Driving instructor suspected of being high arrested mid-lesson
Instructor released under investigation while officers await the results of a blood test.
A 17-year-old student had their driving lesson cut short after the instructor was arrested on suspicion of impaired driving.
Police made the arrest in England after being tipped off, reports The Telegraph. Once they located the instructor, he tested positive for cannabis in a roadside screening test mid-lesson.
In a Facebook post, Thames Valley Police report that the instructor was released under investigation while officers await the results of a blood test.
“However, due to the profession that he is in, all necessary authorities will be notified as we have a duty of care to safeguard those involved,” they added.
The Telegraph reports that U.K. instructors typically face at least a four-year ban if they receive an impaired driving conviction.
Shockingly, this is far from the first time a driving instructor has been nabbed for being impaired behind the wheel.
In 2018, a U.K. instructor was arrested after failing a roadside test for cocaine while giving a lesson, reports The Telegraph. In 2015, still in the U.K., both the driving student and instructor were detained after the student tested positive for drugs while the instructor was found to be four times over the legal limit.
It’s not just an occurrence in the U.K., either. A New York driving instructor was arrested mid-lesson in 2018 on suspicion of driving under the influence after his students turned him in, reports Yahoo.
Four students in the vehicle reportedly urged the instructor to stop at McDonald’s and then called 911. The instructor fled the scene and rear-ended another vehicle before being taken into custody.
Last April, a Florida-based driving instructor was charged after he was caught with a blood-alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit in Florida, reports Fox 13.
The instructor was driving the student vehicle, but was alone at the time, save for an open case of Natural Light beer in the back seat.
Police initiated the stop after observing the vehicle drifting between lanes. The instructor, who had slurred speech and bloodshot eyes, reportedly handed over a credit card when asked for his driver’s licence. He was later booked into the Pasco County Jail.
