Speeding Pensioner Leads Police On Highland Chase

A 65 year old part-time tour guide who took police on an unexpected 22 mile whistlestop tour of the Highlands was unaware the pursuing patrol car wanted to arrest her for dangerous driving.

Rotraud Engleitner was appearing at Inverness Sheriff Court for sentence yesterday after a deferral for a background report which revealed that she had difficulty in accepting she had done anything wrong on the A9, branded Scotland’s most dangerous road.

But the pensioner from Aviemore escaped a jail sentence despite Sheriff Margaret Neilson saying it was “a shocking piece of driving."

The Sheriff added: “I have grave concerns over the standard of driving but also your failure to notice a pursuing police car which had its blue lights flashing and sirens blaring for an extended period.”

Engleitner, who had admitted driving dangerously for 22 miles between Daviot and Aviemore on September 24, 2014 on the A9 was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and banned from driving for four years.

However at the end of the disqualification, she has to sit an extended competency test before being allowed to get behind the wheel of a car again.

She let out a gasp of astonishment as the Sheriff passed sentence and held her head in her hands.

Her lawyer, David Adams refused to let her say anything after the case, saying: “She is far too upset and not in a position to comment.”

The court earlier heard that the chasing police vehicle had to drive at speeds of up to 111mph to catch up with the Austrian’s little white Ford Fiesta.

Eventually, she stopped at her home at Cairntoul, Grampian Road, Aviemore and police were able to arrest her.

The whole incident was captured on the on-board video and one of the constables was surprised that it was not a ‘boy racer’ in the car. He said to his colleague: “It’s a woman!”

Engleitner could be seen driving her car at grossly excessive speed, driving up to and remaining behind preceding vehicles; overtaking over solid white lines, and oncoming vehicles travelling in both directions had to take evasive action to avoid collisions.

Mr Adams said: “The report is not the best I have seen and is concerning in a number of ways. I have to tackle the minimization that she makes to the social worker.

“It is not a refusal to address the issue or a deliberate attempt to try and avoid the consequences of the court.

“There is a genuine failure to understand the seriousness of what happened. She knew she had done something wrong.

“The most serious incident was the point where two vehicles traveling in opposite directions had ground to a halt and she proceeded down the middle of them, pursued by the police.”

Sheriff Neilson then noted: “There were more vehicles on other parts of the video that could be seen scattering.”

Mr Adams agreed and continued: “There was a failure here to realize that the police were behind her. I know that is hard to believe because their sirens were wailing and the blue lights were flashing.

“That in itself is concerning. She is retired but does some work as a self employed Highland tour guide and she needed her transport to carry out that job.

“Clearly, she has retired herself from that. She is not going to get back on the road until she persuades someone else she is fit to drive by passing the mandatory advanced test of competency.

“She has a partner who has no income and she has a small pension. I am hoping to persuade the court not to impose a custodial sentence and that it can be dealt with by unpaid work.”

Sheriff Neilson told Englietner that the order was a direct alternative to prison.”

The crazy car chase began at Daviot, eight miles south of Inverness when the marked police car saw the Fiesta speed past the in excess of the 70mph limit.

It had to accelerate to 111mph to catch up with the Fiesta bu their repeated attempts to overtake Engleitner failed until she pulled into the driveway of her home.

After following her for a couple of minutes, the police car switched on its “blues and twos” which were activated throughout the remainder of the chase.

Engleitner consistently tailgated vehicles, including cars, a lorry and a caravanette. Then she accelerated to over 90mph in the rain, driving too close to the centre line, and forcing oncoming vehicles to take evasive action and move on to the roadside verge to avoid a collision.

The tape also showed her overtaking on solid white lines and on a hatched area for vehicles turning right.

When she turned on to the A95 approach road into Aviemore, the police car was able to draw alongside her, but she sped off again, once more breaking the 60mph speed limit and again in the 30mph limit in the popular Speyside holiday village.