A nightshift worker was followed by police officers for several miles when spotted driving erratically through Frome.
Officers stopped Steven John Watts after following him for several miles as he drove through Frome on March 31st.
Officers intended to do a breath test but after pulling the vehicle over, they could not smell any sign of alcohol at all on the defendant, who claimed he wasn’t drunk, just very tired and on his way to work.
Watts pleaded guilty to driving a MG ZR on the A361 at Frome well below the speed limit without due care or attention at Midnight.
He was told by magistrates that he should not have been driving at all when faced with his level of tiredness before fining him £65, endorsing his license with a total of three penalty points and ordering him to pay £35 costs along with a £20 victim surcharge.
The police officers spotted the yellow MG whilst patrolling the A361 Marsden Road, said Prosecutor Emma Chetland.
“They followed it and the vehicle drifted into the middle of the road on several occasions and turned off a roundabout towards the village of Tytherington,” she said.
“This was done without indication and it them moved across the central white line and continued to drift across the road and on one occasion it was on the wrong side of the road.
She also added, “It was driving at erratic speeds, suddenly accelerating and then slowing down and after one mile it approached a T junction and didn’t stop but turned right without looking.”
The court was told by Watts that he tried to get some sleep before his next shift after returning home from a night shift the previous day delivering newspapers.
Our Dangerous Driving Solicitor says that tiredness is not a defence to dangerous driving and may be an aggravating factor. The courts may consider that you started driving knowing that you were tool tired. Having said that the court dealt with him very leniently imposing the minimum of 3 penalty points.
