You’ve probably heard stories about babies being born in vehicles on the way to the hospital. If you are married and your wife is pregnant, you’ve probably thought about what you would do if she suddenly went into labor.
In fact, people often talk about how they would speed to the hospital, breaking the speed limit to do it. They may decide to run stop signs or even red lights. They’ll drive in a way that may appear reckless from the outside, but they’re really just trying to make sure that they get to the hospital as fast as possible. That seems tantamount when considering the wife and baby’s well-being.
But are you allowed to do this? Is something like going into labor a good enough excuse to break traffic laws and speed limits at your own discretion?
You can still get a ticket
The fact of the matter is that you can absolutely still get a ticket. Odds are, if you’re doing something that is far enough from the norm, the police are going to pull you over.
You can explain that your wife is in labor, and they will likely be willing to help you in certain ways. Maybe they’ll even escort you to the hospital. But none of that means that they have lost their right to give you a ticket. Breaking traffic laws is still a violation, and nothing changes that. This doesn’t mean they absolutely will ticket you, as many officers will decide not to do so based on the circumstances, but it does mean that you can’t automatically just get the charges dropped because you were heading to the hospital.
If you do find yourself facing serious traffic tickets at a time in life that could already be pretty expensive, be sure you know what legal options you have.