A truck driver was found to have a mix of illicit and prescription drugs in his system after he was seen drifting to and fro across the road.
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Matthew Ffrost was convicted and fined $800 in the Bendigo Magistrates' Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to driving while under the influence of a drug, driving unlicensed and driving in a dangerous manner in relation to the incident last July.
He was also banned from driving for two years.
Ffrost was behind the wheel of a tipper truck and trailer travelling east along the McIvor Highway between Junortoun and Axedale in the early afternoon when a person saw the truck drifting out of its lane.
It crossed over to the wrong side of the road and the witness estimated it was travelling at 85 to 90 km/h in the 100 km/h zone.
The truck then drifted back to the left and over the fog line, at one point narrowly avoiding a stationary vehicle on the side of the road.
Police in Axedale were contacted, and when Ffrost passed through the town the police officer saw the truck straddling the centre line.
Ffrost was again seen crossing over the fog line at the side of the road by a witness who was so concerned he filmed a short video.
Before the truck was intercepted, it pulled over and stopped.
A police officer from Heathcote saw Ffrost slumped over the wheel and knocked on the window to rouse him, but he did not react.
When the officer opened the door to the truck's cab, Ffrost began to fall out.
A blood test revealed Ffrost had both methamphetamine and amphetamine in his system, as well as diazepam.
His lawyer, Nicholas Rolfe, told the court he was prescribed Valium for sleep apnoea.
The court heard Ffrost did not have the permit necessary to drive that truck.
Mr Rolfe said his client was a fly-in, fly-out worker who had been working in Western Australia and there had been an issue transferring his licence to Victoria.
Magistrate John Bentley said he moderated the fine given to Ffrost because he had to undertake two courses at his own expense: a drug driving awareness program and a safe driving program.
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