A man who flipped off a speeding camera ‘for a laugh’ has been hit with a £300 fine – but it wasn’t because of his cheeky actions.
He explained how he was driving through a seatbelt camera zone – which aims to catch those travelling without a seatbelt on or using a mobile phone behind the wheel – when he was caught on camera.
Knowing the camera was there, he put his middle fingers up while keeping his hands on the wheel, believing nothing would come of it. However, he was soon sent a fine in the post alongside a picture of that moment in time.
He said on Reddit: “Flipped off the seatbelt camera for laughs. Joke’s on me – girlfriend wasn’t strapped in right. $400 (£300) fine.”
In the picture, you can see his girlfriend’s seatbelt crossed under her armpit rather than across her chest, keeping her shoulder flush with the seat.
While some users sympathised with him after receiving the fine, others say it was deserved and should act as an important lesson in road safety.
One user said: “I was driving home from staff duty (24-hour shift) when another driver crossed into my lane, hitting me head on. I got sandwiched between his van and a school bus. I don’t remember any of it. They told me my seatbelt saved my life.
“I told them I felt like I got hit by a bus and that’s when they told me I did. My knees blew through the dashboard (area directly in front of where your knees would be while driving). My doors were welded shut. If anyone else had been with me they would’ve died. Even the shifter broke.”
They continued: “I remember standing in front of my car days later and the insurance guy (or maybe he was a mechanic) was amazed I lived.
“It’s like I wasn’t involved. All I remember is feeling absolutely beaten. I was driving home and then I woke up two days later. A seatbelt and a crap load of luck saved my life.”
Meanwhile another user added: “My brother was driving home one dark and stormy night… For real, though, it was an ice storm and between the weather and the late hour he was (thankfully) almost alone on the road.
“He applied his breaks for a red light, hit a patch of ice, and spun around backwards through the intersection.
“The cops sent him the picture. There was a handwritten note that said, ‘No ticket, glad you’re ok, thought you’d want this’ – absolutely hilarious image of his terrified face, bug-eyed, mouth agape, as he was spinning out.”
A third user also added: “When I was a kid, I thought it was annoying to have the belt over my shoulder, so I would usually put it behind my back.
“Then my mum hit a telephone pole going 30mph while my brother and I were in the backseat. Our heads slammed into the seats in front of us. We both broke our noses and required stitches.
“My brother’s nose was broken badly enough to require surgery. Looking over to my brother, seeing blood run down his face, and then realising that blood was running down my face will forever be seared into my memory. Never again.”
