Satch
MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2003
- Messages
- 3,508
- Location
- Surrey
- Car
- S211 E320Cdi Avantgarde Estate & Toyota Land Cruiser
'Aliens made me speed'
2 December 2004
Aliens, a vibrating surfboard and a desperate need for the toilet were all excuses offered by speeding motorists desperate to avoid three points on their licence, a speed camera organisation said today.
Staff at the Northumbria Safety Camera Partnership, responsible for many fixed speed cameras in the North East, often receive letters from drivers hoping to avoid the penalties.
Manager Ray King said: "Some drivers seem to think that if they tell a good enough story, then they will get off, which unfortunately rarely works.
But if there are genuine mitigating reasons, there is always the option of putting their case to a magistrate.
"It is quite amazing the lengths some drivers will go to to avoid £60 and three points, when really the alternative is extremely simple - keeping within the speed limit."
Everything from the wind behind the car to jets overhead and dying hamsters have been blamed by motorists, Mr King said.
"This is a light-hearted look at excuses for speeding, but it is a serious issue - we'd rather not be getting any letters at all because no one is breaking the speed limit and no one is receiving a ticket," he said.
The 10 most elaborate excuses given by drivers caught by speed cameras were:
I had passed out after seeing flashing lights in the distance, which I
believed to be UFOs. The flash of the camera brought me round from my trance.
I was in the airport's flight path, and I believe the camera was triggered by a jet overhead, not my car.
I had a severe bout of diarrhoea and had to speed to a public toilet.
There was a strong wind behind my car which pushed me over the limit.
My friend had just chopped his own fingers off, and I was rushing the digits to hospital.
The vibrations from the surfboard I had on the roof rack set off the camera.
I had to rush my dying hamster to the vets.
A violent sneeze caused a chain reaction where my foot pushed down harder on the accelerator.
There was a suspected case of foot and mouth and I had to rush to see the cow concerned.
The only way I could demonstrate that my clutch was faulty was to accelerate madly
2 December 2004
Aliens, a vibrating surfboard and a desperate need for the toilet were all excuses offered by speeding motorists desperate to avoid three points on their licence, a speed camera organisation said today.
Staff at the Northumbria Safety Camera Partnership, responsible for many fixed speed cameras in the North East, often receive letters from drivers hoping to avoid the penalties.
Manager Ray King said: "Some drivers seem to think that if they tell a good enough story, then they will get off, which unfortunately rarely works.
But if there are genuine mitigating reasons, there is always the option of putting their case to a magistrate.
"It is quite amazing the lengths some drivers will go to to avoid £60 and three points, when really the alternative is extremely simple - keeping within the speed limit."
Everything from the wind behind the car to jets overhead and dying hamsters have been blamed by motorists, Mr King said.
"This is a light-hearted look at excuses for speeding, but it is a serious issue - we'd rather not be getting any letters at all because no one is breaking the speed limit and no one is receiving a ticket," he said.
The 10 most elaborate excuses given by drivers caught by speed cameras were:
I had passed out after seeing flashing lights in the distance, which I
believed to be UFOs. The flash of the camera brought me round from my trance.
I was in the airport's flight path, and I believe the camera was triggered by a jet overhead, not my car.
I had a severe bout of diarrhoea and had to speed to a public toilet.
There was a strong wind behind my car which pushed me over the limit.
My friend had just chopped his own fingers off, and I was rushing the digits to hospital.
The vibrations from the surfboard I had on the roof rack set off the camera.
I had to rush my dying hamster to the vets.
A violent sneeze caused a chain reaction where my foot pushed down harder on the accelerator.
There was a suspected case of foot and mouth and I had to rush to see the cow concerned.
The only way I could demonstrate that my clutch was faulty was to accelerate madly