Woman banned from driving 15 months after second drug-drive arrest
Justine McQualter tested positive for methamphetamine twice on the Hopkins Highway within 10 weeks, fined $1600 and banned.
Justine McQualter, a cleaner from Woorndoo, was caught driving with methamphetamine in her system on December 22 and again on February 7 in separate incidents on the Hopkins Highway near Warrnambool. The first time she tested positive for meth, admitting she had smoked a joint the night before.
The second time, weeks later, she tested positive for both meth and MDMA after attending a party. The Warrnambool Magistrates Court heard that judicial registrar Michael Bolte said McQualter had failed to heed the wake-up call after the first incident and continued to use drugs and drive.
McQualter pleaded guilty to speeding and two counts of drug-driving. She was fined $1600 with costs and her licence suspended for 15 months.
Her lawyer said the suspension would put her cleaning business on hold.
- 15 months
- Licence suspension
- $1600 plus $148
- Fine and costs
- Hopkins Highway near Warrnambool
- Arrest locations
- 20 per cent of Victoria's 220 this year
- Road deaths involving drugs
Why it mattersTwenty per cent of Victoria's road deaths this year involved drugs or alcohol; one driver caught twice shows how the risk persists.
AustraliaA recurring concern in Victoria and across Australia, where road safety campaigns and court penalties aim to stop impaired driving before it kills.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
