Jake Fawkner in Bairnsdale Magistrates’ Court for drug and unlicensed driving

A methed-up man driving without a licence tried pulling the wool over the eyes of nearby police by swapping seats with his passenger to avoid being busted.

Jake Fawkner faced the Bairnsdale Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

An unlicensed methed-up driver’s plan to swap seats with his passenger to avoid police detection has backfired, with highway officers seeing right through his sham.

Jake Fawkner, 44, fronted the Bairnsdale Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to failing an oral fluid test and unlicensed driving.

The court heard the unlicensed Fawkner had driven along Bairnsdale-Dargo Rd in Lindenow with a mate when he spotted police and — in a panic — swapped seats with his passenger to avoid being busted in case they were pulled over.

Seeing this all unfold police pulled over the pair, with Fawkner initially denying driving the car before ultimately coming clean.

Fawkner was roadside drug tested and returned a positive result for methamphetamine in October last year.

Fawkner underwent two oral fluid tests which returned positive for methamphetamine.

The vehicle was impounded for 30 days at a cost of more than $600.

In an interview with police, Fawkner said he didn’t know how the drug “got in there (his system)” and the reason for driving without a licence was that he was “just testing” the vehicle.

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The court heard Fawkner knew it was a “poor decision” to test drive the car and had a problematic use of drugs in the past.

Magistrate Alanna Duffy fined Fawkner $600 with conviction and disqualified him from driving for six months.