Case details
A 40-year-old groundworker from Barrow has been disqualified from driving for the mandatory minimum of 12 months after testing over the legal limit for cannabis. Karl William Steele was discovered by police on February 13 while asleep in the passenger seat of his vehicle with the engine running.
Legal proceedings
Appearing at South Cumbria Magistrates’ Court on September 28, Steele pleaded guilty to driving with a proportion of a specified drug in his system. Officers conducted a roadside test after Steele admitted to consuming cannabis the previous night.
The court heard that his blood reading was 3.1 ug/L, exceeding the statutory limit of 2.0 ug/L. In addition to the driving ban, Steele was ordered to pay a £392 fine, £85 in court costs, and a £157 victim surcharge.
Context of enforcement
Defence solicitor Andy Gallagher noted that Steele had recently secured new employment as a groundworker and had been waiting to collect his partner when the incident occurred. Cases like this continue to highlight the complexities of UK drug-driving laws, which measure the presence of THC rather than impairment, often catching individuals long after the psychoactive effects of cannabis have worn off.
Source: The Mail
