Marcel Geurens: Brickie mate’s drug tip ends in big driving ban

A so-called pal advised his grieving mate to smoke ice to relieve stress. It did not end well for the veteran Mt Waverley brickie and grandfather.

A grandfather tradie caught driving while high on ice twice took the drug because his mate said it would help him deal with his grief of losing loved ones.

A tradie caught driving while high on ice twice in 14 months says he only took the drug because his mate said it would help him deal with his grief of losing loved ones.

Marcel Geurens first tried methamphetamine in an effort to try and cope with the deaths of his father and nephew after an acquaintance said he should give it a go.

The 53-year-old grandfather of one was then busted drug-driving and got given a six-month ban.

But the Mt Waverley bricklayer, who has spent his whole working life in the same trade, relapsed — just once, he says — a year after and got pinged iced-up behind the wheel again.

Geurens pleaded guilty to failing an oral fluid test at the online Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

The court heard he was pulled over by police for a routine check on Chandler Rd, Noble Park just after noon on July 1 last year.

He failed the drug test for ice, telling cops he had “no excuse” for driving while affected by an illegal substance.

Geurens had been caught drug-driving in April the year before and issued with a six-month roadside ban.

His defence lawyer said his client, who had no traffic history before the 2019 incident, had struggled to deal with his father and his nephew dying unexpectedly within the space of a few weeks.

It was then that his mate suggested he try taking ice “as a coping mechanism”, which he did, but was then caught drug-driving.

He said Geurens didn’t take it again until 14 months after when he “felt overwhelmed and overloaded” with stress and had ice once more.

It was then that he was caught a second time, an act for which his lawyer said he was extremely remorseful for.

Since that day he had not touched drugs and had done an education course and sought support for his underlying mental health issues.

The court heard his colleagues have said they will help him through his mandatory licence loss by picking him up from home and driving work vehicles on his behalf.

Magistrate Andrew Halse said Geurens was old enough and should have been wise enough to know better.

“You have not got the benefit of youth, in fact you have the burden of years of experience (on the road),” Mr Halse said.

“Your maturity should have told you what you were doing was wrong and dangerous.

“It is fundamentally clear you didn’t learn any lessons from your first time off the road.”

Geurens was disqualified from driving for 14 months — two months longer than the mandatory minimum ban — and fined $1000.

No conviction was recorded.