Van driver who used cocaine on Wednesday was over the limit on Saturday - and is now banned from driving
A van driver whose blood test for cocaine came back positive three days after he’d taken cocaine has been given a year-long driving ban.
The 34-year-old driver had claimed not to have used recreational drugs for a few days prior to being stopped by police.
But benzoylecgonine – the cocaine metabolite – can stays in the blood stream for many days and cause impaired driving.
Jack Gentle was found guilty of driving a van when a proportion of a specified controlled drug was above the specified limit following a trial at Northampton Magistrates’ Court earlier this month (November).
Magistrates heard that officers from Northamptonshire Roads Policing Team on patrol in High Street, Rothwell, stopped Gentle as he drove a white Renault Kangoo panel van shortly after 12.20am on Saturday, January 11.
Officers conducted a roadside drug wipe test, which came back positive for both cannabis and cocaine and after recovering a pot of herbal cannabis during a subsequent search of the van, Gentle was arrested.
Once in police custody, a blood sample was taken for analysis which later revealed Gentle was over the specified limit for Benzoylecgonine (cocaine), with a reading of 84 microgrammes per litre of blood (ug/L). The legal limit is 50ug/L.
He was charged with driving a motor vehicle when a proportion of a specified controlled drug was above the specified limit and possession of a controlled Class B drug (cannabis).
Gentle, of Gladstone Street, Desborough, was summoned to Northampton Magistrates’ Court on June 6, however he was further charged with failing to surrender after he didn’t attend the hearing.
He went on to plead guilty to both the possession of cannabis and failing to surrender when he appeared before magistrates on August 21 but continued to deny the drug driving offence and opted to go to trial.
On November 5, magistrates found him guilty, and he was sentenced for all three matters. In addition to being disqualified from driving for 12-months, Gentle received a community order, a rehabilitation activity requirement, as well as having to complete 80 hours unpaid work and pay £1,764 costs.
Arresting officer, PC Sandra Payne of the Roads Policing Team, said: “We see the devastating effects drug driving can have and therefore it is extremely disappointing that some people still choose to ignore our advice.
“Jack Gentle told the court that although he had used cannabis and cocaine on the Wednesday evening prior to his arrest in the early hours of Saturday, he believed that he would have been under the specified limit.
“However, like with alcohol, it’s not possible to say how much drugs you can consume to stay below the limit or how long you leave it before you get behind a wheel, as the way our bodies react to a drug can depends on various factors.
“If you think you are safe to drive after taking drugs, think again. Even the smallest amount of drugs in your system can affect the way you drive, increasing the risk of serious harm to yourself and other road users.”
Tragically in 2024, 31 people never returned home safely to their loved ones following collisions in Northamptonshire and 243 required urgent medical assistance for serious or life-changing injuries.
Anyone with information about road safety concerns or any vehicle crime can report it online here or call Northamptonshire Police on 101. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.