Drug impaired motorist banned from driving for one year

A Mississauga man, who a veteran police officer said displayed “some of the worst driving I’ve seen in my career,” has been banned from driving for 12 months after being convicted of being impaired by a drug.

The conviction comes less than a month before the legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada.

Nikola Bukvic, 27, had pleaded not guilty to the charge and blamed his poor driving on being fatigued from “too much partying” and decided to drive from Niagara Falls to Mississauga in order to sleep in his own bed for a few hours and then return to Niagara.

“It must be one comfortable bed,” Judge Ronald Watson said Monday in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines before imposing a $1,400 fine and prohibiting the first-time offender from driving for 12 months. The judge dismissed the defendant’s version of events as “not having a ring of truth to it.”

At about 1:30 p.m. on July 25, 2017, court was told, numerous members of the public called 911 to report a pickup truck driving erratically in the Toronto-bound lanes of the Queen Elizabeth Way near Seventh Street.

Witnesses reported the truck was weaving back and forth across all three lanes of the busy highway at speeds of up to 130 km/h. Concerned motorists travelling behind the truck refused to pass the vehicle.

A 29-year veteran of the Niagara detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police who was called to the area testified the driving behaviour was “some of the worst I have seen in my career.”

The judge agreed, calling Bukvic’s actions behind the wheel “atrocious, extremely alarming and quite dangerous.”

“It was clear Mr. Bukvic was highly impaired,” Watson said.

When the officer stopped and approached the vehicle near Victoria Avenue, he noticed a strong odour of marijuana in the cab of the truck.

“It was so strong he was hit in the face with the odour,” the judge said.

The officer said Bukvic, the sole occupant of the truck, appeared “spacey.” He told police he had smoked one joint the night before.

He was taken to Niagara Regional Police headquarters in Niagara Falls where he was assessed by an officer who is trained to weed out impaired drivers.

One task involved having the man stand with one foot elevated for 30 seconds without falling or losing his balance. He failed that test.

The officer determined the driver’s heart rate was slightly elevated and his pupils were dilated. While there was no alcohol in his system, an analysis of a urine sample confirmed the presence of marijuana.

“Mr. Bukvic was on a weekend bender,” the judge said. “He created a significant danger to himself and to others on the highway.

Recreational marijuana will be legal in Canada Oct. 17.