In the recent GCN article, “Man nabbed doing 226km/h on N3 highway”, a 33-year-old man claimed that he was speeding to avoid being late for an appointment with his mother-in-law.
Though his excuse seems unbelievable it made me think of what other excuses are used to avoid speeding fines or in worse cases arrest.
In my personal experience, friends have made up stories of forgetting their wallet (and therefore licence) at home as they were in rush to leave the house and get somewhere important, when in fact, their learner’s licence happened to be in the glove compartment of the car.
After posting a question on Facebook and Twitter, here are some more excuses:
- Wife is in labour.
- Late for my wedding.
- Late for a funeral.
- Alarm is going off at my house.
- Sick child.
- Family member in hospital.
- Family member involved in an accident.
- Late for appointment with my personal trainer.
- Late for work.
- Speedometer is broken, so I didn’t know I was going so fast.
- Military emergency, used by soldiers in uniform.
Sandor Oroszi shared his experience explaining, “I was heading home after college.
“I was speeding, having a cigarette and talking on my phone, making plans for the night, when I was stopped by the police.
“I told the cops I was late for my evening job and got off without paying a R2 000 fine.”
Another Facebook user, who wishes to remain anonymous, explained how she got out of paying the full amount on her fine, “If you take the fine/fines to the traffic department and give them a story about not having money they will reduce them for you.
“I had R2 500 worth of fines and I only paid R400 after they reduced them.”
Have you ever used an excuse to get out of paying a fine?
Do you think it is right to avoid paying the fine/fines for something you have done?
Join the conversation at @GCNnews, using the hashtag #fineexcuses.
