The Mechelen police court declared a young Dutch man unfit to drive after he appeared in court and admitted he still used drugs.[1] He had been stopped in a WODCA traffic operation earlier in the year and tested positive for drugs.[1] He had been driving home from a visit to a cousin and in statements after the test said he smoked cannabis every three days.[1] Because he lives in the Netherlands he had to pay a fine immediately, but he was also summoned to court.[1]

The prosecutor asked him directly whether he still used drugs, and after he said yes argued that only a declaration of unfitness to drive could be imposed.[1] He was told he had to hand in his driving licence immediately and could only ask for it back once he had shown six months without drug use.[1] He said he had already received a substantial fine and had been without his licence for two weeks, and the court heard that he works in the Netherlands as a traffic marshal.[1]

The court fined him 1,600 euros, half of it suspended, and gave him a driving ban of 45 days.[1] The judge also applied article 42 on fitness to drive, telling him he would have to show he no longer used drugs before he could drive in Belgium again.[1] The court gave its judgment immediately at the hearing.[1]