A Ryde man who crashed a Mercedes while under the influence of drugs – with a child in the vehicle – has appeared before the Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court and admitted multiple driving offences.
36-year-old Terry Watts, of Playstreet Lane, pleaded guilty to a total of 4 charges at the Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court on Friday (10th October), all relating to an incident in Warwick Street, Ryde, earlier this year.
As previously reported by Island Echo, a silver A-Class was involved in a crash with a garden wall at just gone 11:00 on Sunday 4th May.
Initial indications at the scene were that the driver had suffered a suspected medical episode at the wheel, possibly related to existing conditions. But he was later arrested by Police on suspicion of drink driving and taking without consent.
Shockingly, an 8-year-old boy was a passenger inside the vehicle at the time of the crash.
Watts has now admitted aggravated vehicle taking and driving while over the specified limit for a controlled drug, namely Benzoylecgonine, with a blood reading of 800 micrograms per litre – far exceeding the legal limit of 50.
In addition, he has admitted to driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and using a motor vehicle on a road without third party insurance.
Watts has been granted unconditional bail and will appear before the Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court for sentencing on 19th December.
A pre-sentence report is being prepared.
And they want MY licence just because i’m 70 that has never been tarnished
They need to sort out some principles and priorities, and do some spot checks on roaring boy racers with illegal exhausts and void insurances, if they have any at all. Getting pissed off of being used as an easy target
Older drivers are much safer and wiser than
immature younger drivers.
Another ridiculous generalisation
Actually EIE is being precisely accurate and not generalising. Just stating statistical fact. All groups above the age of 25 cause and are involved in a quarter of those below that age, and the older the driver up to 75, the lower the figures for accident responsibility. You might not like the facts, but that’s what they are ..
Thank you George, IsleoWill is envious
of my knowledge.
Some people have a lot to learn.
The truth always hurts
I have to take a retest every year to maintain my license, all because I was involved in four RTAs, which had nothing to do with me.
On two occasions, I was driving around a roundabout signalling to exit the 3rd exit when I was ‘taken out’ because of boy racers, while they were under the ‘influence of alcohol and coke’. They approached the roundabout at 60 mph, losing control of their vehicle. Imagine the Dukes of Hazard flying over the roundabout; that was precisely what happened, slamming into the side of me as I was exiting the 3rd exit.
They walked away, uninjured, with a slap on the wrist, three points on their licence and a fine. In contrast, I ended up damaging my C3 & C4 vertebrae, and a smashed ankle. The worst part was the fear that would arise when approaching a roundabout in the future.
Two other RTAs involved two foreign men driving left-hand lorries. I’ve learned since then that lorry drivers using left-hand steering cannot see the blind spot next to them on their right. The worst thing was that both drivers were smashed out on vodka.
Both foreign drivers left the UK and could not be traced. Subsequently, damages had to be claimed against the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB), which raised my car insurance.
To keep my current premiums low, the MIB requires me to take a driving test each year, even though neither of the claims was my fault. I was just in the wrong places at the wrong time.
I’d like to see any driver found guilty of driving while under the influence of drink or drugs slapped with a ban for life. Why should innocent people have to pay higher premiums for another person’s negligence?
And imprisonment for persons under the influence
The worse thing is that a lot of older drivers are on medication that sates they should not drive or use machinery if feeling drowsy . Which in rights means they should not drive . I know it sounds harsh but it’s the same with a medical cannabis prescription that a lot of people are using nowadays . The only thing is that the police do not chase this sort of thing up with older drivers but crack down on the medical annabis users .
To drive whilst under the influence with a child in the
vehicle is shocking behaviour!
He should face the full force of the law!
No feeble excuses.
His parents named him Terry since the knew what he would become TWatts.
Should have named him Richard
D I C K for short
It makes me sick the way the government keeps demonizing drivers over 70, when the statistics prove by far that 18 to 24 are far more likely to have an accident than older drivers, nearly every driving offence reported on here involved people far younger than 70 .
This Government doesn’t seem to like old people,
maybe they have no living parents or grandparents.
If they do, what must they think
It is curious that, given that he had an eight year old child as a front seat passenger while he drive under the influence of cocaine, this person was not charged with “carrying to danger” which potentially carries a number of years imprisonment. This case should be before a Crown Court judge in my view, not a Magistrates bench for sentence.