Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe DEREHAM, England, March 19 (UPI) -- A former police officer must pay a fine for speeding on his motorcycle despite claiming his actions were caused by a sneeze, a British magistrate says. Magistrate Margaret Oechsle fined Donald Johnstone, 62, $223 for going 10 miles above the speed limit in a 30-mph zone in the county of Norfolk last May, The Mirror said Thursday. Advertisement "You accept your speed increased and with any speed over 31 mph our sentencing guidelines come into play," said Oechsle, who also hit Johnstone with $167 in court costs. Johnstone had attempted to explain away his speeding indiscretion by blaming it on a fit of sneezing he endured while motorcycling. "My sneezes tend to be extremely violent," he told the court. "And I accept that my speed must have increased because of the movement of my hands." The Mirror said just in case his sneezing defense fell short, Johnstone also claimed the camera that caught him speeding wasn't set at the right angle.
