Driver banned after being found "slumped over the steering wheel" of car
Kevin Berry, 38, from Aberdeen was disqualified for 18 months
A drug addict was banned from the road today after being found slumped over the steering wheel of a car - with a woman overdosed in the passenger seat.
Kevin Berry, 38, was discovered in the drivers seat of the vehicle on Ferrier Crescent in Aberdeen after taking a mixture of Valium and methadone on February 18.
Doctors were assessing how much methadone his body needed as a substitute for heroin and he had been given a high dose.
Both drugs were prescribed and he was warned that he might feel drowsy after taking them.
Berry, of 75 Westray Road, Aberdeen, was disqualified from driving for 18 months when he appeared at the city sheriff court yesterday.
Fiscal depute Anne MacDonald said he was found "slumped over the steering wheel" on a Saturday afternoon and the female passenger turned out to have overdosed on drugs.
She added: "The accused when he was spoken to by police said that he had taken methadone and Valium.
"Paramedics needed to be called for him as well."
Defence lawyer Graeme Morrison said his client had been prescribed both drugs and was at that time being titrated to find out how much he needed.
He told the court: "He had been warned you can get drowsy but he had been alright.
"It can take four hours to kick in."
He said his client was now prescribed a lower dose and his driving license had been revoked after the incident was reported to the DVLA.
Sheriff Christine McCrossan noted that the drug addict had since been taken off the road by the UK driving authority and would not be allowed to drive again until his doctor decided he was "safe to be behind the wheel of a car".
He admitted being in charge of a vehicle while unfit to drive through drink or drugs when he appeared in the court yesterday.
Berry was also fined £400.