A Campbell Town man who was high on ice when he drove onto the incorrect side of the Midland Highway and crashed into an oncoming vehicle will be penalised via a drug treatment order.
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Phillip James Standage, 34, pleaded guilty to a spate of crimes committed over the Christmas period last year including negligent driving, two counts of drive while disqualified, use a controlled drug, motor vehicle stealing, possession of stolen property and drug driving.
The court heard Standage was heading south in a black Ford Courier at 12.25pm on December 24.
A disqualified driver, he had used ice at 10am and was driving to Campbell Town to see his girlfriend.
"He was driving erratically and veering onto the wrong side of the Midland Highway when he collided with a VW Amarok travelling in the opposite direction near Epping Forest," a prosecutor said. Both vehicles were travelling at 110km/h.
Early on December 24 Standage travelled with an associate to Burnie. He was in a stolen car which had $1100 worth of stolen tools in the back. He was involved in a road rage incident which police attended.
The crimes breached the terms of Standage's parole upon which he was released on October 24, 2021.
Officers from the Court Mandated Drug Diversion program recommended against a drug treatment order for Standage which would enable him to avoid seven months' jail as long as he complied with the order.
He had previously failed on a similar order.
Magistrate Sharon Cure urged Standage to try and prove that the assessment by the officers was wrong.
She said the aim of drug court was to break the cycle of drug use and offending.
"If you don't break the cycle you will be incarcerated and released and a danger to the community," Ms Cure said.
She said that the negligent driving was a fine only offence notwithstanding the serious outcome.
Under the order he must not commit any offences and must provide his diversion officer with a list of the names of people who he thinks he should not associate with. He would also receive pharmacotherapy.
Standage was sentenced in 2018 to three years and three months jail for dangerous driving-a crime described by Justice Robert Pearce as a "frightening pursuit around the streets of Launceston".
Other charges included motor vehicle stealing, resist police, unlawfully injuring property, assault a police officer, drive whilst disqualified, burglary and stealing.
In February 2021 he was also jailed for seven months for further driving offences.
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Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
