A Maud man who was spotted swerving on the roads while high on a controlled drug has been banned from driving for two years.
Keith Simpson represented himself at Peterhead Sheriff Court on Monday after lodging guilty pleas to offences, including driving under the influence and driving a car with erroneous driver details.
The 55-year-old told the court he was not seeking any legal representation despite being warned of the seriousness of the charges.
Cannabis found in his car
Another motorist raised the alarm about Simpson’s manner of driving on the afternoon of October 2 last year.
Fiscal depute Stephanie Cardo told the court the witness saw his car “swerving on the carriageway” before police conducted a search of the area – the A952 and A90 near Upper Ridinghill – and flagged Simpson down.
Roadside drug tests would return a positive for delta-9 – a compound found in cannabis – and a search of his vehicle uncovered a small amount of cannabis.
Ms Cardno indicated to Sheriff Annella Cowan that the Crown was not seeking forfeiture of the vehicle because it has since been sold.
“He’s indicating he sold the car, my lady,” she said as Simpson tried to explain himself from the dock.
‘Notoriously bad road’
Sheriff Cowan told Simpson, of Birch Grove, Maud, he would have the chance to explain himself during the hearing, but warned him he was in a dangerous situation.
“That road is a notoriously bad road,” she said.
“You understand how you are in a seriously precarious position?”
Simpson, who said he was a welder in the oil and gas industry, acknowledged that he was.
Attempting to give an account of the events, he said he had taken the drug after finishing work and was on his way home when he was collared.
Asked if the decision would cost him his job because he could no longer drive, he said it would not.
“I’ll just have to work it out,” he said. “It’s my own doing.”
Sheriff Cowan fined him £250 for having the wrong details, £200 for cannabis possession, and £700 for driving while under the influence.
In addition to the fines, he was also banned from driving for two years.