In an emergency situation, you may not stop to think about what is legal and illegal. You will simply react the way that you believe is necessary in that emergency.

For example, perhaps you are drinking with friends when someone is injured and needs to be rushed to the hospital. You decide to drive them to the hospital, even though you are impaired, and you get pulled over for drunk driving. Or maybe your spouse is pregnant and they go into labor. You break the law by speeding as you drive at 100 miles an hour, trying to get them to the hospital before the baby arrives.

These are still legal infractions

When confronted by the police, you may explain to them that it was an emergency situation. You may tell them why you felt you had no option but to break the law. In some cases, police officers may be understanding. An officer may not give you a ticket for speeding, for example, but will instead decide to escort you to the hospital so that you can get there quickly and safely.

But from a legal perspective, these officers would still fully be within the bounds of the law to give you a traffic ticket or arrest you for impaired driving. Breaking the law does not suddenly become legal just because it's an emergency. You could still find yourself facing very significant charges, even when you believe that your actions were justified.

As such, you could find yourself in a serious legal situation that you never anticipated. It's critical that you understand exactly what steps to take at this time.

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