Due to a legal technicality, a Jasper man charged with making an illegal pass on Marmot Basin Road has won his day in court.

John William Gillott of Jasper was charged with passing when unsafe after he passed several vehicles coming down the road from Marmot Basin this winter. He appeared in Jasper Provincial Court on March 25 and served as his own lawyer.

Crown prosecutor Kaj Jensen alleged that Gillott nearly caused a head-on collision and claimed the vehicles he was trying to pass had to slow down significantly to stop an accident. He was also speeding when he made his move to pass.

Gillott told another side to the story. He claimed that he passed vehicles with little problem and the vehicles he was passing were driving too slow. He was never speeding, he said, and he passed safely and was fully aware of his surroundings. He did see an oncoming vehicle when he began to pass the car in front of him, but he merged safely before the car passed.

After hearing several hours of testimony from Gillott’s girlfriend, a local cab driver and Gillott himself, Judge Don Norheim said Gillott’s driving in general was unsafe, totally unnecessary and showed a distinct lack of patience and good judgement. However, Judge Norheim said he had a reasonable doubt in his mind that Gillott made a safe pass. The fact that Gillott was in a truck with over-sized wheels, high off the ground and because he was travelling downhill led the judge to think Gillott had good visibility when passing.

Despite Gillott’s winning day, Judge Norheim told him that had the charge been careless or dangerous driving, than Gillott’s fate in court may have been very different.

“Next time, be more careful,” said Judge Norheim.