A UCSD physicist used his knowledge and a little creativity to get himself out of a $400 traffic ticket.
Dmirti Krioukov was issued a traffic ticket for failing to completely stop at a stop sign. Instead of paying the ticket or going to traffic school, the physicist fought the citation by writing a four-page paper explaining how the ticket he was given defies physics.
Using his knowledge of angular and linear motion, Krioukov prepared a paper for the judge in his case and was able to argue – and prove – his innocence.
The paper explained how what the officer “thought” he saw, he didn’t really see, according to the laws of physics.
Read NBCSanDiego.com's coverage of the physicist's fight
“Therefore my argument in the court went as follows: that what he saw would be easily confused by the angle of speed of this hypothetical object that failed to stop at the stop sign. And therefore, what he saw did not properly reflect reality, which was completely different," Krioukov said.
Before others try the “physics defense” before a judge, Krioukov warned that it took a perfect combination of events for his argument to legitimately hold up.
When asked if he really did stop at the stop sign, the physicist stuck to his argument.
“Of course I did,” he said with a smile.
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