a day ago
A483: Volkswagen drug driver was stopped on Newtown Bypass
A motorist who got behind the wheel after smoking cannabis would never have done it if he thought he was impaired, a court has been told.
Geraint Jones was stopped by police three days before Christmas after they saw him swerving on the A483 Newtown Bypass.
The 49-year-old also indicated one way, but turned off in the opposite direction.
Helen Tench, prosecuting, told the court police had been out on patrol when they spotted the Volkwagen Tiguan being driven by Jones on the evening of December 22, last year.
She continued: "The vehicle was seen swerving over the white line and then indicating one direction but turning off in the opposite direction.
"Police stop the vehicle, and when the driver's window came down, there was a blast of warm air and the unmistakable smell of cannabis. The driver's eyes were glazed over."
Ms Tench said officers wanted to do a drug swipe, and Jones told them: "It's going to be positive, I had a joint a few hours ago."
A blood test revealed he had 5.6 micrograms of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol - the active ingredient in cannabis - per litre of blood. The legal limit is 2ug.
Rob Hanratty, defending, told the court that he did not believe his client was impaired.
He said: "There were no other vehicles on the road, and there is nothing else to suggest he was impaired. He was very honest that he had smoked cannabis a short time before.
"He had recently been through a very traumatic incident and had smoked cannabis, but he would never have driven if he had thought he had been impaired."
Magistrates fined Jones, of Lon Glanyrafon, Newtown, £600 and ordered him to pay a £240 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.
They also handed him an obligatory 12-month driving ban.
Chairman of the bench, Stephen Pembroke, told Jones: "It was an expensive way to drive that evening.
