New Way To Avoid A Speeding Ticket?

It is quite common for someone to try and talk their way out of a speeding ticket.  I’m late for work.  I have to get to the bathroom.  Etc, etc.

But one South Carolina man actually came up with a novel excuse, and it worked.  A Highway Patrol Trooper stopped a dark-colored sedan along the heavily-trafficked Interstate 385 for speeding but let him go without a speeding ticket.  Apparently, the man was speeding 85/65.

When asked why he was going so fast, the driver said that he was transporting the Governor.  After the officer peered into confirm that the Governor South Carolina was, indeed, his passenger, and after shaking the Governor’s hand, he let the driver go without even a warning.

Governor Mark Sanford is best known for going AWOL in South America to continue an affair he was having with an Argentinian woman.  State lawmakers may even try to impeach the Republican governor who has about 15 months left in his term. Ironically, in 2006, Sanford’s office was highly critical of the lieutenant governor when the Highway Patrol twice stopped him for speeding but did not issue tickets.

This incident is reminiscent of New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine‘s April 2007 car accident where he sustained critical injuries as a passenger failing to wear his seat belt.  The Governor had been a huge proponent and public image of the “click it or ticket” campaign resulting in 100s of New Jersey drivers receiving traffic tickets for failing to wear a seat belt.  Like Sanford’s driver, Corzine was not issued a summons despite not wearing a seat belt.

Click here to see a video of the Sanford traffic stop.

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