Police instructor's driving ban

Dr Semple has been banned for three months

A police instructor has been banned from driving after causing a head-on crash because he forgot which side of the road he should be on.

Dr Robert Semple left another motorist with face and chest injuries when he forgot he was no longer abroad on a driving holiday.

Semple, 57, had just returned home and automatically pulled out into the right hand lane on the road.

He admitted driving carelessly in a hearing at Perth Sheriff Court on Monday.

'Lapse in concentration'

The court heard that Helen Jones, who was in a car travelling in the opposite direction, was unable to get out of Semple's way and their cars collided.

Semple, of Dalginross, Comrie, admitted injuring Ms Jones and damaging both cars by driving on the wrong carriageway on 14 June last year.

Fiscal depute Dawn Samson said: "She was confronted by the accused's vehicle on the wrong side of the road heading directly towards her.

He is hugely upset by the accident and his appearance in court Ruth Kellie Dr Semple's solicitor

"She was wearing a seatbelt but her face and body struck the steering wheel and the airbag, causing her nose to bleed and pain in the chest."

Solicitor Ruth Kellie, defending, said Semple had been driving for 40 years and was a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

"He is involved in a Tayside Police scheme as a volunteer to help teach motorcyclists how to drive safely," she said.

"He had just spent four-and-a-half weeks on the continent on holiday and he had undertaken a significant amount of driving.

"He had returned on 11 June and this was a momentary lapse in concentration.

"He is hugely upset by the accident and his appearance in court."

Sheriff Michael Fletcher banned Semple from driving for six months and fined him £300.