Instead of saving lives, a speed camera operator is being investigated for attempting to take one by running down a motorist in his mobile speed camera vehicle near Adelaide, South Australia. Neville Hughes, 42, claimed that on January 21 he was assaulted by an unsworn South Australian police employee.

''He started his car, revved it and drove straight for me," Hughes told the Advertiser newspaper. "He came to a screeching halt before me and banged into my knee, which nearly knocked me backwards. I just could not believe it. I was in shock. He just kept on revving his car."

Hughes had approached the operator to inform him politely that he was blocking visibility for people trying to turn onto Sir Donald Bradman Dve in Mile End.

''I did the right thing by asking him to move back, because I could not see the oncoming traffic," said Hughes. "It was a very dangerous situation.''

Hughes immediately called the police who came to the scene and did nothing. The Police Complaints Authority has "escalated" an independent investigation of the incident.