UK Dad Given Speeding Ticket During Rush to Hospital
By Danell Swim
April 29, 2008
A DAD has blasted the legal system after he was caught speeding as his wife was giving birth in the passenger seat.
Martin Walton, 36, was rushing his wife Wendy to hospital when he triggered a camera at 5am on an empty road.
The IT programme manager was going at 37mph in a 30mph zone with his screaming partner in the passenger seat.
The couple’s daughter Katie was delivered shortly after they arrived at the maternity unit.
Martin went to court in the hope he could explain the situation to magistrates.
But he was astonished when, he claims, the clerk of the court advised them the only option was to dish out penalty points.
He insisted his case be heard and a date was arranged eight months after the offence for his mitigation to be heard.
Following a short hearing magistrates took just minutes to decide there were special circumstances.
They handed him an absolute discharge, which means he will not get penalty points.
The case is thought to have cost taxpayers thousands of pounds. Martin also had to pay for his own lawyer. After the hearing he described the episode as a “fantastic waste of time and money”
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Poor guy! There should be a better way to navigate the court systems, but it seems to be nothing more than B.S and more B.S. - no matter where you live.