People v. Hariton

John* Copertino, J.

Defendant was tried for violation of subdivision (d) of section 1180 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law.

The defendant contends that a motorist is permitted to temporarily exceed the speed limit to avoid an accident. Here, defendant maintains that in order to avoid being struck in the rear by a swiftly approaching vehicle (later learned to be that of pursuing police officer) it was necessary for defendant to increase his speed to permit the vehicle to pass when he could not move safely into the righ-hand lane.

The law does not favor sudden bursts of speed.. (See Report of Joint…