A German trucker has found a novel way to get out of a traffic ticket for illegal cell phone use while driving. His excuse? He was using his handheld to keep his ear warm.

Big rig driver Walter Klein evidently successfully argued that his truck’s cab hadn’t heated up yet, and he was using his warm, freshly-charged phone in order to ease an earache when police pulled him over.

As ridiculous as it may sound, there may have been something to Klein’s excuse: he produced an itemized phone bill that didn’t show his phone in-use during the time when he was pulled over by authorities.

+ IntoMobile: Cellphone as ear warmer