Useless Traffic Ticket Defenses

This article might also be titled, “Silly excuses people give me for speeding tickets,” or “Why it’s OK for me to speed but not for anyone else.”

I hear these things almost on a daily basis, and I get it.  When you’re caught being even a little naughty, it’s human nature to rationalize, or to explain how our own particular situation was different so we should be judged differently.

With speeding tickets, sometimes you do have a valid excuse:  I’ve seen tickets dismissed for a woman in labor.  That’s legit.  And most of the time the DA isn’t heartless.  If you’re already going to pay a penalty (like being in an accident and having your insurance rates go up) there’s often little point in hitting you with a criminal conviction, too. So yes, there are reasons why your ticket might get tossed.  But the following are not, under any circumstances, valid reasons for speeding:

“I was going with the flow of traffic.”  OK.  That just means you were all speeding.  You’re just pissed the cop pulled you over and not everyone.  You were still speeding.

“I have to pee.”  So do I.  But I ain’t tryna kill anyone else to do it.

“But this other guy was going faster!”  Maybe true, but if you were speeding, you were speeding.

“I was just speeding so I could pass this truck.”  What’s the fourth word in that sentence?

“But this guy was on my tail!” Look, I’ve been here, too.  Just get out of his way and hope he gets pulled.  Don’t let a knucklehead decide how you drive.

Call me for advice on your ticket.  I’m happy to help.  Just please try to avoid giving me one of these excuses.