Opel Astra Driver 'Caught' By Speed Camera Traveling Over 400 MPH

by Matt Posky

May 17th, 2018 1:21 PM

opel astra driver 8216 caught by speed camera traveling over 400 mph

You’ve probably received a speeding ticket in the mail before. Weeks after the incident, once you’ve forgotten all about it, you open a letter to read that you’ve been busted by a cleverly placed speed camera and have to pay a fine. Well, that’s what happened to a Belgian driver but he was fined approximately $7,800 for traveling 432 mph in a 30-mph zone.

Obviously, something went wrong. In addition to the 400-mph mark being well out of reach of his Opel Astra, the speed isn’t in the realm of possibilities for any production car currently in existence. Hell, Top Fuel dragsters don’t even reach those speeds on level pavement. In fact, you’d have to purchase a private jet or build a custom land speed car for Bonneville if you wanted that kind of velocity.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the city of Quiévrain was nice enough to round down the driver’s fine to 406.5 mph in the letter. Despite the kindness, the driver decided to fight the ticket anyway.

Police attributed the error to a malfunction with the camera, getting him off the hook for the initial fine, but still slapped him with a citation for 6 mph over the legal limit. The logic here was that the camera must have caught him doing something wrong or else it would have never been triggered in the first place. That’s some specious reasoning but, since it only came with a $60 penalty, the driver was less inclined to argue.

Exactly when the incident took place is unclear. While shared earlier this month via social media, an incomplete photo of the letter appears to include an order or payment date for October of 2010. However, the majority of outlets claim that the incident had taken place when the driver was 32-years old — which would have been within the last year.

[Image: Opel]

#ChevroletCruze #CrimeAndPunishment #LawAndOrder #OpelAstra #SpeedCameras #SpeedRecords #Speeding #Tickets

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3 of 49 comments

IBx1 on May 14, 2018

I see our camera clocked you going faster than a commercial jetliner but our cameras are still infallible so here's a ticket anyway.

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Arthur Dailey on May 14, 2018

Truly some strange judicial reasoning. Generally the rule is at least in Ontario, if there is a serious error on the citation, then it is withdrawn/invalid. Not a minor error, but as in this example a serious one. They cannot charge you with one thing, and then change it, in court. Still with no night courts in the GTA, you have to jump through hoops in order to fight a ticket. And take a day off work. So in many instances it is not worth the time or money. Unless you use one of the many 'ticket fighting' companies that have sprung up to do this. Spent a couple of years on the Department, get your paralegal license and advertise that an 'ex police officer' will be representing you.

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- Speedlaw on May 14, 2018
  
  Relevant to this. New York State and Canada Provinces swap information, so you need to be concerned with a ticket in your opposite. This is the only international points transfer I've ever heard of.
  
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