Warning to avoid drug-driving

Drivers are being warned not to take drugs and drive after three people narrowly escaped serious injury in a collision in Great Wyrley last year.

It comes as officers from Staffordshire Police’s central motorway police group (CMPG) released shocking footage showing the moment a drug-driver collided with an unsuspecting driver, passenger and toll booth on the M6 on 25 August 2020.

The footage shows the moment the driver of the offending vehicle loses control of his car and careers into the victim’s stationary vehicle and the booth, in Norton Canes, at about 10am.

Miraculously, no one was seriously hurt in the crash.

However, the toll booth operator, a woman, who was in the booth at the time of the incident, did sustain injuries for which she is continuing to receive treatment.

The drug-driver, now 28, who cannot currently be named for legal reasons, was later arrested and charged with dangerous driving.

Swab samples taken from him showed he had several controlled drugs in his system at the time of the collision.

The man was later convicted of the offence and sentenced to 14 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, was disqualified from driving for three years, ordered to take an extended re-test and told to carry out a number of hours’ community service.

Speaking of the incident, Inspector Sion Hathaway, of the force’s CMPG, said: "This was a terrifying incident for the individuals caught in the consequences of this reckless driver’s decision to take drugs.

"It is a miracle that no one was seriously injured.

"I hope that this footage presents a real warning to anyone who is thinking about getting behind the wheel in an intoxicated state.

"You not only risk your own life, but the lives of others."

Information published by the road safety charity Brake shows that even when someone is only just over the legal limit of alcohol they are still six times more likely to be involved in a fatal collision than someone who has drunk nothing.

Drug driving can seriously impede your ability to drive, regardless of the quantity taken.

If you have been affected by dangerous driving, contact Staffordshire Police on Facebook, Twitter, or call 101.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.