Stranraer Sheriff Court — Road Traffic Cases
Motoring prosecutions arising in Wigtownshire are heard at Stranraer Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court, Sheriff Clerk's Office, Lewis Street, Stranraer DG9 7AA, in the Sheriffdom of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway. 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. Given the volume of freight moving through this district, the court sees a steady stream of professional-driver cases.
Motoring Offences We Defend in Wigtownshire
Drink Driving and Drug Driving — Scotland's limit of 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood is the lowest in the United Kingdom, and in a rural district where any social occasion involves a drive, morning-after charges are common. We examine Intoximeter calibration and maintenance, the station procedure, and whether the hip flask defence applies. Dangerous Driving — conviction brings disqualification for at least 12 months and a compulsory extended retest; on the long single-carriageway stretches of the A75 and A77, overtaking allegations frequently turn on whether the driving was dangerous or merely careless. Careless Driving — a question of degree, and often the right outcome where the Crown has overcharged. Speeding — the A75 between Newton Stewart and the ferry terminals, the A77 north towards Ballantrae, and the A714 and A716 are all 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.
Freight, Farming and the Cost of a Ban
The A75 and A77 are the main freight corridors between Northern Ireland and the rest of Britain, and the haulage running through Cairnryan supports a great deal of local employment. For a driver holding a vocational entitlement, a disqualification means a Traffic Commissioner problem as well as a court outcome, and the two need to be thought about together from the start. Beyond haulage, Wigtownshire is dairy and beef country: farm staff and agricultural contractors need towing entitlement to work at all, and relief milkers and vets cover long distances between holdings at unsociable hours. Community nursing and care rounds across the Rhins and Machars simply cannot be done without a car. Where a ban would end your income, the court needs that put to it in evidence — contracts, rotas, mileage and figures.