Moment lorry driver swerves on motorway before he's found to be nearly five times the drink driving limit

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Dashcam footage shows a lorry driver, who police say had previously consumed half a bottle of vodka, swerving on the motorway - before he was found to be nearly five times the drink driving limit.

Police said Dainius Juodis was driving a heavy goods vehicle on the A23 south of Crawley at about 1am on January 11, and initially failed to stop for officers who had activated blue lights.

Police said he eventually stopped, after four miles, in the live lane of the M23 where he was arrested. Police added that Juodis had previously consumed half a bottle of vodka.

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A Sussex Police spokesperson said: “Juodis, 50, formerly of Grafton Road, Worcester Park, Surrey, was charged with driving over the legal alcohol limit.

“At Crawley Magistrates’ Court on January 13 he admitted the charge, and was jailed for three months. He was further disqualified from driving for five years. The court was told that Juodis had similar previous convictions for drink driving.”

Police said Officers from the Tactical Firearms Unit (TFU) were on a routine patrol on January 11 when they noticed a lorry swerving on the carriageway north of Pease Pottage. They said Juodis gave a positive breath test, and later gave a higher reading when taken to custody.

The legal alcohol limit is 35 microgrammes (uhg) of alcohol per 100 millilitres (ml) of breath. Police revealed that, in custody, Juodis tested positive for 172uhg of alcohol per 100ml of breath.

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TFU Inspector Mark Robinson said: “This was a shocking incident, with a lorry driver found nearly five times over the legal alcohol limit.

“TFU officers had to contend with keeping the public safe while a large vehicle was failing to stop, which posed a high risk to other road users as well as to the safety of the officers. Juodis eventually stopped in a live lane of the motorway, which required our officers to close four lanes of the carriageway in order to safely arrest him. By the manner of his driving, Juodis is incredibly lucky not to have caused serious harm or a fatality on our roads.

“The incident shows our officers’ determination to catch offenders and demonstrates the professionalism of our firearms officers, who are highly trained in a variety of duties above and beyond armed response.”

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