Drug driver charged
At Warwick Magistrates Court on Monday, a man pleaded guilty to one count of driving while relevant drug was present in system.
At 8.25pm on Friday 3 June, he was submitted to a roadside drug test on Victoria Street and cannabis was detected in his saliva.
The defendant said two weeks prior to the incident, he smoked a joint at a party, which was still in his system.
“I do apologise to the court – I’ve got two young kids to look after,” he said.
However, Magistrate Virginia Sturgess said it did not matter whether a person was adversely affected by the drug or not.
“Cannabis does remain in your system much longer than you’d think,” Magistrate Sturgess said.
“If you want to keep your licence, stay away from the drugs.”
The defendant was fined $500 and his licence was disqualified for three months.
Drink driver charged
A Warwick man pleaded guilty to one count of driving over the alcohol limit at the Magistrates Court on Monday.
At 10.19pm on Wednesday 13 July on Glen Road, police observed a white Mitsubishi and subsequently pulled the driver over for a roadside drug breath test, which was high over the alcohol limit.
The defendant said on the night of the incident, he had no plans of driving but received a call from a friend who had broken down on the highway.
“RACQ said they’d be 45 minutes to an hour, and he was in a precarious spot,” the defendant said.
“I fixed the car in five minutes and was pulled over on the way back.”
Magistrate Sturgess said there were consequences for making a foolish decision after the defendant explained his youngest child was about to go for their Learners.
As a result, he was fined $650 with a three-month licence disqualification.
“You don’t want to turn three months off the road to two years off the road if you drive during this time, and believe me, there are a lot of people who do,” Magistrate Sturgess said.
