The New Zealand Police has revealed some of the worst excuses its Highway Patrol officers have ever heard from Kiwi drivers for exceeding the speed limit.
Whether it’s embarrassment or carelessness, motorists will try their very best to get out of copping a fine.
For Northland officer Anne-Marie Fitchett, some of the reasons she’s heard are “too funny not to share”.
By far the most entertaining came from a driver who told Police they were “vegan and had to use the toilet” because they ate too many berries.
However, some excuses aren’t quite as elaborate, with another road user saying they wanted to overtake a truck and trailer in front of them.
Police have also heard the good old “I was running out of fuel” too many times, a somewhat counterintuitive excuse considering they’d be using more petrol by driving more quickly.
“There’s nothing funny about attending a death on our roads,” says Fitchett.
“Every opportunity we can take to reduce speeds, even by a fraction, has the potential to make a huge difference to safety on our roads.
“In a crash, even when you’re not at fault, speed remains the single biggest factor in whether you and your passengers walk away or are carried away.”
As New Zealanders take to the road for their holidays this summer, it’s important to be considerate, keep your cool, and overtake where you can do so safely without exceeding the speed limit.
For other drivers, if there’s a queue of cars behind you, pull over where it’s safe and let them by. That’s of course if you bother to use your rear view mirrors and look to see if anyone’s there. Should you do so and someone is on your tail, that’s even more of a clue that you’re holding things up. Be considerate and pull over to let them pass, along with the rest of the motorists you might not realise you’re holding up. Even if you think you’re driving at a ‘safe speed’, it is always safer to have no vehicle in your rear view mirror.
