A magistrate has described a man caught drug driving twice in a month as “a bit dim”.
The 20-year-old man, who is self-employed, was stopped near Worcester on January 6 and found to have 5.4mcg Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (D9THC) – the active ingredient of cannabis – in his system. The legal limit for drug driving is 2mcg.
On February 9 police stopped him again, this time near Kidderminster, where he was found to have 4.8mcg of D9THC as well as 247mcg of benzoylecgonine (BZE) – a metabolite of cocaine – where the legal limit is 50mcg.
Prosecuting, Mark Hambling told the court that the man was of previous good character and had no previous convictions.
“You’re looking at two occasions here and on one occasion there were two different kinds of drug,” he said. There were no other aggravating features.
In a report from the probation service, the officer said the defendant presented as “open and honest in regard to what appears to definitely be a life lesson for him at the age of 20,” adding that: “He’s mortified and struggled with the situation and the court proceedings in themselves have been very trying for him.”
The man told the probation officer that he had cocaine and a cannabis spliff at New Year, driving a day or two afterwards, but he had “no issues with drugs” and that this incident was a “one-off”.
The officer went on to explain that the man is self-employed and runs the family business while his Dad cares for his mum. “He will lose his licence and therefore he needs to look for alternative work and dad isn’t best pleased,” she said.
Defending, Gary Harper said: “It’s a very interesting fact that BZE doesn’t have any effect on your driving. The level of impairment seems to be zero.”
He followed by handing over references on behalf of his client. He also reminded magistrates that there was no rehabilitation course for drug driving as there is for drink driving, which can reduce the length of a ban on completion.
He added that his client had been “calm and compliant” with police.
Quoting the man’s mother: “He has kept the business afloat single-handed”, said Mr Harper.
Chairman of the bench, Brent Robinson, told the man: “You’re a bit dim of you don’t mind me saying so. It has been well known for a number of years that driving and drugs don’t mix.”
He went on to say that he thought the defendant would have learned his lesson after his first offence, but “one month later and you’re back in the same boat again.”
After pleading guilty to two charges of drug driving, magistrates banned him from driving for 12 months and imposed fines of £120 for each offence plus £135 costs and a £34 victim surcharge.
About Carl Millar
Carl Millar is a highly respected and experienced drink driving solicitor who is the principal of Millars Solicitors.
Carl has been a specialist in road traffic law for many years and represents clients from all walks of life and all over the Country. He is well known for the dogged defending of his clients and robust cross examination of police officers and exert witnesses.
With a wealth of expertise in motoring law Carl is well placed to provide advice over the phone and deal with all road traffic matters in a calm and professional way.
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