Road ban for motorist with cannabis in system

A cannabis user has been banned from driving after he was caught with the drug in his system while he was behind the wheel of a car.
Chesterfield magistrates' court.Chesterfield magistrates' court.
Chesterfield magistrates' court.

Chesterfield magistrates’ court heard on Tuesday how Elliott Kinberlin, 20, was approached by police when they spotted his car parked in a layby at Crich Lane, Ambergate, in the middle of the night.

Prosecuting solicitor Becky Allsop said: “Police saw a car parked with its lights switched on in a layby and they approached the vehicle and the defendant who also had a passenger.

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“There was a strong smell of cannabis and Kimberlain said they had been smoking before they came out to drive.”

Police registered 3.5microgrammes of the drug in the defendant’s blood when the legal specified limit for driving a vehicle is two microgrammes.

Kimberlin admitted he had been driving the car and said he had smoked hours before driving but accepted that he knew it was wrong to drive under the influence of drugs.

The defendant, of School Lane, Newbold, Coleorton, Coalville, Leicestershire, pleaded guilty to driving when the proportion of the controlled drug exceeded the specified limit after the incident on December 28.

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Defence solicitor David Gittins said Kimberlin’s driving ability was not in question and he was approached just after midnight after he had been to a party.

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Mr Gittins added he knows he has made a terrible mistake and he fears he may now lose his job as a factory operative because he claims he needs to be able to drive to get to work.

Magistrates fined Kimberlin £288 and ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £30 victim surcharge. He was also disqualified from driving for 16 months.