THE shocking moment a Range Rover driver overtook a learner and almost crashed head-on into a coach has been captured by a dashcam.
A 17-year-old learner driver was behind the wheel as a camera in the back filmed the powerful, two-tonne Range Rover pull out.
It sped past one car before passing the learner vehicle and pulling back in with feet to spare as the coach approached, which may have been carrying schoolchildren.
The Range Rover then creates a massive splash as it hits a large puddle in the road – evidence of the poor weather at the time of the incident.
The video was taken by driving instructor Thomas Hutchison, who has equipped his vehicle with rear- and front-facing cameras.
Although the incident was not reported to police, traffic officers are now investigating after the video was passed to Police Scotland.
He and his teenage pupil were driving on the A73 between Airdrie and Cumbernauld, in North Lanarkshire, on January 26, when the near miss happened.
Thomas, 58, from Cumbernauld, handed the clip to website Scotland’s Worst Drivers (SWD).
The accident happened shortly before 4pm and, although the coach remains unidentified, Thomas believes it may have been carrying children.
He said: “It was a bus at round about school time, so I assume it was a school bus. He’s put our lives in danger, he’s put their lives in danger.
“My pupil decided to just get the brakes on to give him time to get through. I’ve a feeling if he hadn’t the Range Rover wouldn’t have made it.
“I think he’s just seen the learner in front of him and just tried to get in front of him as well.”
He added: “When you’ve got L plates on, people just seem to attempt that kind of thing. It’s a 60mph road and I get my pupils to do 60mph on it so there was no reason to do that.
“He put everybody’s lives in danger.”
A SWD spokesman said: “”This driver should be banned from driving for a very long time.
“Their reckless driving showed no regard for anyone’s safety, and given the conditions of the road, we are very fortunate to have not seen a collision here – one second more and that coach would have been hit head on.
“We hope the police take action before they kill anyone.”
A spokesman for the Automobile Association (AA) said: “This is yet another example of very poor driving standards we commonly see as drivers every day.
“In this instance the road/weather conditions were also very poor adding to the risk of chancy overtaking. “
Inspector Graham Conner, of the Divisional Road Policing Unit, Motherwell, said: “As far as we are aware, this incident has not been reported to police, however, the clip has now been passed to the relevant road policing dept to progress as appropriate.
“We would encourage the person who recorded the video, or indeed anyone who witnessed the incident, to contact the Divisional Road Policing Unit at Motherwell via 101.”
