QLD: Interstate truckie high on amphetamines sent to jail

AAP General News (Australia)
04-03-2006
QLD: Interstate truckie high on amphetamines sent to jail

By Daniel Pace

GOLD COAST, April 3 AAP - It was only by the "grace of God" that no one was killed
when a truck driver high on amphetamines drove on a busy Queensland motorway in peak hour
traffic, a judge says.

Jason David Scott, 32, of Elanora, was sentenced today to two years jail, to be suspended
after four months, and disqualified from holding a driver's licence for three years.

He had pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle while
adversely affected by an intoxicating substance.

Scott was arrested on October 22, 2004.

A doctor's report tendered to the court said Scott was so high at the time of his arrest
he was erratic and "required the assistance of two people to sit on a chair from a standing
position".

Queensland District Court Justice Ian Dearden today took into account that Scott was
the sole income-earner for his de facto partner and three children, and had sold his truck
and quit the transport industry in which he started working as a teenager.

But he said it was his duty to send a "loud and clear" message to truck drivers and
their industry that drug-taking to stay on the road for prolonged periods could not be
tolerated.

"It's only by luck, or if you're a religious person the grace of God, that you did
not kill yourself or others," Mr Dearden told Scott.

The court was told police stopped Scott's fully-laden semitrailer at Reedy Creek on
the Gold Coast after he was first seen by motorists driving erratically over the Gateway
Bridge where he went through an E-toll at 120kph.

Scott continued along the Pacific Highway where witnesses and police gave evidence
he had changed lanes erratically and "fishtailed", tailgated other motorists and, when
pulled over, "jumped around in the cab of the truck" and spoke incoherently.

They also said that at one point it appeared Scott's truck would roll.

Crown Prosecutor Bob Falconer tendered a doctor's report stating Scott displayed symptoms
of extreme agitation and restlessness, including an "inability to control involuntary
movements of his arm" while undergoing a blood test.

The analysis indicated Scott had high levels of amphetamine (0.02 per cent) and methylamphetamine
(0.08 per cent) in his blood - dangerous readings for driving.

"At the time I saw him, Mr Scott was incapable of performing any manoeuvre other than
erratically," Dr Bob Hoskins said in the report.

"He required the assistance of two people to sit on a chair from a standing position.

"Mr Scott could not control his own body, much less drive safely."

Defence solicitor Bill Potts told the court there was a "culture of truck drivers using
drugs to keep themselves awake so that they could cover the soul-destroying distances
and workloads that they had".

The court was told Scott had averaged three round trips to Sydney a week, earning a
meagre 20 cents a kilometre.

AAP djp/ch/cjh/nf/sd

KEYWORD: SCOTT

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