Van driver disqualified for drug-driving on A23

A van driver has been disqualified after giving a positive blood test for cocaine on the A23.

Iain Nicholas, 43, was stopped by Casualty Reduction Officers when they saw items were not secured in his flatbed van, including a loose wheelbarrow.

They also noted that he was not wearing a seatbelt while driving.

After speaking to Nicholas about the risks of unsecured loads, the officers conducted a roadside DrugsWipe test which the driver failed, testing positive for cocaine.

He was arrested and taken into custody where blood samples were taken.

Analysis of the samples showed the level of cocaine was so high that it exceeded the limits for the testing method. 

Nicholas gave a sample for benzoylecgonine, a chemical breakdown product of cocaine, in his system in excess of 800 micrograms (ug) of the chemical per litre of blood. The legal limit is 50ug of benzoylecgonine per litre of blood.

Nicholas, a road construction worker of Stratford Avenue, Rainham, Kent, appeared before Crawley Magistrates’ Court on 8 April where he admitted drug driving.

He was disqualified from driving for 15 months, and fined £450, with a £180 surcharge and £85 costs.

The court heard how the incident happened on the A23 northbound carriageway at Bolney, at about 2.30pm on November 11 last year.

Items were loose in the back of the flatbed van, posing a risk to other road users.

Nicholas was issued with a separate Traffic Offence Report at the roadside for not wearing a seatbelt. 

Sergeant James Arrol-Barker of the Road Safety Team said: “We are sharing information about this case because drug-driving, not wearing a seatbelt, and careless driving are three of the 'fatal five' factors that lead to people being killed or seriously injured on our roads.

“We will continue to relentlessly pursue those who put other road users at unnecessary risk of harm.”