A naval engineer knocked a motorcyclist from his bike on a busy Highland road when he failed to check his blind spot before an overtake manoeuvre.
Jamie Rollo, 34, was in a queue of slow-moving traffic on the A87 at Clunie when he decided to try and pass a lorry in front.
But as he pulled into the opposite lane he collided with a motorcycle already committed on his outside.
Rollo admitted a single charge of driving without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard that the incident occurred on September 4 2021, when a queue of traffic formed behind a lorry travelling slowly on the west coast road.
Fiscal depute Hilary Michopoulou told the court that a pair of motorcyclists were travelling west when they came up behind two vehicles, one of which was Rollo’s Ford Mondeo.
Motorcyclist believed it was ‘safe’ to overtake
She said: “One of the drivers observes his companion initially overtake the accused’s car and continuing to overtake a lorry. It seemed to be clear and safe to overtake.”
However, as the second rider attempted the manoeuvre, Rollo himself pulled out to pass the lorry.
“As one of the motorbikes drew level with the accused’s car he proceeded to overtake, striking the witness’ motorbike and forcing it onto the verge,” the fiscal explained.
The court heard that the motorcycle came off the road and ended up in a ditch – with the rider suffering a broken finger.
“He has since suffered seizures,” added Mrs Michopoulou.
Offense at ‘lower end of scale’
Solicitor John MacColl, for Rollo, told the court his client had seen the first motorcyclist and had checked all of his mirrors before commencing the overtake, but had failed to perform a final check of his blind spot.
“He didn’t do a check over the shoulder,” said Mr MacColl, adding that he felt the incident represented “careless driving at the lower end of the scale”.
Sheriff Gary Aitken said: “In the circumstances, I will deal with the matter with the imposition of a financial penalty and points.”
Rollo, of Kishorn, was fined £420 and handed three penalty points.
