The M77 put Glasgow within half an hour of Kilmarnock, and a great many people here now make that journey twice a day. Fast dual carriageway at either end of a commute is a reliable source of speeding cases, while the rural roads on the other side of the town — the A71 up the Irvine Valley, the A76 towards Dumfries — produce the overtaking that becomes a careless or dangerous driving charge. The fine is rarely what matters. Penalty points, the premium that follows and a disqualification that removes the commute are. Charles Ferguson Solicitors defend motoring charges across East Ayrshire from our Glasgow office at 20-23 Woodside Place, G3 7QL. Call 0141 345 5735.
Kilmarnock Sheriff Court — Road Traffic Cases
Motoring prosecutions arising in Kilmarnock are dealt with at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court, Sheriff Court House, St Marnock Street, Kilmarnock KA1 1ED, in the Sheriffdom of North Strathclyde. Routine summary 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. Kilmarnock is among the busiest courts in Scotland and its motoring rolls move accordingly, which is a reason to arrive prepared rather than to hope for time.
Motoring Offences We Defend in Kilmarnock
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 drivers who would be well inside the limit south of the border. 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 frequently the entire case; on the A76 and the A71 that argument usually turns on a single overtaking manoeuvre. Careless Driving — a question of degree, and often the correct charge. Speeding — the M77 and A77, the A71, the A76 and the A735 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.
The Glasgow Commute and the Irvine Valley
Two quite different licence problems arrive at this court. The first belongs to the commuter — someone living in Kilmarnock, Stewarton or Fenwick and working in Glasgow, for whom a ban makes the journey unworkable rather than merely longer. The second belongs to the Irvine Valley and the old mining towns further east, Galston, Newmilns, Darvel, Auchinleck, Cumnock and Muirkirk, where public transport is thin and the work is somewhere else entirely. Add the shift patterns at Crosshouse, which start well before any bus, and the van and HGV drivers running the A76 to the south-west, and exceptional hardship becomes a question of evidence rather than sympathy: rotas, contracts, timetables and figures. Call 0141 345 5735 and ask about Legal Aid.
Areas Served Across East Ayrshire
We act for drivers charged anywhere in East Ayrshire, including Kilmarnock, Crosshouse, Hurlford, Kilmaurs, Fenwick, Stewarton, Dunlop, Galston, Newmilns, Darvel, Mauchline, Catrine, Auchinleck, Cumnock, New Cumnock, Ochiltree and Muirkirk, together with Irvine, Kilwinning and Troon. Charges commonly arise on the M77, the A77, the A71, the A76 and the A735. Call 0141 345 5735.