Diabetic and caught speeding?

Question

I am diabetic type 1 and was flashed by a speed camera doing around 65 in a 50 zone as I needed to get some sugar quickly, ie rushing to find a gas station. Has anyone ever given this as mitigating circumstances when the dreaded letter comes through? If so, was your situation received sympathetically? TIA

Answer 1

you dont have to pay those tickets, if they wont give you a court date to fight the ticket,according to the law you dont have to pay it.just ignore it, they will send you reminders,but after 4 or 5 months you will never here from them again.in this country you are innocent till proven guilty.but if you are going to make an excuse just say an ambulance was coming up from behind and you were speeding up so you could change lanes to get out of the way.

Answer 2

It's a bad excuse. Stand up and accept your ticket.

Answer 3

I'm sure that if you were to explain your situation you may have a sympathetic ear.  

Answer 4

Hi

ON NO ACCOUNT DO THIS!

You will be banned for three years as you are driving whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The simple fact is that you are a diabetic and there is absolutely no way that you can get away with this using that as an excuse. It is technically illegal to drive with a blood sugar under 5mg/mmol in the UK and I guess in the US too.

If you really want to try to beat the rap then try the "Corroborating Evidence" tack.

In the UK the officer must have corroborating evidence to prove the offence. That means if he sees you and it appears in his professional judgement that you are exceeding the speed limit them he uses the camera to flash you thus he corroborates his evidence which is his professional judgement.

In the same way if the camera takes your picture then the evidence is based upon you triggering the mechanism which fires the camera system. The simple fact then is corroborated by the lines in the road and the distance you pass between them determines your speed.

There are one or two tricks that may help you to get around this though.

First was the incident at night? If it was ask for a photographic evidence shot, usually this does not show the face of the person who was driving then if several people drive the car regularly it can be argued that it wasn't you and that the individual who was driving cannot be identified. This will only stop you getting points on your licence SOMETIMES and also means you may need to go to court as the magistrate will want to hear the case and may act more severely as you "wasted court time".

It can be argued though that as you may not have been driving it is an unfair penalty to penalise you by fining you as the owner of the vehicle and to place punitive points on your licence as well when their is a strong possibility that you were not driving at the time. If you can gain a legitimate alibi for the time of the offence as well then this will add weight to your case but don't hold your breath this loophole was closed in the UK last year not sure about the US.

If however the system that got you, is a handheld radar/laser device then there is PLENTY of evidence to suggest that if you argue that in your opinion as a regular careful driver who has never exceeded the speed limit before and never ever been done for any other offence that you were not exceeding the speed limit and the device held was perhaps not calibrated properly. This is an actual ongoing defence as many people have been pulled by road side moveable checks and proved to be incorrectly calibrated and indeed can some times be used incorrectly. The court can ask to see the calibration details for that day and also to check the last time the operator was checked for competency so if they were checked say two years before they may have become lax in their approach.

If the camera or device is tilted or moved whilst being fired it can give false readings.

In the long run though it's better to learn your lesson and move on and pay up.

The points will go after a while so nothing to serious unless you get pulled again

Good luck

Answer 5

be careful cos even if you think they are understanding they may just use it against you..... the thing is that is not only you the one who is in danger but everyone around you....

Answer 6

They'll throw the book at you.  If you needed sugar you shouln't have driven - it's a threat to you and threat to other people.  Don't even try it - it'll look worse for you in the long run.  And if you're diabetic you should have sugar at hand for emergencies.  I know you know this, but they'll just say the same thing.  Accept you punishment and mumble an apology.

Answer 7

as far as i know driving when hypoglycemic is treated as a DUI so if you admit you were low you're essentially admitting to DUI so i don't know where they can go from there but i wouldn't risk it.

have a sugary drink in your car at all times.

ps even if you're pulled over treating a hypo, if you're sitting in the drivers seat and the keys are in ignition, you can still be done for DUI

actually I'm in ireland so i dint know what the US laws are like....but wouldn't take the chance

pay up!  

Answer 8

I'm no doctor or lawyer, but I wouldn't try it.  If you claim that you needed to get some sugar quickly or else you may lapse into a diabetic coma, they may just pull your license on medical grounds.  If I was you, I'd pay the fine, and either manage my sugar and insulin levels better, or consider not driving any more.

Answer 9

you might think this is great medical excuse; but you know what they will tell you; if you're diabetic you should prepare yourself with some kind of candy or  any snack; put it in your purse or your packet , this way you're not breaking the law.

i would say you better face the consequences of your actions.

Answer 10

The judge will say that you poor judgement was caused by your apparent diabetic hypoglycemia.

If you say you were coming from home to find sugar. the judge will through the book at you!  Given the number of alternative sources for sugars (breads, crackers, jellies, table sugar, etc) the judge would probably fine you for being so stupid.

If you own a cell phone, the judge would probably also fine you for not pulling over, stopping, and calling 911 for emergency assistence.

Depending on the neighborhood, the judge might also fine you for not stopping at a fast  food joint for a coke.

Finally, the judge might cut you some slack, and insist that you MUST carry an "emergency supply" of hard candies with you at all times, in the car.  He could further stipulate that if you are ever stopped and found to be without the candies, that the effects of this ticket would be added onto the second ticket, and you could be jailed.

In practice, the ONLY time the legal system accepts excuses like this is if you're on the way to the hiospital to have a baby.  And you'd better show up in court with the baby and a dated birth certificate!

Your best bet is to take your punishment like an adult, and plan ahead (keep those candies in the car) for the next time.

Answer 11

15 mph woudn't have made a significant difference in the time for a short drive.

You'll lose.