Brian Joseph Strachan pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention

Living out of his ute following a break-up, a meth user nearly smashed into a prime mover when he fell asleep while driving on the Bruce Highway. It wasn’t his only dangerous driving decision.

Brian Joseph Strachan pleaded guilty to one count of driving unlicensed, driving while disqualified, driving without due care and attention and drug driving when he faced Maryborough Magistrates Court this week.

Left homeless after his 17-year relationship fell apart, a man was busted drug driving twice and had a narrow miss with a truck when he crashed after he fell asleep driving on the Bruce Highway.

Brian Joseph Strachan pleaded guilty in Maryborough Magistrates Court his week to one count of driving unlicensed, failing to appear, driving while disqualified, driving without due care and attention and drug driving.

The court heard on February 6, 2024, Strachan was involved in a two-vehicle crash on the Bruce Highway near Maryborough.

Police attended the scene where a prime mover and trailer and Strachan’s black ute had been involved in the crash.

Witnesses told police the ute was travelling north and had veered drastically into the southbound lane and glanced down the side of the large truck.

Strachan told the officers he was in the middle of moving house and had fallen asleep at the wheel before he was woken by the sudden impact, the court heard.

Checks showed Strachan’s licensed was expired at the time.

A blood sample was taken and meth was detected in Strachan’s system, the court heard.

Then, on February 17, police were called out to a disturbance where Strachan was seen taking items out of the back of a ute.

He told police he had driven to the location.

Checks showed his license had been disqualified.

The court heard in a separate incident, Strachan had again been caught by police driving while disqualified and drug driving when meth was again detected in his system during a roadside test.

Duty lawyer Morgan Harris said the underlying issue around the offending was the breakdown of his client’s 17-year relationship, which had “just fallen apart”.

“He was unable to work at the time and unfortunately everything spiralled for him,” Mr Harris said.

Strachan had been living out of his car and had turned to meth, he said, and “as such everything took a turn for the worst for him”.

He said his client had gone from a hardworking man who had worked his whole life to a man living out of his car.

He also said Strachan was now clean of drugs and his new partner was pregnant.

Magistrate John Milburn said he accepted Strachan had been through a difficult time, but it was important that the court impose a penalty that dissuaded further offending.

Strachan was disqualified from driving for three months for the first drug driving offence, two years for the disqualified driving offence, two years for the second disqualified driving offence and six months for the second drug driving offence and fined a total of $2400.

Convictions were recorded.

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