A TIRED motorist’s erratic driving on the M90 in West Fife attracted the attention of police officers travelling in an unmarked car.

On the motorway between the Queensferry Crossing and Kinross, John Poole hit speeds of 90mph and later claimed he was looking for a place to turn off because he was feeling too sleepy to drive.

He had travelled up from Yorkshire that day.

Poole, 38, of Benton Road, Auchterarder, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.

He admitted that on May 23, 2019 on the M90 between the Queensferry Crossing and Kinross, he drove a car carelessly and when he was too tired to safely do so, drove in an erratic manner, repeatedly moved between lanes, repeatedly varied his speeds, repeatedly came close to colliding with other vehicles and exceeded the speed limit.

Depute fiscal Laura McManus said that at around 11pm the police officers became concerned after seeing Poole driving on the bridge and then north on the M90.

He was switching lanes, varying his speed for no apparent reason and came close to colliding with other vehicles including an HGV lorry.

He eventually turned off the motorway at Kinross to go into the services there but almost caused a crash as he did so.

Defence solicitor Richard Freeman said his client was a construction project manager and had driven from Yorkshire to Glasgow then Edinburgh that day. He was heading home when the offence occurred.

“He started feeling tired by the time he got to the bridge. He needs his licence for his job and already has six points,” he added.

Sheriff Alastair Brown told Poole: “You were lucky you didn’t go off the road. If you were feeling tired at the bridge you should have turned off at Rosyth.”

He fined Poole £450 and imposed another five penalties on his licence, which will allow him to keep driving.