Police officer appeals driving ban and fine

Tuesday 13 March 2018

A 30-year-old police officer who ran a red light at David Place while on duty, and then crashed into a car, has appealed his subsequent driving ban and fine.

Adrian Hobson was disqualified for three months and ordered to pay a £2,200 fine by the Magistrate's Court in January.

While responding to a call from a colleague who was in “personal danger”, Mr Hobson crossed a red light at David Place in his BMW around 01:30 on 24 October 2016 before crashing into a Mini Cooper coming from Stopford Road.

He was later charged with dangerous driving, but pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of careless driving, which the prosecution accepted.

His advocate, Alison Brown, appealed the sentence he received in Royal Court yesterday. She opened her address to Court by saying that the proceedings against Mr Hobson had taken a long time between the time of the offence, 24 October 2016 and the sentencing on 18 January. She said this had caused him anxiety over a "very extended period of time." 

She said that while Mr Hobson had the lights on, the sirens were not activated, although he had used them at the Val Plaisant junction. She explained that the accident took place in a very well-lit part of the road, which was dry, and that there was no traffic or pedestrians and that therefore Mr Hobson assumed "there was no one in the area to be warned of his approach."

Pictured: The accident took place at the junction of David Place and Stopford Road.

She argued that the indication from the civilian driver that he was driving at "no more than 28mph" was bizarre and that it was possible that the light turned red while he was halfway through the crossing. 

Advocate Brown said that on the night of the accident, Mr Hobson had a relatively long drive and that the crash was "only small part" of it, adding that "the totality of the drive was relevant to how far he fell below standards." She said he drove safely, passing several junctions in an appropriate manner. She concluded that the incident could be characterised as a single failure, as it resulted from "a split second decision not to brake." "He knew what he was doing, he drove seriously, he made a mistake, an error of judgment, as he approached this junction," she said. 

She denied Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris' interpretation of the scene - that Mr Hobson must have been speeding between two junctions - saying that his speed was not excessive and that the "real error was not to slow down." She added that had the other driver not been driving at the speed he was driving, the collision would have been avoided, describing the accident as "an extremely unlucky set of circumstances."

She also told Court that there were contradictions between the law and Mr Hobson's training, as he was trained to cross red lights while the law says you can't go through them. 

Advocate Brown also argued that Mr Hobson's accident was less serious than the one between PC Emma Quemard and PC John Gibson. The pair crashed into each other in July 2016 while separately responding to an emergency ‘Code 1’ alert. Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris fined PC Quemard £2,000 and disqualified her from driving for one month while PC Gibson faced a financial penalty of £1,000. 

Pictured: Mr Hobson's appeal was heard in Royal Court by Royal Court Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith and Jurats Jane Ronge and Collette Crlll.

Speaking for the prosecution, Crown Advocate Darry Robinson said that Mr Hobson's sentence could be deemed "harsh" but could not be called "excessive or wrong in principle." He said: "If Mr Hobson had not driven that fast or decelerate earlier, he would have made a proper assessment of the junction and the accident would have been avoided."

He refuted Advocate Brown's argument that the accident was the result of "a momentary lapse." He said that Mr Hobson did not exercise adequate caution, failed to reduce his speed to appropriate levels to approach the crossing with reduced visibility, and did not position his vehicle on right side of road, which would have given him a better line of sight. He also said that Mr Hobson had admitted driving at such speed that "he was unable to avoid a car from a member of the public."

When sentencing initially, Assistant Magistrate Harris had said: "If it was any member of the public, there is no doubt they would face disqualification. Evidently Mr Hobson’s driving was for a legitimate purpose (...) He was driving seriously but nevertheless didn’t drive carefully. I am obliged to disqualify him for three months."

The Crown Advocate concluded his address saying that Mr Hobson was not replying to "a life or death situation" at the time of accident but that his driving may well have resulted in such peril. He said that while "rushing to a possible outbreak of violence," Mr Hobson had "endangered the life of a member of the public." "I respectfully say this cannot be right," he stated.

Royal Court Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith and Jurats Jane Ronge and Collette Crill have reserved their judgment for the time being and will release their decision at a later date.