A motoring conviction in Clackmannanshire rarely stops at a fine. Penalty points, a disqualification and a sharply higher insurance premium tend to follow, and in a county where Alloa, Tullibody and the Hillfoots villages are stitched together by the A907 and A91 rather than by frequent public transport, losing a licence usually means losing the means of getting to work. Charles Ferguson Solicitors defend road traffic charges throughout Clackmannanshire and the wider Forth Valley from our Edinburgh office at 14 Albany Street, EH1 3QB. We act quickly, because the strongest motoring defences rest on evidence and procedural detail that is easiest to secure early.
Alloa Sheriff Court — Road Traffic Cases
Road traffic prosecutions arising in Clackmannanshire call at Alloa Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court, 47 Drysdale Street, Alloa FK10 1JA, in the Sheriffdom of Tayside, Central and Fife. The Justice of the Peace Court deals with the bulk of summary motoring business — speeding, careless driving, insurance and licence offences — while the Sheriff Court takes drink driving, dangerous driving and matters prosecuted on indictment. The most serious cases, including causing death by dangerous driving, are prosecuted in the High Court of Justiciary. We appear in each of these courts and prepare motoring cases with the same rigour we would apply to any serious criminal charge.
Motoring Offences We Defend in Alloa
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 who would be under the limit south of the border are regularly charged here. We test the calibration and reliability of Intoximeter readings, the procedure followed at the police station, and, where the facts support it, the hip flask defence. Dangerous Driving — conviction brings disqualification of at least 12 months and a compulsory extended retest; we examine whether the driving genuinely meets the statutory test or amounts only to careless driving. Careless Driving — usually a question of degree, and one worth arguing properly. Speeding — the A91 through the Hillfoots, the A907 towards Clackmannan and the A977 towards Kincardine all attract enforcement; we check device calibration and whether a Notice of Intended Prosecution was served within 14 days. Totting Up and Exceptional Hardship — at 12 or more penalty points the court must disqualify for at least 6 months unless exceptional hardship is proved, and those applications need evidence rather than assertion. 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.