A trailer-towing drug-driver was caught at Asda with children in his car.
Steven Burns appeared from custody at Dundee Sheriff Court to answer a warrant.
He admitted driving on June 27 in 2021 while unfit through drink or drugs.
The 30-year-old had been spotted swerving on the A90 dual carriageway with a trailer attached to his car.
Police traced him in a disabled parking bay outside the nearby supermarket, where his demeanour flipped from “hyper” to “drowsy.”
He failed a drug swipe and has now been banned for 16 months.
In the dock
Fiscal depute Alan Kempton said: “This matter occurred at 5.45pm on the Sunday evening.
“Witnesses saw a Skoda Octavia being driven on the A90.
“The vehicle was towing a trailer and the driving was erratic, with the car swerving on the road.
“The driver was seen to have his right arm against the driver’s window with his head leaning against that.
“Police were contacted and the Skoda thereafter entered the car park at Asda.
“The vehicle was parked in a disabled bay and the accused was witnessed stumbling around.
“A short time later, the police arrived and the accused was back in the car with the engine running.
“The accused was asked to exit the vehicle.”
While speaking to the accused, police described his demeanour as lurching from “hyper” to “drowsy.”
“Within the accused’s car were his partner and two children,” Mr Kempton added.
“He was slurring his words and was unsteady on his feet.”
Mr Kempton explained a roadside drug swipe tested positive for cocaine.
Burns was later seen by a forensic medical practitioner who believed he was under the influence of “some type of drug.”
Blood samples were also taken.
Guilty
Burns, 30, of Hill Street in Dundee‘s Hilltown area, admitted being unfit through drink or drugs while at the wheel.
His lawyer Billy Watt said: “He does have previous convictions and some road traffic convictions but nothing directly analogous to this offence.
“Mr Burns has endeavoured to turn things around.
“He had been, in recent times, diagnosed with a severe form of epilepsy.
“He no longer engages with illicit substances as a result.”
Lingering cocaine
Mr Watt added: “He accepts on this day that there was a substance present.
“That was from the day before.
“The day before he had taken some cocaine.
“He was towing a trailer at the time. The trailer was empty.
“He’s worked quite hard to change his life.”
Sheriff Francis Gill fined Burns £400 plus a victim surcharge for the “extremely serious offence.”
The sheriff also banned him for 16 months and told him it was only through “good fortune” nobody was hurt.
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