Spared Speeding Ban
Source: Matt Seymour on Unsplash
Muslim is spared a speeding ban so he can drive between his two wives
When it comes to avoiding a ban for speeding, the courts hear every excuse in the book.But yesterday one motorist offered what must be a unique reason why he should keep his licence.
Mohammed Anwar said a ban would make it difficult to commute between his two wives and fulfil his matrimonial duties.
His lawyer told a Scottish court the Muslim restaurant owner has one wife in Motherwell and another in Glasgow - he is allowed up to four under his religion - and sleeps with them on alternate nights.
He also needed his driving licence to run his restaurant in Falkirk, Stirlingshire.
Airdrie Sheriff Court had heard that Anwar was caught driving at 64mph in a 30mph zone in Glasgow, fast enough to qualify for instant disqualification.
Anwar admitted the offence, but Sheriff John C. Morris accepted his plea not to be banned and allowed him to keep his licence.
Instead, he was fined £200 and given six penalty points.
Lorna Jackson, from the road safety charity Brake, called the decision "astonishing".
She said: "Regardless of the number of wives or businesses this man drives to, he broke a law which is there to protect everyone.
"Travelling just a few miles over the limit in a 30mph zone can be the difference between life and death if you hit someone, let alone driving at more than twice the speed limit.
"Drivers know the law, and they know the punishment they could face when they break it.
"For the courts to allow someone to keep their licence when they have so blatantly flouted the law and put peoples' lives at risk, on the basis of an excuse such as this, is astonishing."
Anwar, wearing a suit and an open-neck shirt, had made no comment during his five-minute court appearance, apart from confirming his identity.
But last night, speaking from his restaurant Sanam, he said: "It is true I have two wives.
"Muslim men are allowed up to four. But I am not a religious leader and it is not my place to comment.
"As a matter of respect to my wives I would not comment on my home life.
"The sheriff did not ban me because I need my licence to run my business, although my wives were also part of the decision."
The court had heard that Anwar was on his way home from Falkirk to his Glasgow wife on August 21, 2007, when he was caught by city police using a hand-held speed camera.
His lawyer, Paul Nicolson, said: "He realises his licence is at risk, but this is an unusual case and is very anxious to keep his driving licence.
"He has one wife in Motherwell and another in Glasgow and sleeps with one one night and stays with the other the next on an alternate basis.
"Without his driving licence he would be unable to do this on a regular basis.
"He is also a restaurant owner and has a restaurant in Falkirk, which he has had for the past 30 years.
"He has had a clean driving licence until now, and on this particular evening was on his way home after a busy evening at his restaurant."
Anwar's successful plea joins a long list of unusual excuses heard in the courts down the years.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was cleared of illegally driving on a motorway hard shoulder because he said he was rushing to a toilet.
David Beckham also escaped a ban after arguing he had to break the speed limit to escape a photographer.
Comments
This is another funny article. I can never heard an excuse like this one. If the Scottish Court takes off the driving licence to Mr. Anwar, he can´t fulfil his matrimonial duties. Said it in this way it sounds very strong, but that was the real true. I suppose that you were laughing at this event all day. We due to recognize that the imagination of the lawyer was impressive. I congratulate Mr. Nicolson because he is a good lawyer.
Regardless of that good action, I don´t understand how the court bit the bullet because it´s clear that it wasn´t an excuse to broke a law which bans to drive more over the limit stablished. It´s astonishing. Other Scottish people were right when they said that the court should have taken off his driving licence, also punished him with a fine €200 and six penalty points.
After all, Mr. Anwar, said from his restaurant that he had two wives and Muslim men are allowed up to four, as if the reason why he was allowed up several wives, was the reason to break this law. He persuades me. LOL
The excuse of Sir Alex Ferguson is great too because he said that he had to rush to make water. And anybody can´t to believe to David Beckham when he said that he had broken the speed limit to escape a photographer. Everything is funny.
See you.
I can see the funny side to the story but I hate how laws don't apply to everyone. The likes of Alex Ferguson and David Beckham can employ a chauffeur to drive them around yet they hire lawyers to help them get away with a traffic offence. Would the court accept my defence that I had to hurry to feed my pigeons every day?
This is another funny article. I have never heard an excuse like this one. If the Scottish Court takes the driving licence away from Mr. Anwar, he can´t fulfil his matrimonial duties. Said in this way, it sounds very strong, but it was the truth. I suppose that you were laughing at this event all day. We must recognize that the imagination of the lawyer was impressive. I congratulate Mr. Nicolson because he is a good lawyer.
Regardless of that good action, I don´t understand how the court bit the bullet because it´s clear that it wasn´t an excuse to break a law which bans driving over the established speed limit. It´s astonishing. Other Scottish people were right when they said that the court should have taken his driving licence away, and also punished him with a €200 fine and six penalty points.
After all, Mr. Anwar, said from his restaurant that he had two wives and Muslim men are allowed up to four, as if the reason why he was allowed several wives, was the reason to break this law. He persuades me. LOL
The excuse of Sir Alex Ferguson is great too because he said that he had to rush to pee. And nobody can believe David Beckham when he said that he had broken the speed limit to escape a photographer. Everything is funny.