Borders teen narrowly avoids jail sentence after 'serious' driving offences

​​A teenage motorist who committed two dangerous driving offences has been banned from the road for almost two and a half years and ordered to sit the extended driving test before he can get behind the wheel again.
By The Newsroom
Published 8th Feb 2024, 13:20 GMT
Selkirk Sheriff CourtSelkirk Sheriff Court
Selkirk Sheriff Court

Nineteen-year-old Keith Kitching from Cardrona, committed the second offence just a week after appearing in court in relation to the first offence which happened on October 4, 2022.

Selkirk Sheriff Court was told that officers in an unmarked police vehicle witnessed him overtaking several vehicles when it was impossible to see round corers and unsafe to do so.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Depute fiscal India McLean said:"The police vehicle tried to follow but due to the speed was unable to keep up for some time. "Eventually it caught up with the car travelling at 100mph and at the time the accused was still overtaking cars."

Most Popular

The second dangerous driving offence happened on the A72 road between Galashiels and Walkerburn on the afternoon of July 18 last year.

On this occasion a witness reported how Kitching was driving a vehicle which came behind a woman's car at speed and was so close she could not make out the registration number of his car.

The fiscal said he was overtaking a queue of traffic at speed before encountering roadworks which forced Kitching to brake sharply and caused his car to skid.

Sheriff Janys Scott said the offences were so serious that custody was an option. Kitching was disqualified and ordered him to carry out a total of 200 hours of unpaid work.