Road rage costs driver £1,000

Thursday 24 August 2017

A 38-year-old man has been ordered to pay nearly £1,000 by the Magistrate's Court after a road-rage incident that involved two motorcyclists on la Route des Quennevais.

Gareth Thomas will have to pay £500 to the Court and another £494.56 to the victims.

Thomas claimed he got involved in an argument with one of the motorcyclists because the biker had been riding in a dangerous manner and had 'cut' him up, almost injuring the dog in his car. The dispute widened when the second biker joined them. Thomas then pushed one of the men, who fell backwards and hit the second. They crashed into their parked bikes and ended up lying in the road,  One had bruises on the back of his leg, the other bruised the right side of his body. 

Advocate Debbie Corbell explained that at the time of the incident Mr Thomas had been going through a very difficult time due to being in the middle of a breakup from a long term relationship. She explained: "The situation left him feeling very vulnerable. He sought help voluntary from his GP shortly after the incident. The GP shared his concerns and referred him to a mental health specialist at La Chasse."

Advocate Corbell also told the court that Mr Thomas had apologised, adding that he had agreed to pay any damages to the victim. 

Relief Magistrate Sarah Fitz said she was concerned it was the fourth such incident Thomas had been involved in, and explained she felt she had to impose a more substantial fine than usual.

Handing out her sentence Relief Magistrate Sarah Fitz told Mr Thomas: "This wasn't a good incident but in the circumstances this has been brought down to breach of peace." She fined him £500 and ordered him to pay £294.56 to one victim and £200 to the other within seven days.