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UK: Speed Camera Tickets Woman on Way to Restroom

Court more than doubles the fine against a woman who drove 9 MPH over the limit on an empty road to reach a restroom.

UK resident Diana Stevens, 67, was accused of driving 49 MPH in a 40 zone on her way to the restroom on August 12. A speed camera had photographed her as she sped past on the A27 in East Sussex. On Monday, Stevens asked Lewes Magistrates' Court to consider the circumstances and not assess the standard three penalty points against her flawless driving record.

Leaving a dinner in her Toyota that August night, Stevens soon knew she was in trouble. "I realised that I needed to use the loo and when you get to my age you think about it a bit more," she told the court, according to the Press Association account. "I might not have slowed down even if I had seen the speed sign because I was desperately in a hurry and there was no traffic around."

The extra speed allowed Stevens to arrive home just in time. Magistrates, however, saw no excuse for driving 9 MPH over the limit on a completely empty road. They imposed all three license demerit points and more than doubled the standard fine to £160 (US $300).

Source: I NEEDED THE LOO SAID PENSIONER CAUGHT SPEEDING (Press Association (UK), 5/8/2006)

The Highway Code may say that drivers should never exceed the speed limit, but says Mr Miller, "the rules are not set in stone".

"If an emergency is involved, a court might accept that there was a special reason for speeding."

Footballer David Beckham escaped losing his licence when he convinced a court he was only speeding to escape a pursuing photographer who was driving dangerously.

Such "special reasons" for breaking traffic laws can include even the most unlikely emergencies. Beckham's boss at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, was cleared of a traffic offence by explaining that severe diarrhoea and the need to reach a toilet prompted his driving on a motorway hard shoulder.

"Diarrhoea is a good example of what a court might accept as a special reason for speeding, though not if you were going at 110mph," say Mr Miller.