Almost everyone in Erskine drives, and most of them drive out of the town to do anything at all. The bridge carries traffic north to Dumbarton and the A82, the M8 runs east to Glasgow and west to the airport and Greenock, and the local bus network was never designed to substitute for either. Lose a licence here and the practical consequences arrive immediately. Charles Ferguson Solicitors defend motoring charges throughout Renfrewshire from our Glasgow office at 20-23 Woodside Place, G3 7QL. Call 0141 345 5735 before you decide how to plead.
Paisley Sheriff Court — Road Traffic Cases
Motoring prosecutions arising in Erskine are heard at Paisley Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court, St James Street, Paisley PA3 2HW, in the Sheriffdom of North Strathclyde. Routine summary motoring business — speeding, careless driving, insurance and licence offences — is generally taken in the Justice of the Peace Court, while drink driving, dangerous driving and cases prosecuted on indictment call before a sheriff. 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 and prepare motoring cases properly rather than simply turning up to them.
Motoring Offences We Defend in Erskine
Drink Driving and Drug Driving — Scotland's limit of 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood is the lowest in the United Kingdom, and morning-after charges are the single most common way people fall foul of it. We examine Intoximeter calibration and maintenance records, the procedure followed at the police station, and whether the hip flask defence is open on the facts. Dangerous Driving — conviction brings disqualification for at least 12 months and a compulsory extended retest, so whether the driving was dangerous or merely careless is very often where the case is decided. Careless Driving — a question of degree worth testing. Speeding — the M8 through Renfrewshire, the M898 and A898 across the Erskine Bridge, the A8 and the A726 are all routinely enforced, and the bridge approaches in particular catch drivers out; 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 the court must disqualify for at least 6 months 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.
A Town That Runs on the Car
Erskine was laid out for driving and it has never had much alternative. There is no railway station in the town; the bridge is the only direct route north across the Clyde for miles in either direction; and the employment its residents rely on is scattered across Glasgow Airport, the Inchinnan and Hillington business parks, the retail sites at Braehead and further afield along the M8. Shift workers, airport staff, delivery drivers, trades running vans and carers covering rounds out to Bishopton and Langbank are all in the same position: no licence, no job. Where that applies to you, the court needs it evidenced — journey times, rotas, contract terms and figures — rather than described in general terms. Call 0141 345 5735 and ask about Legal Aid.
Areas Served Across Renfrewshire
We act for drivers charged anywhere in Renfrewshire, including Erskine, Bishopton, Dargavel, Inchinnan, Langbank, Renfrew, Braehead, Paisley, Linwood, Johnstone, Bridge of Weir and Kilmacolm. Charges commonly arise on the M8, the M898 and A898 Erskine Bridge, the A8 and the A726. Call 0141 345 5735.