Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/08/879.asp
1/5/2006
UK: Passenger Foils Speed Camera Trick
Teenager loses license after passenger turns around, grinning in a speed camera photo in King's Lynn, UK.
A teenager's attempt to foil a photo speed trap went tragically wrong when his passenger turned around to watch the camera flash on October 23. Richard Mainprize, 18, thought it would be fun to flip around the license plate on his Ford Fiesta in order to make his car undetectable to the speed camera at Gayton Road, King's Lynn. He blew past the device at 78 MPH in the 30 zone, with little expectation of getting caught given the reliance of Norfolk police on automated patrols.
Police however were able to identify the grinning passenger in the backseat, allowing them to track down Mainprize. The teen admitted guilt and accepted a one-year driving ban, a three-month curfew, and a £50 ticket for driving without a visible license plate. Mainprize also lost his job as a van driver.
Article Excerpt:Magistrate Ron Miller, said: "We have heard many driving cases in this court but this particular one is about as irresponsible as you can get. To drive at more than twice the speed limit is quite frankly insanity. Effectively we have thrown the book at you, and you deserve it. Your actions, and your friends, were absolutely unbelievable, stupid, and you're paying the price."
Source: Teenager smiles for the speed camera (Eastern Daily Press (UK), 1/5/2006)
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