A drug-driver who drove on with two burst tyres has had her driving ban ended early.
Dee Buchanan left other motorists stunned as she took to the B9170 Oldmeldrum to Inverurie road in her blue Volkswagen Polo after taking diazepam following a head injury.
The effects of the drugs made the counsellor swerve in and out of oncoming traffic, forcing other cars onto a grass verge and drive over a roundabout.
Buchanan, 60, continued to drive despite the double puncture and only came to a halt when a member of the public managed to overtake her and slowly stop in front of her.
Back in September 2021, Buchanan, whose last name was given in court papers as Adam or Haines or Moir or Bond or Buchanan, pled guilty to dangerous driving and driving while unfit through drugs.
She was handed supervision and 240 hours of unpaid work and a disqualified from driving for four years.
Buchanan had drink-driving conviction from 2017
But now – in a hearing mistakenly held in private at Aberdeen Sheriff Court – Buchanan has had her driving ban cut short.
Despite court officials locking the doors to the courtroom, preventing the public and the press from observing the proceedings, The Press and Journal has learned Buchanan made an application for early removal of the disqualification.
Advising on what he had told the court during the hearing, defence agent John McLeod said that Buchanan had been of good behaviour since the offence and had served three-quarters of her ban.
He said he provided the court with testimonials from clients of Buchanan, a counsellor and celebrant.
Due to the rural location of Buchanan’s home, he advised the driving ban was causing her significant issues with her work.
The court granted the application and ended Buchanan’s disqualification, meaning she can now reapply for her licence and be back on the road.
Dangerous driving
At the original hearing in 2021, fiscal depute Sean Ambrose told Aberdeen Sheriff Court a witness had been travelling north on the B9170 towards Oldmeldrum at 12.50pm on November 16 2019 when they spotted Buchanan’s car “start to swerve all over the road” and move onto the wrong side of the road.
The witness, who was travelling in the opposite direction, had to “swerve onto the grass verge” to prevent the blue Polo from colliding with her.
Mr Ambrose said: “The accused failed to stop and continued to travel south towards Inverurie, and continued to swerve all over the road and into the opposing lane.”
Buchanan then drove straight over a roundabout and struck a kerb, leaving the front and rear offside tyres flat and “significantly damaged”.
Mr Ambrose said: “The accused drove past a car garage in Oldmeldrum, but made no attempt to stop and seek assistance.
“She continued to swerve into the opposing lane, travelling at various speeds and causing several other vehicles to take evasive action.
“If they had not done so it would have resulted in a collision.”
Another civilian witness then spotted “a number of vehicles on the grass verge” and formed the view they appeared to have been “forced into this position”.
Mr Ambrose said: “He then noted the accused travelling ahead of him, swerving in and out of the opposing lane and striking the kerb numerous times.
“He also noticed the offside front and rear tyres were burst and the vehicle was being driven on the metal wheel rims.”
‘A matter of the greatest good fortune’ nobody was hurt
The witness made “numerous attempts” to get Buchanan’s attention by flashing his lights and waving at her to stop as he thought her tyres had blown out.
However, she continued to drive in the same manner as she approached Barra Berries, almost colliding with another vehicle on a bend.
Mr Ambrose added: “The witness then overtook the accused at a safe time and slowly came to a stop in front of her.
“Both parties safely came to a stop. The witness left his vehicle and approached the accused’s car to speak with her.
“He noted her speech was slurred and she seemed unaware of why she had been stopped.”
Officers attended and noted Buchanan was “unsteady on her feet” and “hesitant to respond”.
On walking to the police vehicle she “struggled with co-ordination and required support from officers to keep her upright and prevent her falling over”.
A breath sample was negative for alcohol but “impairment was still apparent to officers”.
Buchanan told police she was on prescribed medication, and on the way to the police station she continually dropped her belongings and made “no sense whatsoever” when speaking to the officers.
‘It’s of concern this is not a one-off’
A blood sample was assessed and Mr Ambrose took the court through a list of several substances discovered, including diazepam, the side effects of which include drowsiness, reduced alertness and slowed reactions.
The amount discovered in Buchanan’s blood was within the range associated with normal medical use of the drug.
On that occasion, defence agent Neil McRobert said his client is self-employed and appeared with limited previous convictions. However, he accepted she did have a conviction for drink-driving from 2017.
He said: “Her position is that she was on prescribed medication that followed a head injury in October 2019.
“She was in receipt of diazepam and temazepam.”
Mr McRobert said the other drugs found in his client’s system could be explained by the way the body converts diazepam.
He added: “Regardless, she was clearly not fit to be driving her vehicle.”
Sheriff William Summers told Buchanan, of New Park Steading, Kingswells: “You pled guilty to a shocking episode of dangerous driving. It’s of concern this is not a one-off. It’s not a momentary lapse. The driving was over a prolonged period of time.”
He added it was “a matter of the greatest good fortune” that nobody had been seriously injured.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.
