Highland lorry driver didn't realise he was pushing car along A9 for a mile until 'it spun out in front of him'
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A lorry driver's tipper truck became attached to the rear of a small Nissan as the HGV drifted into the inside lane of a dual carriageway to let faster vehicles pass.
Malcolm Grant then pushed the Figaro along the A9 for a mile before the woman driver managed to swerve her car, detach it and crash into the central reservation, near the Caledonian Stadium on December 12 last year.
No-one was hurt in the incident, but 54-year-old Grant, of Ellanwood Road, Carrbridge was charged with dangerous driving.
At Inverness Sheriff Court, Grant, who had a clean driving record, admitted driving carelessly by failing to keep a look out for other vehicles and propelling the Figaro along the dual carriageway.
He was fined £470 and had nine penalty points endorsed on his licence.
Sheriff Gary Aitken told Grant: "It is extremely fortunate that it was a car and not a motorcycle or the driver would be dead.
"This could have been dramatically worse than it turned out to be. But it was an exceptionally frightening experience for the other driver."
The court heard that because Grant's cab was so high, he couldn't see the Figaro directly in front of him.
He told police that there was a blind spot on the passenger side of his 17-ton truck between the mirror and the door.
Defence solicitor Marc Dickson explained that the HGV was an older type and newer vehicles had different mirrors and sometimes a camera to improve driver vision.
He said his client drove 50,000-60,000 miles a year and had not been involved in any incident in more than 30 years of driving.
"He only realised he was pushing the car when it spun out in front of him," he said.
Fiscal depute Rowena Carlton said the woman and other motorists tried to alert Grant that the front of his lorry was attached to the other car.
