Pedro Gregorio Vieira (21), of Elizabeth Place, admitted driving too fast at the time of the crash at 3 am on 10 June and consequently pleaded guilty to a charge of careless driving.
Outlining the case in the Magistrate’s Court, Centenier Philip Coffey said that there was a two-car crash at the junction of Route de St Aubin and Mont Cochon and a witness told the police that
Vieira was ‘driving at great speed’.
The defendant admitted driving at between 35 mph and 40 mph on the road, which has a 30 mph speed limit.
The court heard that the other vehicle involved in the incident turned in front of Vieira’s Peugeot 106, and the defendant’s lawyer, Advocate James Bell, said that his client had no chance of avoiding the collision.
Centenier Coffey said that Vieira had bought the car a month earlier and had had difficulty securing insurance. He said that the defendant, who admitted driving without insurance, was driving at speed and could not stop when the other car crossed his path.
Advocate Bell submitted that the careless driving charge was at the lowest end of the scale.
Probation officer Nicky Allix told the court that the defendant was at low risk of reoffending and that a probation order was not
required.
In sentencing, the Magistrate, Bridget Shaw, said: ‘Driving without insurance is a particularly serious offence and you are fortunate that no one was seriously hurt in this.’
However, she added that she appreciated that the collision was largely the fault of the other driver, but that Vieira was at fault as well because he was speeding.
