A MAN who deliberately drove his car into another vehicle during a fit of road rage has been convicted on a string of driving offences.
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Bradley Edwin Robinson, 29, of Rankin Street, appeared before magistrate Catherine Follent in Bathurst Local Court last week.
Robinson's solicitor Shane Cunningham told the court his client would be making a Section 32 mental health application but, if unsuccessful, would plead guilty to negligent and dangerous driving charges, and mid range PCA.
Agreed police facts tendered to the court told how on March 11 a driver to overtake a red Mazda being driven by Robinson on the Vale Road.
After the driver passed Robinson's car and tried to re-enter the left-hand lane, he found Robinson had accelerated and was still beside his vehicle.
The driver accelerated to re-enter the correct lane but Robinson also accelerated to close behind the vehicle and they collided.
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Fearing for his safety, the driver accelerated away and when he could no longer see Robinson's car behind him, pulled over to assess the damage.
The police facts say Robinson continued along the Vale Road at about 80km/h and when he saw the other car, with the other driver standing behind it, swerved his Mazda to the left.
Robinson only narrowly missed the other driver as his Mazda crashed into the parked car.
Robinson's car became airborne before coming to rest on its wheels about 55 metres away. The victim's car sustained $15,000 in damage and was written off.
A witness asked Robinson if he needed an ambulance and he replied: "No, more a psychologist. I [expletive] up, I'm going to lose my licence because of road rage."
Robinson was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital where a blood sample returned a reading of 0.087.
On April 24 police attended Robinson's work and he provided a written version of events he had drawn up with his solicitor. He said he did not recall the collision; he recalled feeding his cat that morning and his next memory was eating a meal in hospital that evening.
In assessing the mental health application, Ms Follent noted the offence "was quite serious and general deterrence loomed large". She also noted the real public safety concerns before refusing the application.
Ms Follent noted the prevalence of road rage in the community and convicted Robinson to an 18-month community corrections order on the charge of driving in a reckless or furious manner, and disqualified him from driving for 12 months.
He was fined $750 for the PCA charge and disqualified for six months. An interlock exemption order was also made.
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