Johnstone sits between the M8 and the A737, minutes from Glasgow Airport and from the industrial and distribution sites at Linwood and Hillington. That location is the town's advantage and, when a motoring charge arrives, its problem: an unusually high proportion of people here drive for a living. A disqualification does not just cost you the school run — it can cost the licence your income depends on. Charles Ferguson Solicitors defend motoring charges throughout Renfrewshire from our Glasgow office at 20-23 Woodside Place, G3 7QL. Speak to us before you decide how to plead, on 0141 345 5735.
Paisley Sheriff Court — Road Traffic Cases
Motoring prosecutions arising in Johnstone 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. Paisley is a busy court, and motoring cases there benefit from being prepared rather than simply attended.
Motoring Offences We Defend in Johnstone
Drink Driving and Drug Driving — Scotland's limit of 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood is the lowest in the United Kingdom, and it catches a great many drivers the morning after. We examine Intoximeter calibration and maintenance records, the procedure followed at the police station, and whether the hip flask defence is available on the facts. Dangerous Driving — conviction carries disqualification for at least 12 months and a compulsory extended retest, so whether the driving was dangerous or merely careless is very often the decisive question. Careless Driving — a matter of degree, and frequently the correct charge where the Crown has pitched it too high. Speeding — the A737 through and past the town, the A761, the A8 corridor and the M8 are all routinely 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 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.
Driving for a Living in Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire has one of the larger concentrations of professional drivers in the west of Scotland, and Johnstone sits in the middle of it. Glasgow Airport supports a substantial taxi and private hire trade, and for those drivers a motoring conviction can put the operator's licence at risk as well as the entitlement — a licensing problem running alongside the criminal one. The distribution and logistics sites at Linwood, Hillington and along the M8 depend on drivers holding clean vocational licences, where a disqualification also brings a Traffic Commissioner referral. Trades working across Renfrewshire and into Glasgow cannot operate without a van. Where a ban would end your income, the court needs to be shown exactly how, with contracts, rotas and figures. Call 0141 345 5735 and ask about Legal Aid.
Areas Served Across Renfrewshire
We act for drivers charged anywhere in Renfrewshire, including Johnstone, Elderslie, Linwood, Brookfield, Milliken Park, Kilbarchan, Bridge of Weir, Howwood, Lochwinnoch, Kilmacolm, Paisley, Renfrew and Erskine. Charges commonly arise on the A737, the A761, the A760, the A8 and the M8. Call 0141 345 5735.