Dangerous Driving Charge Fort William

Our client received court papers for a charge of dangerous driving in Fort William Sheriff Court. The Crown alleged that our client had (i) driven a lorry on public roads with an excessively wide load without the correct paperwork, authorisation or Police escort, (ii) driven on roads that were not part of the proposed route that were unsuitably narrow for the size of the load causing it to extend over the centre of the carriageway and encroach into the path of oncoming motor vehicles, (iii) repeatedly drive in the face of oncoming traffic causing other drivers to take evasive action to avoid colliding with the load, (iv) cause a driver to take evasive action to avoid colliding with the loads whereby the motor vehicle left the roadway and fell into a ditch and, (v) did fail to stop or respond to said road traffic incident.

The regulations governing the transportation of wide loads is complex however it was clear, having reviewed the case, that the issues complained of were minor and de minimis in nature. The only part of the charge which mattered therefore was the evasive action within the libel. A plea was agreed with the Crown to the lesser charge of careless driving and our client received a penalty point endorsement.  The original charge would have brought about a moratorium on our client’s licence for at least 12 months so he was understandably very relieved following the disposal of the case on 10 September 2018.