I read the details about young Dillon Rooney tearing through Glasgow’s motorways at 124mph, and I felt a familiar frustration bubbling up. It was September, imagine that, just a normal evening, and this lad, barely out of school, decided the M74 was his own personal racetrack. It makes my blood boil, honestly.
Police officers, doing their job, spotted this black Volkswagen Golf flying past them. They were in a 60mph zone, then a 70mph zone, and he just kept on going. They clocked him at 99mph before even putting on their blue lights, trying to get him to stop. But did he? Och no, he just put the foot down harder, swerving like a maniac.
The thought of what could have happened sends a shiver down my spine. He was weaving through traffic, coming perilously close to other cars. Then, the sheer audacity of him driving onto the hard shoulder, nearly hitting a broken-down vehicle and the poor souls standing beside it. What kind of disregard for human life is that?
The police were at 124mph themselves and still couldn’t catch him. Think about that for a second. One hundred and twenty-four miles per hour on a Scottish motorway, weaving through traffic, a complete and utter menace. He eventually took a sharp turn, continued onto the M73, and then, at the Baillieston roundabout, the police lost sight of him. It’s like something out of a daft video game, except it’s real life, with real people and real consequences.
Apparently, he rocked up at Motherwell police station a couple of hours later. He was 18 at the time, now 19, and he’s pleaded guilty to dangerous driving. His solicitor said: “He fully accepts his behaviour. He knows it was immature.” Immature? That’s an understatement of epic proportions, if you ask me. This wasn’t some minor lapse in judgment, it was sustained, deliberate recklessness on a grand scale.
And then there’s the sentence. Sixty-five hours of unpaid work. A three-year driving disqualification, and he’ll have to sit an extended test before he can ever get back behind the wheel. Sheriff Joan Kerr said: “During that narration, of course, it would have been obvious to you what poor piece of driving that was. The police were tracing you on a main motorway and onto a minor road. You had to take action to avoid people and were fortunate that nobody was hurt. The most important matter is to keep you off the roads.”
I agree with the Sheriff that he needs to be kept off the roads, but for me, 65 hours of unpaid work just doesn’t feel like it matches the gravity of nearly causing a multiple-fatality pile-up. It feels like a slap on the wrist, a token gesture, when what’s needed is a firm message that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated on our roads. This wasn’t a momentary lapse, this was a sustained, high-speed chase that put countless lives at risk.
When I think about the challenges facing Scottish Politics, one of the fundamental things is maintaining public safety and trust in our justice system. Cases like this erode that trust. People want to feel safe on the roads, knowing that those who endanger others face serious repercussions. What message does this send to other young drivers who might think they can get away with similar stunts?
I know local councils are running out of money, and resources are stretched thin everywhere, including in our police forces. Every hour spent chasing a joyrider like this is an hour not spent on other vital community work. We need to ensure that when these individuals are caught, the punishment truly fits the crime, acting as a genuine deterrent, not just a minor inconvenience.
Road safety isn’t just about speed cameras and campaigns, it’s about a culture of responsibility. We’ve all seen the Road Safety Scotland adverts, the harrowing stories of lives shattered. Yet, some still think they are invincible, or that the rules don’t apply to them. It’s a mentality that needs to be stamped out, and that starts with the courts sending a clear, unequivocal message.
I just hope this young man truly learns his lesson. Not just from the unpaid work, but from the terrifying reality of what he did. Scotland’s roads are for everyone, not just for a privileged few to treat as their personal playground. We deserve to travel without the fear of some daft lad speeding past us at 124mph, putting us all in harm’s way. The Scottish Government has its own road safety policies, but policies are only as good as their enforcement and the consequences that follow.
Source: Glasgow Times
