Linlithgow sits within a few minutes of the M9 and within half an hour of both Glasgow and Edinburgh, which is precisely why so many people here drive for a living or drive to reach one. It is also why motoring charges accumulate: a town positioned between two motorways generates a steady flow of speeding, careless driving and drink driving cases. The fine is rarely the problem. Penalty points, a rising premium and a disqualification that removes the commute are. Charles Ferguson Solicitors defend motoring charges throughout West Lothian from our Glasgow office at 20-23 Woodside Place, G3 7QL. Call 0141 345 5735.
Livingston Sheriff Court — Road Traffic Cases
Motoring prosecutions arising in Linlithgow are not heard in the town. Linlithgow Sheriff Court closed in August 2009 and West Lothian's business transferred to Livingston Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court at the West Lothian Civic Centre, Howden South Road, Livingston EH54 6FF, in the Sheriffdom of Lothian and Borders. 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.
Motoring Offences We Defend in West Lothian
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 following morning rather than the night before. 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 whole case. Careless Driving — a question of degree, and one worth arguing properly. Speeding — the M9 and its junctions, the M8 to the south, the A803, the A904 and the A706 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.
Commuting, Contracting and What a Ban Removes
West Lothian is one of the most car-dependent parts of the central belt, and its working population is spread wide. Linlithgow itself has a good rail service to both cities, but the villages around it do not, and the shift patterns at the Grangemouth complex, the Livingston industrial and distribution estates and the M8 corridor logistics sites begin and end when nothing is running. Trades and contracting businesses across the county cannot operate without a van and, in many cases, towing entitlement. Where a driver holds a vocational licence, a disqualification brings a Traffic Commissioner problem alongside the court outcome. All of that has to be evidenced properly for an exceptional hardship application — timetables, rotas, contracts and figures. Call 0141 345 5735 and ask about Legal Aid.
Areas Served Across West Lothian
We act for drivers charged anywhere in West Lothian, including Linlithgow, Linlithgow Bridge, Philpstoun, Winchburgh, Broxburn, Uphall, Bathgate, Armadale, Whitburn, Blackburn, Livingston, East Calder, Mid Calder, West Calder, Torphichen and Blackness. Charges commonly arise on the M9, the M8, the A803, the A904, the A706 and the A801. Call 0141 345 5735.