Ashley Craig Pattison loses licence for five years after refusing drug test

A Highton man has copped a hefty driving ban for something he didn’t do.

A decision to refuse to provide an oral sample has cost a Highton man with a poor driving history his licence for five years. Picture: NewsWire / Diego Fedele

A Highton man’s refusal to provide an oral fluid sample for a drug test after being pulled over by police has cost him his driver’s licence for five years.

Ashley Craig Pattison, 53, fronted the Geelong Magistrates Court on Thursday, facing charges including driving while disqualified, driving an unregistered vehicle and refusing to provide a sample of oral fluid.

The court heard Pattison was nabbed driving a yellow Mercedes sprinter van southbound on the Geelong Ring Road in Highton about 3.30pm on August 31, last year.

A patrolling police car’s on-board system alerted officers to the fact the van’s registration had expired in May, and Pattison was intercepted.

Further checks revealed Pattison’s licence was disqualified in October 2023, and he did not have an unregistered vehicle permit.

Pattison came back clean after a breath test, however a preliminary oral fluid test came back positive.

Believing he had an illicit substance in his system, the officers asked Pattison to accompany them back to a testing vehicle for a second, evidentiary breath test – Pattison refused, even after being told the consequences of his refusal.

Refusal to provide a sample of oral fluid carries a mandatory minimum licence loss of two years, four if an accused has a relevant prior conviction.

The court heard Pattison told police he had borrowed the van from a friend and didn’t realise it was unregistered, and chose not to do the second test as it was a “waste of taxpayers’ money”.

After hearing the summary, magistrate Gerard Bryant told Pattison that, given his history of refusals and of drug-driving, the licence loss was “effectively going to operate like a suspended sentence”.

“If you were to drive during the period of disqualification, I think it’s highly likely you’ll get a jail sentence,” Mr Bryant said.

Pattison, who represented himself at the hearing, told the court his friend had assured him the van was unregistered, however Mr Bryant said that was the “least of his worries”.

Pattison said he had an issue with ice at the time, and had been grieving the loss of family members.

However, he was currently drug free – although the only evidence given to the court was his word.

Pattison told the court he was unmarried and currently unemployed, having closed an art studio, but wasn’t receiving any government benefits.

Mr Bryant asked Pattison “how would you live with yourself if you were involved in a collision (with ice in your system)?”

Mr Bryant convicted Pattison and cancelled his licence for five years, stating it would exceed the mandatory period of four years, because Pattison had “driven disqualified on multiple occasions”.

Pattison was also fined $800.

Originally published as Ashley Craig Pattison loses licence for five years after refusing drug test