Peter Geoffrey Phipps sentenced in Townsville Magistrates Court for reckless driving on Bruce Highway near Cardwell

A man repeatedly cut off another driver recklessly on a ‘notorious’ stretch of North Queensland highway before he activated red and blue lights forcing the other car off the road.

The northern side of the notorious accident- and flood-prone Gairloch S-bends on the Bruce Highway between Ingham and Cardwell. Picture: Cameron Bates

A man left a woman and her passenger shaken after he repeatedly cut her off as she attempted to overtake other vehicles on a ‘notorious’ North Queensland highway, before he flashed red and blue lights and forced the woman to pull over and yell at them.

Peter Geoffrey Phipps appeared in Townsville Magistrates Court on Friday with his wife supporting him in the back of the courtroom.

Police prosecutor Kimberley Rogers-Ford said on August 21 last year on the Bruce Highway near Cardwell, the 60-year-old drove up behind a woman before crossing into the opposite lane just as she attempted to take over a caravan.

“The woman used her horn, he activated his and overtook her car and then slowed down forcing her to take evasive action,” Mrs Rogers-Ford said.

The prosecutor played the dash cam footage in court captured by the woman which depicted the man pulling his Jeep Cherokee off to the side to allow her in front of him, before he sped up to overtake the vehicle once again.

Phipps who was then driving in front of the woman activated red and blue flashing lights located at the back window, which caused the woman to say “Is that a cop?”

Her passenger was heard on the dashcam and said “Yeah and he’s just done something really f--king dangerous”.

Phipps once again veered into the opposite lane and signalled for the pair to pull over in line with his car, and yelled out the window: “You’re going to cause a f--king accident”.

When the woman and her passenger realised he wasn’t a police officer, they yelled “We have dash cam, you’re in f--king trouble” and Phipps drove off.

Peter Geoffrey Philp, 60, was sentenced in Townsville Magistrates Court for driving recklessly on the Bruce Highway and forcing another driver to pull over using blue and red flashing lights. Picture: Facebook

“This is an extreme example of driving without due care and it’s aggravated that he used blue and red lights, I would say he’s done that to try and intimidate (the woman) and her partner,” Mrs Rogers-Ford said.

“That was quite a scary incident, he didn’t just put himself and the other driver in danger but everyone else on the road. That stretch of highway between Ingham and Cardwell is notorious for fatals.”

Defence lawyer Harvey Walters, instructed by Connolly Suthers, interjected and said the prosecutor could not make that claim without evidence and that “any highway” was dangerous.

He emphasised that there was no collision or physical injuries involved in the road rage incident and therefore should not be classified as an “extreme example” of driving without due care.

Mr Walters said his client, who had an extensive career in mining, engineering and fishing and had no criminal history, had the lights installed due to his work in air shows where he was required to have the lights on the back of his car for safety purposes while marshalling planes.

The northern side of the notorious accident- and flood-prone Gairloch S-bends on the Bruce Highway between Ingham and Cardwell. Picture: Cameron Bates

Originally Phipps was charged with two offences one of which was personating a public officer however the prosecutor offered no evidence and the charge was dismissed at the beginning of the court proceeding.

“He instructs me on the day in question, after the sounding of the horn it essentially developed into where he got upset about what occurred, he realised he should not have done what he did,” Mr Walters said.

He asked the court to consider not disqualifying Phipps from driving as he is employed in the mines and must drive a fair distance to the mine site on a weekly basis, and that a loss of licence would be detrimental to his family’s livelihood as the main income earner.

Acting magistrate Carol Lee acknowledged the man’s lack of history in the courts.

“It’s unfortunate to see you here,” she said.

“Your last ticketable offence was in 2016 which shows you’re ordinarily a law abiding driver. This incident is aggravated, the Bruce Highway is a notorious road.”

Phipps pleaded guilty to driving without due care.

He was sentenced to 60 hours of community service, to be completed in 12 months and was disqualified from driving for two months. No conviction was recorded.

Originally published as Peter Geoffrey Phipps sentenced in Townsville Magistrates Court for reckless driving on Bruce Highway near Cardwell