Tullibody man who drove carelessly over a Clacks bridge in an armoured personnel carrier is allowed to keep his license

Amanda Ryan said she thought she was going to die as the tank-like Saracen ploughed into the front of her Vauxhall Astra last August.

Both vehicles had been driving along the B908 and passed each other on the bridge over the River Devon, between Alva and the Collylands Roundabout.

The 11-tonne Saracen was being controlled by Robert Shepherd, 68, who allowed the six-wheeler to veer onto the wrong side of the road while on the narrow crossing.

He was bringing the APC back home from a gala event and had been peering through the front hatch, while a pal in the turret acted as "tank commander".

His error meant there was not enough room for oncoming traffic which led to the vehicle's wheel arch striking Ms Ryan's Vauxhall, as the mother-of-two was trying to cross the bridge.

The 28-year-old was showered with flying glass and had to be freed from the wreckage by firemen.

She was taken to hospital with back injuries and later suffered a miscarriage.

Shepherd, of Tullibody, had been due to stand trial for dangerous driving at Alloa Sheriff Court last Tuesday and would have been banned from the road if convicted of that offence.

However, the Crown Office accepted his offer to plead guilty to a lesser charge of careless driving – which does not carry the same automatic disqualification.

The court was told how the "overhanging foliage" obscured the view of the commander and so did not therefore warn Shepherd about the oncoming Astra.

Prosecutor Adrian Fraser said: "The APC encroached onto the opposing carriageway, and as a result there was a collision between both vehicles."

Mr Fraser said the bridge carried a 7.5 tonne weight restriction – though Shepherd was not charged with exceeding this limit.

The depute fiscal said: "The position adopted by the accused's vehicle was such that there was not room for the two vehicles to pass.

"The Astra was hit by the wheel arch of the APC, which juts out."

The car was later written off by insurers, while the Saracen was only slightly damaged.

Defence solicitor Jim Savage said there were "quite sharp bends" on the approach to the bridge, and Shepherd never exceeded 25 miles per hour.

He said: "The way this vehicle is driven is that the driver has a restricted view through a hatch, and there was a vehicle commander, in effect, on the top.

"His role is to be the eyes of the vehicle.

"He will, as the vehicle approaches difficult obstacles, indicate if the road is clear.

"The driver did receive an indication that the bridge was clear as he approached.

"He did encroach onto the other carriageway. In part that is due to the fact that the vehicle is wide.

"The problem was that as they approached the bridge there was heavy foliage on the trees, so the commander of the vehicle wasn't able to forewarn my client of the Vauxhall approaching."

Mr Savage added that any disqualification would be "devastating" for Shepherd, who would have to sack his sole employee, adding that his client's "voluntary work, taking his APC round the galas" would also be lost.

Instead of banning Shepherd, Sheriff Eric Brown fined him £270 and added three points to his licence, on which there were already nine.

He was, however, not told of the complainer's injuries or her miscarriage.

The sheriff told Shepherd: "You are 68 and I accept that disqualification would be very significant for some at that stage of your career.

"I also take into account the impact it would have on your employee.

"I am satisfied that the circumstances are such that I can properly exercise my discretion in deciding not to disqualify you on a totting-up basis."

Shepherd said earlier this year that he had once been a corporal in the TA, was a member of a military association, had bought the Saracen in North Wales, and did "a lot of work with the Boy Scouts, and the Army too" with the vehicle.

However, he refused to comment on the outcome of the case on Tuesday.
Miss Ryan, who suffered muscle damage and expects to need painkillers for the rest of her life, described the decision was "a travesty".

She said after the case: "I genuinely thought I was going to die and it's absurd he can just carry on."

"My driver's window was smashed, I got shards of glass in my arms and my back.

"A policeman climbed in the back of my car through the passenger door and braced my neck until the paramedics and the firemen came and got me out.
"I was taken to hospital with back injuries, and I had a miscarriage.

"When I saw that thing coming towards me I thought I was going to die. I knew I was on a bridge and I thought I was going to end up in the water."

She added: "I used to be a police cadet, and I knew that the charge would get dropped from dangerous to careless.

"But he already had nine points for driving offences – after what happened to me, not to ban him is ridiculous. It's a travesty."