Few places in Scotland punish the loss of a licence as heavily as Perthshire. Outside Perth itself the county is villages, farms and long single-carriageway roads, and public transport between them is thin to non-existent. A disqualification does not simply make life inconvenient here; it can end a job, a business or the ability to care for a relative twenty miles away. Charles Ferguson Solicitors defend motoring charges across Perth and Kinross from our Glasgow office at 20-23 Woodside Place, G3 7QL. Whether the charge came from a roadside stop on the A85 or an average speed camera on the A9, it deserves proper scrutiny before you plead.
Perth Sheriff Court — Road Traffic Cases
Motoring prosecutions arising in Perth and Kinross are heard at Perth Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court, Sheriff Court House, Tay Street, Perth PH2 8NL, in the Sheriffdom of Tayside, Central and Fife. The Justice of the Peace Court handles the bulk of routine summary motoring business — speeding, careless driving, insurance and licence offences — while drink driving, dangerous driving and cases taken on indictment call before a sheriff. Where a collision has resulted in a death, the charge of causing death by dangerous driving is prosecuted in the High Court of Justiciary. We appear in each of these courts.
Motoring Offences We Defend in Perth
Drink Driving and Drug Driving — Scotland's limit of 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood is the lowest in the United Kingdom, and a driver well under the English limit can still be convicted here. We scrutinise Intoximeter calibration and maintenance, station procedure, and whether the hip flask defence applies. Dangerous Driving — conviction brings at least a 12-month disqualification and a compulsory extended retest; the distinction between dangerous and careless driving is often the whole argument. Careless Driving — frequently a matter of degree, particularly in single-vehicle rural collisions. Speeding — the A9 is covered by average speed cameras along its length north of Dunblane, and the A90, A85, A93 and A94 are all regularly enforced; we check device 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 genuine risk of custody.
Why a Licence Matters in Perthshire
Perthshire runs on driving. Farms and estates depend on tractor, quad and 4x4 use and on staff who can get to remote ground at short notice. Forestry, plant hire and agricultural contracting need HGV and towing entitlement. The distilleries, hotels and visitor attractions from Crieff up to Pitlochry employ people who finish shifts long after the last bus, and Perth's office employers draw staff from villages with no rail link at all. Health and social care workers cover rounds across the county in their own cars. When we prepare an exceptional hardship application we set that reality out in specific terms — distances, rotas, wages, the people who would be affected — because generalities do not persuade a court. Call 0141 345 5735 at any hour and ask about Legal Aid.
Areas Served Across Perth and Kinross
We act for drivers charged anywhere in Perth and Kinross, including Perth, Scone, Bridge of Earn, Abernethy, Errol, Methven, Almondbank, Crieff, Comrie, Auchterarder, Blairgowrie, Coupar Angus, Dunkeld, Birnam, Pitlochry, Aberfeldy, Kinross and Milnathort. Charges commonly arise on the A9, the A90, the M90, the A85, the A93, the A94 and the A977. Call 0141 345 5735.