Close pass driving instructor gets sacked

QUOTE:
"A driving instructor who ran a cyclist off the road in a fit of rage before speeding off has lost his job - but not his licence. Portsmouth-based former Royal Navy servant Stephen Holden, 54, left the cyclist with a broken arm after the incident in May.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard how Holden became enraged when he saw a cyclist legally using the road instead of the cycling lane while driving along Eastney Esplanade. He slowed down next to the cyclist and shouted: "Use the cycle lane!"

The cyclist responded by saying "Highway Code", which further angered Holden. He continued to drive parallel to the cyclist.

Prosecutor Adrian Fleming told the court his client then "felt the vehicle swerve in his direction at 23mph causing him to fall off onto the road while the vehicle drove off".

A pedestrian witness confined: "The driver moved closer and closer to the kerb giving the cyclist less room. The accident was entirely due to the driver."

Mr Fleming said: "Someone in his profession would have special training which makes it even more worrying he behaved like this. He also had a number of young people in the car at the time." Holden pleaded guilty to careless driving and failing to stop after an accident.

He had nine points added to his licence at a hearing on Tuesday, meaning he is unable to keep working as a driving instructor.

The instructor was also sentenced to 100 hours of community service and made to pay £800 in compensation.

Defence barrister Rob Harding attempted to persuade recorder Jane Rowley to reduce Holden's penalty to six points - an amount where he could have continued as a driving instructor.

"Anything above this amount will mean he won’t be able to carry on with his job of 11 years," Mr Harding pleaded.

Recorder Rowley initially said there was no reason Holden would lose his job for having nine points on his licence.

"For the life of me I don’t see how he will lose his job with nine points," she said.

However, after intervention from probation it was confirmed that the driving agency’s regulations stated he would lose his instructor's licence.

Despite this, Recorder Rowley decided to stick with the nine-point penalty. "What you did that day brought shame on you and your family. You are a man who has served for Her Majesty’s services for many years," she said.

"You made off knowing you had had an accident with the cyclist as you tried to escape in a knee-jerk flight reaction knowing the consequences.

"I have to impose a fair and just sentence."

The points will remain on Holden's licence for the next three years.
ENDS

(((APPLAUSE)))

https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/driving-...tsmouth-194445