Case Report: Careless Driving, Glasgow Sheriff & JP Court
November 18, 2019 News
A successful outcome for one of our clients is all the Monday motivation we need at Sheridan Road Traffic Law and this result has given us exactly that! Our client, Miss Q, was delighted after our specialist road traffic lawyer, Robert Sheridan, had a charge of careless driving against her dismissed.
Miss Q came to our office for a free legal consultation with our expert road traffic lawyer after receiving a conditional offer of fixed penalty. The police had accused her of careless driving in Glasgow insofar as they claimed that she had failed to give way at a junction, had accelerated harshly and at excessive speed as well as driving too close to a vehicle in front of her. The conditional offer of fixed penalty offered her 3 penalty points and a £100 fine which, if accepted, would have brought an end to the matter.
Our client was unsure what to do with the fixed penalty. She strongly refuted the careless driving charge and felt that the police had targeted her due to the type of car she drove and because she was part of a car enthusiast group that met locally. However, she was initially sceptical about her chances of successfully challenging the evidence of two experienced police officers and thought that it might simply be easier just to accept the fixed penalty.
Our specialist road traffic lawyer was quick to explain to her that with the right specialist legal advice and representation she had a very good chance of successfully challenging the case against her and that the court would not accept a plea of guilty out of convenience.
Following a lengthy discussion about the circumstances of the case with our road traffic lawyer we are pleased to say that Miss Q had the courage to stand by her principals not to accept responsibility for something she hadn’t done and decided to challenge the careless driving charge.
After receiving her citation for court, our road traffic lawyer pled not guilty on Miss Q’s behalf and thereafter carried out a thorough and comprehensive investigation into the case. In particular, a detailed assessment of the location of the alleged careless driving offence was crucial in eventually securing a successful outcome. By mapping out the location, measuring particular distances covered by both our client and the police and capturing images of the view that would have been afforded to both we were able to build a very strong defence to the careless driving charge.
Having fully prepared the case for trial at the Glasgow Sheriff and Justice of the Peace Court, our road traffic expert approached the Procurator Fiscal and following lengthy and complex discussions over the evidence in the case he was successful in persuading the Procurator Fiscal that it was not in the public interest to proceed with the prosecution and the case was dismissed.
Our client, Miss Q, was delighted with the outcome and happy to have kept her driving licence clean and, in turn, keep her insurance premium down all without having to go through the trial process.
It just goes to show that if you are accused of a road traffic offence and you dispute it then you shouldn’t simply accept a punishment for something you haven’t done and, even if you are guilty, there are more options available than you may have thought possible.
If you have been charged with a road traffic offence then make sure you get the specialist legal advice and representation that will fight your corner. Call us now for a free consultation, we’re available 24/7 on 0141 465 3333.
