Cocktail of drugs taken by driver in collision

A Perth man involved in an accident on the busy M90 was found to have a cocktail of drugs in his system.

Police also discovered that Calum Smyth had four bottles of methadone, Perth Sheriff Court was told.

He later tested positive for substances including etizolam, diazepam, methadone and morphine.

It led to him being disqualified for 28 months and being ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work.

The accused, of Potterhill, admitted driving while unfit through drugs on February 8, 2020.

The court heard that police had responded to a report that a car had been in collision on the motorway.

It appeared to have“made contact”with the central reservation and had come to rest on the hard shoulder.

It was encroaching on the road and Smyth was kneeling beside the vehicle, attempting to change a flat tyre on the rear offside.

“He seemed to be totally unaware of the danger he was in from the passing cars,”added the fiscal.

When officers spoke to him, he was“visibly unsteady on his feet and kept swaying on a number of occasions.”

Smyth (47) also appeared dazed and confused – he was unaware of damage to his front tyre – and was slurring his words.

He was placed in his car“for his own safety”- and that was when police discovered the methadone.

A blood sample was taken and that revealed traces of several different substances.

He admitted he had taken the heroin substitute“earlier that day”.

Solicitor Pauline Cullerton explained he had been driving from Kinross to Perth.

At that time he had been“in a bad way, emotionally and physically”.

She added:“This has been a turning point in his life and he’s now addressing his difficulties.”

He was receiving help from a drug worker and was on 90 millimetres of methadone a day and hoped to reduce that amount “at some point in the future”.

Imposing the unpaid work instead of jailing him, Sheriff Neil Bowie told Blyth:“The state of your intoxication was clearly significant.

“It was so significant you were unaware of the damage to your car or the danger you were placing yourself in – or other road users.”

The court was told it was his second conviction for a similar type of offence and a“significant disqualification”was merited.