Police to cancel speeding ticket of man rushing home to wife in labor
Police are prepared to annul the ticket given to a man who drove over the speed limit when rushing home to his wife, who was in labor at the time, chief of the North Prefecture of the Police and Border Guard Board Kristian Jaani said.
According to information available to BNS, when rushing to his wife, who was giving birth at home, the father, Rain, on January 7 drove 130-140 kilometers per hour in a 90 kilometer per hour zone and received a €400 speeding ticket from the police.
The man contested the fine in Harju County Court, where it will be discussed on Thursday.
Jaani said the most important task of the police is to help people. "We did not provide sufficient support to the family in this situation. Upon finding out the man was rushing home to his wife, who was in labor at the time, the police officers could have helped him and found a way to ensure the man got home as quickly as possible," he added.
The chief of the North Prefecture confirmed the father is requesting the court reduce the sum of the fine issued for the violation, but the police in January told to the court its was requesting fine be cancelled altogether.
On January 7, 10-year-old Ralf delivered his baby brother by following the instructions given to him over the phone by an employee of the alarm center as his father had been stopped on his way home for speeding.
At 3:45 p.m. on January 7, traffic police officers noticed a Toyota Hilux vehicle driving in the direction of Narva along the Tallinn-Narva Road. The vehicle's speed was measured at 136 kilometers. The road was wet, there was sleet coming down and it was nearing dusk.
The car was pulled over and a 37-year-old man, who explained he was speeding to get home to his wife who was in labor. The police officers asked whether the family had called for an ambulance, which the man affirmed they had done.
It was found during the inspection that the car's technical inspection expired at the end of October 2019.
"Each police officer has the right of discretion and all circumstances of a case are assessed when making a decision. The police officer considers the severity of the offense, weather conditions, the driver's statements, the condition of the car and other traffic conditions such as the time, place or amount of traffic at the time of the offense," spokespeople for the police said.
In that instance and taking into account all the circumstances, the police officer decided to hand the man a fine of €400.
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Editor: Helen Wright
