A driver chased a motorcyclist in Fife after a heated dispute in a lay-by.
Carol Fyall prevented the biker from leaving, before causing him to flee from Ladybank and down the A92, where he escaped.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard how Fyall “lost her head” during the “brief period of madness” last summer.
She was fined £400 and disqualified from driving for 12 months.
Lay-by dispute
The court heard the man had pulled over in the lay-by to tie his shoe at around 8.40pm on the night in question, before Fyall parked her car in the same spot.
An argument began over how close Fyall had parked to the man’s motorcycle.
“There was some sort of verbal altercation between the two,” prosecutor Sam Craib said.
“The complainer has tried to move and tried to drive forward but the accused has also driven forward and stopped the complainer from exiting the lay-by.
“He has then tried to escape by going backwards but the accused has followed in pursuit.”
The motorcyclist was chased from Ladybank, into Freuchie and towards Glenrothes for around 10 minutes.
During this time, 55-year-old Fyall was said to have caused the motorcycle to jolt but her solicitor said she did not accept this happened.
The rider managed to eventually escape down a side street and Fyall was later reported to the police.
‘Shocking piece of driving’
Fyall, of Banklands in Newburgh, pled guilty to an amended charge of driving dangerously by aggressively pursuing the motorcyclist, repeatedly blocking him in a lay-by and preventing him from driving away on July 20 last year on Melville Road in Ladybank, the A92 at Freuchie and other roads in Fife.
Solicitor Lee Qumsieh said previous offender Fyall had been suffering from difficulties at the time, adding the loss of her licence will greatly impact the care for her daughter and elderly mother.
He said: “She accepts this is a very bad course of driving.
“It was a 10-minute period and started out in Ladybank but it wasn’t as if she was right behind him at all points.
“She stops her vehicle in the lay-by, there’s then a discussion between the two about how close she has parked her vehicle.
“She lost her head, effectively.
“It was a brief period of madness. She’s appalled by her conduct.”
“This is a shocking piece of driving,” Sheriff John Rafferty told her.
“It’s to your credit that no directly analogous convictions appear in your record and your driving licence is clean.
“It’s particularly to your credit that you acknowledge your guilt at the first opportunity and I also acknowledge the issues you will have with your daughter and mother.”
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