Tall stories used to escape speeding tickets

By Matt Brogan | January 20th, 2009

New figures released today show hundreds of New South Wales drivers have blamed strangers, relatives, dead people and even former judge Marcus Einfeld for their speeding tickets in a desperate bid to avoid fines and keep their licenses.

One woman blamed her relatives for 158 offences while another man blamed his dead father.

The figures, obtained from the State Debt Recovery Office, reveal 626 drivers, who had lodged a combined 2871 driver nominations blaming others for their fines, were investigated.

A spokesman for the Office of State Revenue said investigators believed they were suspect because the person they nominated disputed having driven the car, the nominated driver was unlicensed, held a foreign licence or was dead, or the same driver was nominated repeatedly by others. They also checked if the person trying to avoid the fine had done so previously.

Of those 626 drivers, 131 admitted they had falsely nominated someone else for their offence when advised they were being investigated by the SDRO, which has set up a dedicated unit to investigate the fraud. A total of 28 people were referred to police for prosecution and more matters remained under investigation.

The spokesman said while the fraudsters comprised only a small proportion of the total of 305,000 driver nominations processed last year for demerit point offences, they were still a concern.

False nominations achieved intense media attention from 2006 when former judge Marcus Einfeld nominated a dead US professor, Theresa Brennan, for driving his car which attracted a speeding fine. He recently pleaded guilty to making a false statement under oath and acting to pervert the course of justice and now faces a possible jail term.

If you’ve heard a good tall story we look forward to hearing about it – leave a comment and go in to the running for a $50 fuel card.

Source: Daily Telegraph

nick

I’m worried that ive lost my licence. last wednesday i was travaling throught the eastern distributor and was over-taking a motorcyclist who was travaling at 70. I was using the cruise control and hit accel on the cruise control. I guess i held the button to long because when i looked at the speedo i was just under 90. I slammed on the breaks and looked up to see a small red light blip on the upper tunnel wall.

If i get a fine in court ill challenge it. P-Plater speeding offences are automatic suspension. I would have asked my father to take the points but after 30 years of no speeding fines he got caught twice in Queensland and only has 6 points left. I couldnt make that 3. However i know of dozens of parents who have had to cop points for their kids due to the instant licence suspension policy and parents who don’t want to be turned back into taxi’s.

Not to change the topic, but the state government really has to evaluate the p-plater restrictions and look at the effectiveness of the ever increasing restrictions. If your givin p-plates because your still progressing as a driver, taking a p-platers licence after one mistake seems counter intuitive.
realcars

Yeah know what u mean.

Getting nicked as I have for 10 or 15 ks over the limit in a 100/110 zone is ridiculous but then again I suppose they have to draw a line somewhere.
realcars

My 19 year old son sticks to the limit religiously for the reason mentioned and for his trouble he gets tailgated and abused by other p platers as well as black license holders who should know better.

Too many idiots on the road that don’t have the right attitude or in some cases mental capacity to drive safely.
Alex II

Why not use the old “I’m running late for an appointment excuse”? It works for the Newcastle police when they are travelling to Sydney !!
Bavarian Missile (.)(.)

Reminds me of a joke ……………

” A police officer attempts to stop a car for speeding and the guy gradually increases his speed until he’s topping 100 mph. He eventually realizes he can’t escape and finally pulls over.

The cop approaches the car and says, “It’s been a long day and my tour is almost over, so if you can give me a good excuse for your behavior, I’ll let you go.”

The guy thinks for a few seconds and then says, “My wife ran away with a cop about a week ago. I thought you might be that officer trying to give her back!”
Flying High

Never ceases to annoy me the ridiculous logic which dictates that the police, in the process of pulling over a ‘speeding’ driver, need to accelerate to a speed in excess of the alleged ‘speeding’ driver and thereby well in excess of the posted limit, in order to catch up to the allegedly driver.

If so, the driver of the police vehicle has exceeded the posted limit and should therefore be charged with a speeding offence.

And if there is no such thing as ‘safe speeding’ then the police car should not exceed the limit

And if the driver of the police vehicle has received ‘training’ which allows him to ‘speed’ then anyone who has this training should be afforded the same courtesy.

Speeding laws are a farce.
EXPi

Flying High – you are forgetting the sirens and red&blue lights; although they are speeding, they have other ‘safety measures’ to ensure their speed is not dangerous and other drivers are aware of their “speeding prescence”

Would you want the ambulance that you might end up in one day, be driving at the fixed limits?

Or how about when your house is getting robbed or on fire? Wouldnt you want the police or fire truck(s) to get to your place ASAP?

Let’s use a bit of common sense.
Twilight

im a learner driver (only for 2 more weeks!!!) and i got done speeding in the city!

limit changed from 60 to 50 and all those bloody stupid fig trees where blocking the speed signs (it was also 12:30am) and this bright flash went at me…

stupid, cut down the trees!
Flying High

EXPi you are completely missing the point.

R u saying that if I add flashing lights and sirens to my car to alert other drivers to my presence it is OK to ‘speed’.

I have no problem with (necessarily) with an ambulance screaming thru the streets at break neck speed (they dont), but by your logic, almost every young blokes car in Cabramatta in Western Sydney should be OK, because flashing lights and sirens are tne norm. Sometimes you can replace the sirens with a doof doof stereo, but it certainly alerts other drivers to their presence so amounts to the same thing.

Your logic does not hold water I am afraid
JC

you serious flying high? are you one of those people who think that there should be no high-speed pursuits at all?

i love it how these sorts of discussions always turn into an opportunity to bash the cops. i’m sorry, but if you’ve been busted over the speed limit, it serves you right. particularly in nsw, where legislation forces the rta/police/whoever to have 3 warning signs before any fixed speed camera. if you don’t notice those 3 huge white signs, then that’s too bad. victoria’s another matter, but even then blame the govt, not the cops.

i’m not a cop, i’ve never copped a speeding ticket and i don’t sit at 10km/h below the limit either.

and don’t get me started on those morons who try to intimidate you to move over by sitting an inch off the back of your car. those people deserve to be shot.
Reckless1

Haha, was travelling across Springvale road on Ferntree Gully road today and just dawdling along in the middle lane, when this Vito Police response vehicle passed me in the right lane, then dodged in front of me in the 60 zone, and proceeded to pull over a Mazda in the left lane. Damn near ran up his clacker as I looked down to check my speed at 62k.

I reckon he was aiming to get me but I didn’t speed – haha.

Nick in the first post – you’re a twit – “duh, I just kept hitting the increase speed button on my cruise and I have no idea how come I was speeding as a result” – wake up son, 90 is 90 and you should be done for speeding and stupidness, and arrogance for expecting to get let off on a challenge. And a huge slap for even thinking of using your Dad to get out of it.
EXPi

Flying High,

Sorry, but you are missing the point. There is a difference between emergency sirens &lights, and a doof doof stereo &neon lights – stop exaggerating!

No, I am not saying it is ‘ok’ to speed if you have flashing lights. But you are saying that cops should not speed because they’re the danger, and should be charged for speeding – let’s not generalise about cops and make it seem like that every cop out there is out there to get speeding drivers.

And no, I am not a cop (nor do I know anyone who is a cop) and I have had speeding fines – I don’t blame anyone but myself. Like JC said, you should be glad if you’re in Sydney where you get a warning about cameras – down here in Vic, the only warning you get is if the guy infront of you (if there is anyone) gets flashed and you see the reflection on his rear boot.
nick

reckles1, I didn’t hold down accel, I pressed it twice which in past instances had increased my speed by around 10km/h. I find it unreasonable that you believe i should loose my licence for making one mistake. A fully licenced driver is given 12 demerit points-or-4 similar “offences” before they have their licence suspended. I’m still new at this, how can I become a better driver if I’m not allowed to make mistakes.
Hmm…

Nick;

the way i see it is, its similar to a job – someone who’s been working for say 5 years, gets paid more than someone who’s been working for say 1 year – why? because more experience = better at your job, more skill, less mistakes, etc.

Similar to /meritdemerit points – you’re starting off, so you get ‘paid’ less by having a lower amount of merit points to lose compared to an experienced driver.
Reckless1

Nick, don’t know what car you are driving, but there is no cruise control on any car I know of that increases speed by 10kph on a single “tap up” – the normal speed for a tap is approx 2kph.

Even if in the past each tap gave you an extra 5kph (again I don’t believe this), you should have known that this time two taps would have you speeding regardless of the sudden new double calibration.

I think you should lose your license for your poor spelling too – I counted 19 spelling errors in your first post, and 4 in the second. That’s far and away above typing errors which we all make. The misuse of loose when lose is the correct word has become an epidemic.

You seem to confuse your statements as well – in your first post, you say “I guess i held the button to long” (spot the two spelling mistakes in this short sentence) and in your second post you tapped it twice. If you front up in court, you really need to keep your story straight or the magistrate will react like I have and dismiss your explanation. That would happen in any case, since your offense is statutory.

If you know dozens of kids whose parents have taken their points, it indicates your friends/acquaintances are all speeding routinely, and you think that it’s OK to do that too.

Hopefully you will learn from this, and fortunately no-one has been injured by your lack of experience this time.
Andrew M

Reckless,
some systems do have an “acc” button. by the sounds of what nick is saying its the aftermarket fitment kind.

I know in mine if you hold the “+” button down for 3 seconds or whatever, it jumps in 10kmh increments versus the normal 1kmh increments.

Nick,
its still your duty to ensure you dont exceed the limit. cruise control isnt an excuse for not using the speedometer.
I say dont use the cruise control. Im actually guessing you were only using it because the novelty hadnt worn off yet.
You should only be using it on the HWY’s, and only switching it on once you reach your cruising speed.

Parents shouldnt be taking points for their kids.
its actually in the parents best interest to teach their children to be accountable for their actions.
Andrew M

Oh yes, heres another joke about avoiding a fine……

A guy gets pulled over for an RBT.
Once the driver blows in the device, the officer informs him that he has exceeded the legal limit.
The driver answers in disbelief telling the officer that it surely can not be correct, and suggesting that the device must be broken.

He then asks the officer to try it on his wife in the passenger seat, and sure enough, the officer also records a reading on his wife.

The driver once again answers in disbelief trying to explain to the officer that he felt the device was not working properly. To further prove his point, the driver asks the officer to try it on his children in the back seat.
Once he tested the 2 children in the back seat, the officer then turns to the driver with a puzzled look and say, “you must be right, i recorded a reading on both of your children, it MUST be a faulty device, Im sorry to have troubled you sir, have a nice day”.

just after the driver had pulled out from the kerb he turns to his wife and says “see honey, I told you its a not a bad idea to give the kids a drink every now and then”
nick

reckles1, my spelling, for lack of bieng able to spell a better word, sucks. I fail to see what that has to do with my use of the cruise control. (sidenote: i’m in my senior year now, i get straight A’s and my school has predicted a UAI of 95 for me)

At the time i was driving a 2008 Honda Accord. It has an “acc” button, and i’m not sure what i did, but it put me over. I was watching the speed limit and breaked as soon as i noticed. Unfortunately i feel it was too late. I’ll pay the fine, cop the demerit points no worries. It’s the suspension i disagree with.

And a general question: How long do the fines take to arrive?
Plutonus

If you’ve got a predicted UAI of 95, would have though you would be smart enough not to go 90km/h in a 70 zone

Doesn’t matter whether it was the cruise control or not, you are in control of the vehicle (or should be) at all times, so you can’t pass the blame unfortunately.
Glen

Its a bit crap that you can lose your license after 1 mistake. Its not hard to make a mistake especially in traffic and are inexperienced. Such as concentrating on the road and your surroundings (as you bloody well should) instead of staring at the speedo.

Our driver training should be similar to the Finnish where they are takin out on skid pans and taught how a car feels in different situations. And taught how to handle that particular situation. Instead of progressivly reducing speed limits in the name of “road safety”

Nick you should be pinged for being 20 over the limit but you shouldnt lose your license for it.
Cupid Stunt

And another joke or was it: -
The police officer got out of his car as the kid who was stopped for speeding rolled down his window. ‘I’ve been waiting for you all day,’ the officer said. The kid replied, Yeah, well I got here as fast as I could.’
When the cop finally stopped laughing, he sent the kid on his way without a ticket.
Zorro

Flying High

Police ought to be able to pursue offenders, apart from that you are right on the money with your comments. If “trained” police officers can drive safely at those speeds, why isn’t this training made available to all drivers? Given that the reduction of the road toll is such a priority for the Government, it’s criminal to withold this level of training.

EXPi

Lights and sirens do not alter the laws of physics.
Reckless1

Back in my days at school, a student who couldn’t spell would never get a pass in English, so could never be considered a “Straight A” (abhorrent Americanism) student.

If you admit you can’t spell but do nothing about it, that doesn’t make sense to me. I mean, lose and loose, brake and break, how bl00dy hard can it be?
AGM

The issue of speeding over safe driving really, really gets on my nerves. In my opinion the focus should be on improving safe behaviour via mandatory training for drivers, in a number of different conditions, to ensure they can handle a car (including at speed) and do it safely. But hey, speeding fines are a great income stream for our governments, so who am I to argue?

But I digress – the best excuse I ever heard was from a friend of a family member, used a number of years ago. She was pulled over by a police car and asked what her excuse was for her excessive speed. She explained she had food poisioning, was stricken with explosive diarrhea and was urgently trying to find a public toilet. She got let off with a warning…

**disclaimer – I don’t think this one would work anymore…this was back in the 80s when police were still allowed to use some discretion. I doubt it’d work if fighting a speed camera fine…
nick

i was only over by 10km/h and 5km/h when i saw the light go off because i had already braked.

Reckless1, in the current HSC marking criteria, spelling doesnt even account for for 1 out of 20 avalible marks. It’s not a focus of the education system and as a result the amount of students able to spell has decreased.
ADN

Nick – What you did with the speeding was wrong and you totally deserve to be pinged for it, it’s your job to control the speed of the car and it isn’t the fault of the cruise control. I agree with your principle argument though that one mistake (unless serious like you hit someone) should not result in a loss of your license. We should have one chance (in theory, I’m a Learner Driver in NSW sitting my P’s test in a couple of weeks BTW). Also, spelling correctly in the exams is a major difference between a Band 4 and a Band 6, maybe Band 5/Band 6 if your ideas are really good even if you can’t spell (which seems unlikely, all the best English students at my school can spell well, as well as being good at the course).

Ordinary people should not receive the special training police do because they the police lose their advantage. They need it to be able to catch criminals etc. No I’m not a cop nor know any cops. Actually I do, and he’s a tool, so the one cop I know I dislike. But it’s needed. And obviously ambulances & fire fighters need to be able to speed in emergencies.

Reckless1, stop being such a douche. If spelling isn’t somebody’s highest priority so what? Lay off. This is some internet comment leaving option and you are sad enough to actually count the number of mistakes he makes? His posts still make sense (in terms of reading them, even though his story changes). Your pedantry over his spelling either shows you are unintelligent yourself for not working out the meaning (or just very old), or it just reveals of how much of a [insert insult here, not sure this site will let me] you are.