Speeding 87mph In A 50mph Limit A75 Dumfries

Our client was caught on camera allegedly travelling at 87mph in a 50mph limit. The CCTV that was released to our office seemed to show that the device - the LTI 20:20 - was not being used in the correct manner. By that we mean that it was not being used in accordance with either the manufacturer's guidelines nor the ACPO Guidelines (as adopted by Police Scotland). In particular, it seemed that the device was being trained upon a non-reflective surface, the tyre. This would lead to an inaccurate reading being produced that the Court should not rely upon in a criminal trial.

Our suspicions were confirmed when we asked a former road traffic police officer (and qualified LTI Instructor) to view the footage. His independent opinion was precisely the same as ours and he was cited to attend Court in order to give expert evidence on behalf of the defence.

We went to trial and challenged robustly the evidence of the LTI 20:20 operator by cross-examination and by leading expert witness evidence from our qualified LTI instructor.

At the end of the case, despite our best efforts and somewhat in the face of the evidence captured on the CCTV, our client was convicted of the offence. We thereafter made submissions that he should not be disqualified from driving and that the matter could be dealt with by the imposition of penalty points. The Justice of the Peace quite rightly agreed and imposed the maximum number of penalty points - 6 - for a relatively high speed along with a financial penalty. 

This case was well-prepared, well argued and caused the Justice of the Peace to leave the bench for half an hour to consider the evidence before returning with a guilty verdict. Our client's wish from the outset was to retain his ability to drive as his job depended upon it. 

Whilst we can never guarantee the outcome of any case, we can absolutely guarantee that no stone will be left unturned in our attempts to secure the best outcome in every case.

This case was dealt with by Dumfries Justice of the Peace Court on 15th November 2017.