Woman caught driving two months after being banned

Jan 20 2011 by Alistair Watson, West Lothian Courier

A WOMAN who was caught driving – just two months after she was disqualified – has been fined.

Elizabeth Ferry was stopped by police in Rannock Walk, Livingston, at 10.30am on January 12 this year.

When asked about insurance for the car she produced documents.

However, it turned out the policy had been cancelled months previously due to non-payment and Ferry was also a disqualified driver, having been banned from driving in November.

Last week at Livingston Sheriff Court the 27-year-old accused, whose address was given as Rannoch Walk, Livingston, pled guilty to driving while disqualified and without insurance.

Her solicitor told the court that the unemployed mother-of-two had been on her way back from the job centre when she was caught.

The solicitor said: “She received information about a job she hoped to apply for.

“She was running late after getting her older child to school and would have missed her appointment if she had used public transport. She foolishly made the decision to get behind the wheel of the car and was stopped by the police on the journey home.”

Fining Ferry £200 and banning her from the roads for a year Sheriff Douglas Kinloch said: “You have got a limited record, therefore, this matter can be dealt with by way of a fine.

“Because your income is very limited it will have to be a modest fine but you should not interpret this that driving while disqualified is not treated seriously by the courts and if there was a second conviction then a custodial sentence will become a distinct possibility.”