The excuses some Canberra drivers give the police when pulled over for speeding might be amusing, but the fact motorists are still flouting the road rules is not a joke.
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There is no doubt the capital's police force would be sick of the attempts that motorists use to try to avoid a speeding ticket and justifications about why they broke the road rules.
As ACT Policing's officer in charge of traffic operations Marcus Boorman said; "We like a good joke like everybody else, but when it comes to breaking the speed limits and committing offences on the road, to us it isn't a joke".
It is the police and other emergency services who are the ones dealing with the horrific accidents and traumatised people when flouting road rules or accidents leads to tragedy.
And while speed can not be attributed with authority to be the reason behind every fatality or serious incident on the territory's roads, it is at least a contributing factor in many such incidents.
Recent statistics show that more than 1000 people were caught speeding on ACT roads from January to March and of those 715 received a fine.
Earlier this year it was revealed that Canberra's mobile speed cameras issued just over $4 million worth of fines in the 2015/16 financial year - more than double the previous year's total.
The rise coincided with the expansion of permitted sites the speed cameras could operate in, including crash hotspots and school zones.
Red light camera infringements raised $2,152,731 worth of fines in 2015/16.
What these figures show is that Canberrans sure have a dangerous need for speed.
There is no doubt the ACT government wouldn't mind the generous donation to its annual budget provided by badly-behaving motorists each year.
But it's worth remembering that it's quite simple to avoid adding to this total - obey the speed limit.
