Charged with an alleged offence?

Dangerous driving is one of the most serious non-fatal Road Traffic Offences in the UK. If convicted, it will result in a minimum disqualification period of 12 months.

More serious cases of Dangerous Driving can also attract a prison sentence and forfeiture of your vehicle.

The offence of Dangerous Driving is covered under section 2 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The test applied by the courts is whether the standard of driving falls far below what would be expected of a reasonable and competent driver and thereafter whether it would be obvious to such a driver that the manner of driving is dangerous.

When considering whether someone’s driving may be deemed to be dangerous, it is important to note that even if the court is not satisfied that the alleged driving was dangerous, an alternative verdict of Careless Driving under section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 may be reached.

Clearly, a conviction for Dangerous Driving will have a significant impact upon many aspects of a driver’s life including family commitments, business, employment and reputation. So if you have been charged with Dangerous Driving, don’t delay in getting in touch.

Careless Driving is an offence that covers a very broad range of driving behaviours. These range from those which are very serious but fall just short of Dangerous to those momentary lapses in concentration that can happen to any one of us.

No accident need have occurred for a driver to be charged with such an offence.

What is careless driving?

Many factors will be taken into consideration by the courts when assessing the standard of driving. Some of the driving behaviours which the courts have regularly deemed to be careless are excessive speed, failure to carry out appropriate observations and a lack of concentration.

However, any single driving behaviour on its own is not necessarily careless and the court must consider the driving behaviours in context so circumstances such as the volume of vehicular or pedestrian traffic and the weather conditions are very important.

What could the penalties be?

If convicted of this the court has the discretion to impose a period of disqualification or as an alternative may impose 3-9 penalty points.

As you can see, penalties for this offence are wide-ranging and give the court a great deal of discretion. This is why it is important that you contact our Road Traffic Defence Lawyers to ensure that the damage to your driving licence is minimised

When considering a sentence following a conviction for Careless Driving, the court should apply a penalty that is relative to the level of carelessness demonstrated by the driver. However, with such a wide range of penalty points available, if outright disqualification is avoided, even the imposition of a reasonable number of penalty points can lead to a Totting Up disqualification of six months, if there are active penalty points on your driving licence.

There have been many occasions where the police and Procurator Fiscal Service have concluded that a driver is responsible for another’s death by either driving in a manner which is deemed to be dangerous or careless.

Should you find yourself accused of causing a death on the road, contact us immediately as the consequences are severe.

What are the offences of causing Death by Dangerous Driving or Careless Driving?

The offences of causing death by dangerous driving are covered under sections 1 and 2B of the Road Traffic Act 1988 respectively.

• The charge Death by Dangerous Driving carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years and minimum period of disqualification of two years. In addition to this, the driver must also pass an extended test of competency to drive before regaining a driving licence.
• Death by Careless Driving carries a maximum prison sentence of five years and usually disqualification.

We have however had cases where the matter has been dealt with by way of penalty points and financial penalty.

When your liberty, your job and your reputation are at stake – you need specialist Road Traffic Defence Lawyers that get results. Contact us now.

We understand better than anyone how much your driver’s licence means to you and that crippling feeling of despair that takes control of you when faced with a charge of Drink Driving.

Drink Driving is covered under section 5(1)(a) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 which provides that it is an offence if a person drives or attempts to drive a motor vehicle on a road or other public place after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in their breath, blood or urine exceeds the prescribed limit.

What are the legal limits?

Scotland now has the lowest drink drive limit in the UK, which means its far easier to fall foul of the limits here than anywhere else.

The prescribed alcohol limits in Scotland are now 22mg in 100 ml of breath, 50mg in 100ml of blood and 67mg of alcohol in 100ml of urine.

What are the penalties for drink driving?

• A mandatory period of disqualification of at least 12 months. This rises to three years if previously disqualified for a similar offence within 10 years.

• Seizure and forfeiture of your motor vehicle

• A significant monetary penalty
• Imprisonment

Other than the requirement to impose the minimum period of disqualification, the courts have a great deal of discretion when passing sentence.

So if you are convicted of Drink Driving it is essential that a bespoke and comprehensive plea in mitigation is given to the court to ensure that the court understands the circumstances and how this will impact on your life.

This is where the quality of your legal representation can make the difference.

What can RTD do for me?

Our specialist Road Traffic Offence Lawyers regularly persuade the courts to allow our clients to sit the Drink Driving Rehabilitation Scheme, which can reduce the period of disqualification and have never lost a motor vehicle to forfeiture by the Procurator Fiscal.

In addition, there may be a defence to this allegation!?  It is important that you contact a specialist Road Traffic Defence Lawyer as soon as possible to discuss whether any of these defences apply to your case.

The defences to Drink Driving are normally very complex and require the assistance of medical practitioners and/or expert toxicologists and could also rely on the accuracy of information i.e what you drank and when, so time could be of the essence.

If this is you or someone you know contact us now.

I’ve been arrested for being ‘Drunk In Charge of a Vehicle’ What do I do?

Being drunk in charge of a vehicle is a Road Traffic Offence in Scotland. It is a common misconception that it is perfectly legal to be seated within or to sleep in a motor vehicle whilst under the influence of alcohol as long as the car is not moving. This is not the case and such actions will normally result in you being charged with being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle. This could result in the loss of your driving licence, your job and your livelihood.

So, if you are arrested for being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle get a free consultation from our expert Road Traffic Defence Lawyers now.

What are the penalties for being ‘Drunk in charge of a vehicle’?

The charge of being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle is covered under section 5(1)(b) of the Road Traffic Act which provides that it is an offence if someone is in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath, blood or urine exceeds the prescribed limit.

The penalties for this offence include:

• Discretionary disqualification

OR

• 10 penalty points

What can RTD do for me?

This is normally a very easy case for the Procurator Fiscal to prove as the court will generally take the view that if a driver is within the vehicle then they are in de facto control of it.

However, a very specific defence of there being no likelihood of driving exists in relation to this offence which, if prepared by and presented by Road Traffic Defence solicitors,  could save your driving licence.

Section 5(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provides that It is a defence if, at the time a person is alleged to have committed the offence, the circumstances were such that there was no likelihood of their driving the vehicle whilst the proportion of alcohol in his breath, blood or urine remained likely to exceed the prescribed limit.

Many aspects of the circumstances of your case will be considered by the court when considering this defence such as your position within the vehicle, the location of the keys, whether the engine was running etc.

However, what is critical is what your plans were and, if you intended to drive at some future point, when this would be.

The level of alcohol would have had to have been below the prescribed limit for your defence to be successful.

Road traffic Defence have access to the country’s best toxicologists who can provide an expert report to assist with your case and will use their expert knowledge of the relevant case law in your fight for your driving licence.

With such serious penalties available to the court for being drunk in charge of a vehicle, even avoiding a discretionary disqualification could result in a Totting Up disqualification for anyone with points on their driving licence.

Speeding is probably the most common charges road users face today. 

As speeding is a factor in almost all accidents reported, even if it may not be the cause, so it is inevitable that significant attention is paid by the police in attempting to prevent it.

Despite what many believe, speeding cases can be readily challenged and our expert team of Road Traffic Defence Solicitors prove this on an almost weekly basis in courts all over the land.

What is considered speeding?

Speeding is a specific offence under section 89 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 which provides that a person who drives a motor vehicle on a road at a speed exceeding a limit imposed shall be guilty of an offence.

What are the penalties for speeding?

The penalties for speeding in Scotland include:

• Disqualification from driving
• A monetary penalty
• 3-6 penalty points

If convicted and your points are endorsed on your licence, it may be the case that your licence is at risk via the Totting Up procedure.

It is therefore essential that you seek legal advice before you accept a fixed penalty or tender any plea in court.

The offence of Driving without Insurance is set out in section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. It requires every person who uses, or causes and permits another person to use, a motor vehicle on a road or other public place to have a policy of insurance in place in respect of third party risks.

Penalties could include:

• Disqualification from driving
• 6-8 penalty points
• Monetary penalty
• Vehicle impounded

If you have been stopped by the police or charged with Driving without Insurance, we recommend that you contact our expert team at Road Traffic Defence at the earliest opportunity.

You may have a defence to this allegation or have a Special Reason as to why this has happened. This is why seeking good advice quickly is so important. Our highly experienced team of Road Traffic Defence Solicitors specialise in such cases and have an enviable record of ensuring our clients avoid the penalty points.

Your obligations to stop and/or report an accident can be found under section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988:

• The driver must stop and, if required to do so by any person having reasonable grounds for so requiring, give his name and address and also the name and address of the owner of the vehicle and its registration mark;
• If for any reason the driver of the vehicle does not give his name and address, he must report the accident;
• To comply with the duty to report an accident under this section, the driver must do so at a police station or to a constable and must do so as soon as is reasonably practicable and, in any case, within 24 hours of the occurrence of the accident.

What could be the penalties if I’m convicted?

If you are convicted of any of these offences you could be facing:

• Disqualification from driving
• 5-10 penalty points
• Up to six months imprisonment

You may, however, have a defence. Seeking early legal advice from a Road Traffic Defence specialist is highly advisable.

Driving or obtaining a driving licence while subject to a period of disqualification is treated extremely seriously by the courts in Scotland.

A conviction for Driving while Disqualified puts you at real risk of a prison sentence as well as a lengthy period of disqualification, not to mention significant financial penalties.

What are the penalties for this offence?

This offence is covered by section 103 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and provides that it is an offence to obtain a driving licence or drive whilst subject to a period of disqualification.

Penalties for Driving while Disqualified can include:

• Up to 12 months imprisonment (if prosecuted on indictment)
• Up to six months imprisonment (if prosecuted summarily)
• A monetary penalty of up to £5,000
• Discretionary additional period of disqualification
• Up to six points endorsed on your licence

What should I do?

If you have been charged with Driving while Disqualified or obtaining a driving licence while you are disqualified from doing so, we strongly advise that you contact an expert solicitor here at Road Traffic Defence

While there may be significant mitigating circumstances in your particular case, the importance of having specialist legal representation cannot be underestimated.

If you do not have a statable defence then we can use our expertise and knowledge of the Law to prepare a bespoke plea in mitigation to present to the court on your behalf so that they deal with your case as leniently as possible.