Dad furious at fine for speeding while driving his child to A&E. Should his fine have been lifted?
HelenMFM
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Hello
We've been reading about Paul Moran, a dad from Cornwall, who's furious that police are refusing to waive his speeding fine – after a speed camera caught him driving at 53mph in a 40mph zone while he was rushing his 5-year-old son to hospital.
Paul told his local newspaper that his son Connor had fallen and hit his head at a birthday party. He'd taken Connor to a local community hospital to be checked over and had been given the all-clear – but told to take Connor to A&E if they noticed any signs of deterioration in his condition.
Very soon after getting home, Paul says it became obvious that Connor wasn't well. He began to feel sick and complain of a headache (possible signs of a more serious head injury), so the family decided to take him to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro.
"Connor was being sick in the car and we were incredibly concerned," Paul says. "As we passed the speed camera leading up to the hospital, it flashed. I was breaking the speed limit but doing what any parent would do, and I would do exactly the same if the same situation arises again."
Luckily, Connor made a full recovery. But when Paul received his speeding penalty notice and he tried to explain what had happened, the police wouldn't cancel the penalty.
A police spokesperson said: "Only trained drivers from the emergency services have exemptions under the Road Traffic Act. Driving over the speed limit whilst distracted, or distressed, puts the driver and passengers at risk. Mr Moran has been offered a speed awareness course, as an alternative to a fixed penalty and licence points, which will highlight these dangers."
What do you think of this? Do you think the police were right not to cancel the penalty, as Paul did break the law, after all? Or do you think that, in the circumstances – rushing a sick child to hospital – there should be a bit more leniency?
Please let us know your views by adding a posting to this discussion thread. We'd love to know what you think.
Replies
I think the police were right to keep the fine in place. Yes any parent would be worried and want to get their child to hospital as soon as possible but does that give the dad the right to potentially endanger other people? Emergency vehicles have other ways of notifying pedestrians and road users that they are coming at speed, lights and sirens, but an average car coming that fast above the speed limit have no other way and could potentially cause a serious accident. Speed limits are put in place for a reason and nobody should be above the law for any reason.