Speeding is called a “strict liability offence”.
Strict liability means, that once the police and prosecution have made out that the driver was speeding, then the defendant is liable and responsible for the speed.
When fighting a speeding ticket, an explanation of why you were speeding will not get the Justice to cancel the ticket.
There are only two reasons the court will forgive a driver for a speeding ticket;
- Speeding to rush someone to the hospital to save their life when an ambulance or the assistance of the police was unavailable, or
- Speeding to get away from a real imminent threat to life. For example, someone is trying to hurt the driver and they were trying to get away. The driver had to be driving towards the assistance, e.g. driving as fast as they could to the police station or an area of safety.
Speeding up to avoid traffic, a hazard, or possible accident is not a valid reason for speeding.