In B.C.’s Fraser Valley, bad excuses won’t get you out of a driving ticket – but they might get you mocked on Twitter.
For the fourth year in a row, the Abbotsford Police Department is using social media to share some of the worst excuses officers have encountered by the roadside.
Among this year’s offenders is a distracted driver who was caught steering with his knees while holding two cellphones, one in each hand. The first words out of the misbehaving motorist’s mouth: “I know it looks bad.”
No kidding.
Const. Ian MacDonald said the driver went on to boast about being exceptionally good behind the wheel, a common excuse for people who get caught red-handed.
“They say they’re extremely good drivers and while it’s a good law, it shouldn’t apply to them because they’re so good at ‘multitasking.’ They call it multitasking, not distracted driving,” MacDonald told CTV News.
Two of this year’s examples were caught running stop signs. One tried to avoid trouble by telling police the car’s gas light was on, while the other said “I didn’t want to use my brakes.”
Apparently the motorist was saving them for something more important, MacDonald said.
A lot of bad drivers make it all too obvious they know they’re in the wrong, including one motorist who was caught this year driving 200 km/h in an expensive sports car.
His first words, before the officer could even speak, were “Can I get a warning?”
MacDonald said the department’s annual campaign is about engaging with the public in a more light-hearted way than usual, but there’s still a serious message about being responsible on the roads.
“At the end of the day most of the stuff we’re focusing on are the three leading causes of injury and fatal collisions on our roadways: speeding, impaired driving and distracted driving,” he said.
Police will be sharing more excuses through the APD's Twitter account all week.
#abbypd stops driver with cell phones in both hands and using his knees to steer & says "I know this looks bad . . " pic.twitter.com/VoqPFFPAEZ
— Abbotsford Police (@AbbyPoliceDept) July 4, 2016
Driver, after miserably failing a field sobriety test - "Can I come back tomorrow when I'm sober?' pic.twitter.com/wjtMMd9MZb
— Abbotsford Police (@AbbyPoliceDept) July 4, 2016