UK courts would prefer that drivers obey the arbitrary number printed on a speed limit sign, even if it means the choking death of a child.

Sandra Gordon appealed a £60 fine after she was caught driving 41 MPH in a 30 MPH zone by a speed camera as she took her five-year-old son Harrison to surgery in Kent, UK.

Gordon told the London Telegraph, "I knew the camera was coming and I thought: 'Do I slow down?' But I thought that if the tooth moved and lodged in his throat he could have ended up choking. I would never have forgiven myself for not getting him help quick enough.'"

The court found her guilty regardless and only agreed to drop the points against her license. Australian courts have made similar rulings.

Magistrates in the town rejected a plea by Mrs Gordon, 35, to have the fine quashed and ordered that she pay £35 in costs.