A 48-year-old man has been sentenced to 120 hours’ community service for dangerous driving.
Rikki Goodall initially denied the offence but changed his plea to guilty at the pre-trial review stage.
High Bailiff Jayne Hughes also banned him from driving for 12 months and ordered him to take an extended driving test at the end of the ban.
He was said to have overtaken a car at the Creg-ny-Baa Back Road on a blind bend.
Another vehicle had performed an emergency stop but Goodall’s car still collided with the rear offside and he then drove off.
When interviewed by police he claimed that the manoeuvre was safe and he believed he had done nothing wrong.
Defence advocate Kate Alexander asked the court to follow the recommendation of a probation report for community service as an appropriate sentence.
Ms Alexander said that, at the time of the incident a relative of Goodhall’s had been in intensive care at the hospital and he had been in a state of stress.
’He was making haste to see a friend who lives in the area of the Creg-ny-Baa,’ said the advocate.
’Clearly this doesn’t excuse the manner of driving but there was some rationale behind it.’
Ms Alexander asked for credit to be given for her client’s guilty plea and asked that any ban be kept to a minimum as Goodall had care responsibilities for his mother.
The court heard that Goodall has no previous convictions.
A probation report assessed him as a low risk of reoffending and harm to others.
High Bailiff Mrs Hughes told Goodall: ’You caused the other vehicle to brake and swerve to avoid a collision. Nonetheless you did collide with the rear offside. You didn’t stop or report it. You didn’t even stop to see if the other driver was OK.’
Goodall was also ordered to pay £300 prosecution costs, which is higher than it would have been, due to the case reaching pre-trial review stage.
He will pay those at a rate of £10 per week.