A judge has been staggered by a Dunedin mechanic’s ‘‘remarkably’’ dangerous driving twice in the space of two weeks.
Waihola man James Darryl Lyon (45) appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday where he had his car confiscated and was banned from driving for 13 months.
He was convicted of two counts of dangerous driving and also sentenced to 150 hours’ community work.
Judge John Macdonald was taken aback by the two incidents in quick succession.‘‘I thought your driving was remarkably bad,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve read some summaries of facts in my time for dangerous driving but just the sheer persistence of what you did is quite something.’’
On March 1, Lyon was driving a ute through Mosgiel while towing a trailer as the victim followed.
Lyon swerved in front of him, causing the man to brake heavily and almost careen into a ditch. The incident progressed with the defendant braking suddenly before giving the man behind a middle-fingered gesture. When the victim attempted to overtake a second time, Lyon again swung his ute into his path, striking the rear of the passing vehicle.
Only 15 days later, Lyon was driving on State Highway 1 at Allanton and was being overtaken by someone in the passing lane.
For an unknown reason, he became annoyed and accelerated heavily to get in front of the victim as the passing lane ended.
As he continued, Lyon repeatedly braked heavily almost causing the car behind to hit him.
‘‘The victim made several attempts to pass the defendant, but the defendant continually sped up, not allowing the victim to pass and in doing so, keeping the victim on the wrong side of the road in the path of oncoming traffic,’’ the summary said.
When Lyon finally slowed down and pulled to the left, the victim believed he could pass but as he did, the man deliberately drove into him.
The victim stopped and as he was getting out of his car, Lyon drove into the back of the vehicle. Words were exchanged between the pair and the defendant sped off.
Counsel Sophia Thorburn said though her client had not explained at the time, the reason for his erratic driving was because of his low blood-sugar levels. His wife said such situations led to Lyon becoming ‘‘quite unreasonable and quick to anger’’.
Judge Macdonald said the victims on each occasion had been shocked by the defendant’s wild manoeuvring.
‘‘It wasn’t just one minor incident; it went on,’’ he said.However, the judge noted Lyon’s lack of previous relevant convictions and a glowing letter from his employer.
He ordered the man to $5400 reparation to the victims.