehicle.
After he was pulled out and restrained, police found a rucksack in his car containing insulin and needles.
Police said Skene tested negative for drink or drugs.
Looking for a ‘safe’ spot
Unemployed Skene, of Garrick Drive, told the trial that he was heading north to visit his father in Aberdeen.
He said he was a type one diabetic and he had checked his blood-sugar levels at Ayr before driving on to get some food in Perth.
Skene claimed that when he was pulled over, police remained in lane one of the A9 and didn’t come into the layby.
He decided to pull out, back onto the road, to find a “safe” place to stop.
“I wasn’t running away,” the father-of-one said.
Asked by solicitor Paul Ralph how he felt when he was boxed in by two police cars at the end of the pursuit, Skene said: “They were at my car bang banging away, trying to put my window through, before I had the chance to get out of the car.
“I was very scared. My blood sugar levels were low.”
He told fiscal depute Matthew Kerr: “I accept that I was slowing down, but only to find a safe place to pull over.”
Sheriff David Hall found Skene guilty of dangerous driving.
“I have to say I found the police constables’ evidence to be credible and reliable,” he said.
“Where their evidence disagrees with your evidence, I reject your explanation.
“I am satisfied that your driving did amount to a contravention of section two of the Road Traffic Act.”
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