A 70-year-old motorist repeatedly braked sharply in front of a 44-tonne lorry on the busy A9.
Thomas Ellis made offensive gestures to the lorry driver, who was forced to make an emergency stop on the main road from Perth to Inverness.
He was banned from driving yesterday by a sheriff who told him his behaviour had been “extremely dangerous”.
Perth Sheriff Court heard Ellis, of Kinloss, slammed on his brakes several times on the road near Bankfoot.
He accelerated away from the lorry then slowed down and braked sharply, before gesticulating at the driver several times.
Depute Fiscal Lisa Marshall said Ellis was driving a Volkswagen Up car southbound on the A9, while the lorry driver was at the wheel of a fully laden 44-tonne HGV.
“At 3pm on July 6, four cars passed the lorry at the end of a dual carriageway section of the road,” she said.
“The accused had driven one of these vehicles but he then continued to brake sharply for no reason and at one point this led to the lorry driver having to carry out an emergency stop to avoid a collision.
“The lorry driver contacted the police as he was concerned at the accused’s driving and Ellis was later traced by officers in Perth.”
Ellis admitted driving dangerously on the A9 Inverness to Perth road, near Bankfoot, by repeatedly braking sharply in front of an articulated lorry, causing the driver to take evasive action to avoid an accident.
He also admitted making offensive gestures the same day.
Ellis, who represented himself, argued that three lorries, including the other driver’s, had been going at 57mph in a 50mph limit and suggested they created a “bottleneck” on the A9.
“Driving on the A9 is difficult and I am really fed up with lorries hogging the overtaking section of the A9,” he said.
However, Sheriff Gillian Wade reminded Ellis it was him who was appearing in front of her and not the lorry drivers.
“Driving on the A9 can be dangerous and you have to take care,” she said.
“This is a serious offence and was extremely dangerous. It could have resulted in an accident.”
She fined Ellis £400 and banned him from driving for one year.
