A lorry driver caught holding a mobile phone while driving through St Leonards on the A31 has been banned from driving for three years, after further checks revealed he had cocaine in his system and was also not wearing a seatbelt.
Mark Waters, aged 28 and from Wilton in Wiltshire, was stopped shortly before 1pm on Saturday 29 March this year by officers from Dorset Police’s Roads Policing Team. He was seen driving an Iveco heavy goods vehicle with a phone held to his ear and no seatbelt.
Following a roadside drug test and arrest, blood analysis found high levels of benzoylecgonine, a breakdown product of cocaine, in his system – over six times the legal limit.
At Poole Magistrates’ Court on Monday 7 July, Waters admitted drug driving, using a mobile phone at the wheel, and failing to wear a seatbelt. He was disqualified from driving for three years and handed a 12-month community order including 100 hours of unpaid work.
Additional fixed penalties totalling £1,100 were issued for tachograph breaches. These included driving without a tachograph card, failing to record rest periods, and driving for longer than allowed.
His HGV licence has been revoked for an extra year following consultation with the Office of the Traffic Commissioners, meaning he cannot reapply to drive lorries until July 2029.
Police said the driver was committing three of the ‘fatal five’ offences targeted in this month’s national road safety campaign.