In Aberdeen a motoring conviction can cost considerably more than the fine and the points. The North East economy runs on people who drive to work at unsociable hours — offshore crews making early check-in at the Dyce heliport, shift workers at the harbour and the industrial estates, contractors covering sites from Peterhead to Deeside — and many hold employment where a disqualification is a contractual problem as much as a practical one. Charles Ferguson Solicitors defend motoring charges throughout Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire from our Glasgow office at 20-23 Woodside Place, G3 7QL. Call 0141 345 5735 before you plead to anything.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court — Road Traffic Cases
Motoring prosecutions from Aberdeen are heard at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court, Castle Street, Aberdeen AB10 1WP, within the Sheriffdom of Grampian, Highland and Islands. Routine summary motoring business — speeding, careless driving, insurance and licence offences — is generally dealt with in the Justice of the Peace Court, while drink driving, dangerous driving and cases prosecuted on indictment call before a sheriff in one of the courthouse's seven courtrooms. Where a collision has caused a death, the charge of causing death by dangerous driving is prosecuted in the High Court of Justiciary. We appear across all of these courts.
Motoring Offences We Defend in Aberdeen
Drink Driving and Drug Driving — Scotland's limit of 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood is the lowest in the United Kingdom, and drivers coming off a late shift or heading to an early start are regularly caught by it. We examine Intoximeter calibration and maintenance records, the procedure followed at the station, and whether the hip flask defence is open on the facts. Dangerous Driving — conviction carries disqualification for at least 12 months and a compulsory extended retest, so the boundary with careless driving is frequently the decisive issue. Careless Driving — a matter of degree that is worth arguing rather than conceding. Speeding — the A90 both north and south of the city, the A96 towards Inverurie, the A944, the A93 Deeside road and the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route are all enforced; we check device type approval and calibration and whether a Notice of Intended Prosecution was served within 14 days. Totting Up and Exceptional Hardship — at 12 penalty points disqualification for at least 6 months is mandatory unless exceptional hardship is proved on evidence. Driving Without Insurance — 6 to 8 penalty points or discretionary disqualification. Mobile Phone Offences — 6 penalty points. Driving While Disqualified — a charge carrying a real risk of custody.
Licences, Rotations and Employment in the North East
The offshore workforce is the clearest example of why an Aberdeen disqualification bites hard. Rotations start with a drive to Dyce at an hour when nothing else is running, and crews travelling in from Aberdeenshire, Moray and further afield have no realistic alternative. Onshore, HGV and plant operators serving the harbour and the energy supply chain depend on vocational entitlement, and a disqualification triggers a separate Traffic Commissioner problem on top of the court outcome. Agricultural contractors and estate staff across Aberdeenshire cannot work without towing entitlement, and health and care staff cover rounds across long rural distances. We build exceptional hardship applications on that specific material — rota patterns, distances, contract terms and the people who would be affected — because courts are rightly sceptical of generalities. Ask us about Legal Aid when you call.
Areas Served Across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire
We act for drivers charged anywhere in Aberdeen and the surrounding district, including the city centre, Torry, Kincorth, Cove Bay, Mannofield, Cults, Bieldside, Peterculter, Milltimber, Dyce, Bucksburn, Bridge of Don, Danestone, Northfield and Mastrick, together with Westhill, Portlethen, Banchory, Inverurie and Ellon. Charges commonly arise on the A90, the A96, the A93, the A944, the A947 and the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route. Call 0141 345 5735.