Case Report: Speeding, Stirling Sheriff & JP Court
September 23, 2019 News
Our client, Mr M, was charged with speeding at 44 mph in a 30 mph zone in Stirlingshire and was cited to attend Stirling Sheriff & Justice of the Peace Court. It was alleged that whilst travelling through a village, on the outskirts of Stirling, that he failed to reduce his speed having come from a higher speed limit.
Mr M originally contacted our office after being given a speeding ticket or what is otherwise known as a conditional offer of fixed penalty. He took advantage of a free consultation with our specialist road traffic lawyer, Mr Sheridan, and explained that he was at odds to explain why he had been stopped for speeding as he was absolutely adamant that he had reduced his speed to 30 mph just prior to entering the 30pmh zone. He confirmed that he had tried to explain this to the police officers but they wouldn’t listen to him.
A very frustrated Mr M could only speculate that either the speed detection device used by the police was not working accurately or they had detected the speed of the vehicle in front of him, which had reduced it’s speed shortly after entering the 30 mph zone, and had mistakenly stopped the wrong driver. In the circumstances Mr M was advised not to accept the speeding ticket and await a court citation.
Once he had received his court citation for speeding Mr M again contacted our expert road traffic lawyer who took care of everything. A plea of not guilty was submitted and our road traffic lawyer obtained a copy of the evidence from the Procurator Fiscal.
A thorough investigation into the case was then undertaken by our specialist road traffic lawyer who checked the calibration of the speed detection device and what accuracy checks had been carried out by police. He also, carried out a thorough assessment of the locus, assessing the presence of speed limit signage and the location of police officers during their speed detection duties.
The conclusion of the investigations in Mr M’s case was such that there were some concerns that the speed detection device may have been unreliable or that it may well have picked up another vehicle as Mr M had suggested and so the case proceeded to trial.
The trial proceeded at Stirling Sheriff and Justice of the Peace Court and our expert road traffic lawyer presented an extremely robust defence to the speeding charge concluding with a complex but strong legal submission. Following consideration of our road traffic lawyer’s legal submissions Mr M was found not guilty.
This was a fantastic outcome for Mr M who was understandably delighted.
If you have received a speeding ticket or have been charged with a road traffic offence call us immediately for a free consultation with our road traffic lawyer on 0141 465 3333