‘Scared’ 100mph speeder escapes road ban
A SPEEDING driver who claimed she was afraid of courtrooms escaped a ban yesterday after overcoming her fear to appear in the dock.
Christine Lee admitting travelling at 100mph i n her boyfriend’s £ 70,000 Porsche Cayenne GTS Tiptronic.
Though her lawyer had claimed she was ‘frightened’ to enter a court building, the
‘She has learned a salutary lesson’
former barmaid was ordered to appear in person.
But 26-year-old Lee avoided being disqualified from the roads yesterday after saying that she was not used to the extra power of the 170mph car.
Solicitor Graham Inch told Perth’s Justice of the Peace court: ‘She accepts the speed is a high one. She is not going to argue with that but it is not such that disqualification is inevitable.
‘There are no aggravating factors in this case, other than the speed itself. This was a regular journey she was making in moving from Edinburgh to Aberdeen.
‘She would normally use her own car but this was her partner’s car and i t was considerably more powerful than hers. She didn’t realise how fast she was going.
‘She has learned a salutary lesson, not only from the offence but from the court process as a whole. She has never been in court before today.’
Lee was ordered to appear after Mr Inch told the court last week that his client was ‘someone who has never set foot in a court building and very much hopes not to’.
He added: ‘She has been driving since July 2010 and has never been in trouble with her car.
‘This was in the context of a number of trips made by her around the same time.
‘She was placed on the insurance and that was probably not a good idea in hindsight. It was considerably more powerful and she didn’t realise the speed she was going. She apologised at the time for the speed she was travelling at.
‘She was working as a barmaid at the time. She is not working now and is supported by her partner.
‘She is frightened of the prospect of entering the court building and I indicated that I would do my best to get the matter dealt with without her coming.
‘She has a pre-booked holiday. I am anxious to have it dealt with prior to her leaving the country.
‘She will learn her lesson and I don’t see her name being on any court list in future.’ Lee, from Aberdeen, admitted speeding at 100mph on t he Perth to Inverkeithing section of the M90 on October 2 last year.
Justice of the Peace Stuart Clark refused her request to have the case dealt with in her absence and she was ordered to turn up in person to be sentenced.
He said: ‘If someone is unaware they are driving at 100mph then they are also possibly unaware of the braking and stopping distance at 100mph.’
But yesterday Justice of the Peace Allan Robertson told Lee that because she had a clean licence, he was prepared to impose five penalty points and fine her £270.