Friday, December 04, 2009

Adrian Peterson: Speeding and Knowing Your Speed

The hot traffic court story of the week is Vikings running back Adrian Peterson ticketed for going 109 mph in a 55 zone. See the story on ESPN.

My favorite quote from the story is this from Peterson: I need to be more aware of the speed I was going ....

I should add this to my speeding ticket excuses post, because I've heard it before. "I didn't realize I was going that fast."

Maybe this excuse makes sense when you're ticketed for 80 in a 55. But if you're going over 100 mph, you really should know. I had one guy ticketed for ... I'm not kidding ... 125 mph. He said he didn't realize he was going that fast.

Look, if you're going to drive at speeds that high, please be aware of what you're doing. While it may be dangerous to drive at such speeds in general, it's definitely more dangerous if you're not paying attention.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Peterson also stated that he thought he was only going 85 MPH. Do you always assume the police accurately measure a defendants speed? Could Peterson and your former client not have relaized that they were going that fast because they were not going that fast?

Unknown said...

Despite the puzzling angry tone, Anonymous has an interesting point. Of course I don't assume police officers are accurate about anything. Read more of my blog to get a better sense of my opinions.

Zoe Wilson said...

Although I am not yet a driver myself, I think that there should be stricter regulations on driving, or at least a more effective way to ensure those on the road are safe to be there. Having said this, I have no suggestions other than an annual test for drivers, and the financial implications of this could prove difficult for both the government and the individual.
However, cases like this are unacceptable: too many deaths are caused by careless or dangerous driving, and something ought to be done.

Jeff Vachon said...

Zoe, that would not work as everyone actually knows the law and could pass those tests with flying colors. It's not that people don't know the laws, they just tend to disregard them. I always know how fast I'm going. It takes little time to look down at the speedometer.

Tony Minnesota Fan#1 said...

I think police see an oppotunity to take advantage of someone who has a big name like adrian peterson. Trying to make a name for yourself by lying about a super star is not the way to do it. Police do it all the time it is like they have a quota to fill. Police have to much influence over people so most people believe everything police say.