Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/00/17.asp
10/3/2004
UK Letter Gives Great Example of Injustice
Man fined for getting out of the way of an emergency vehicle.
One of the many problems with camera enforcement is the inability of a machine to make simple judgments that should be made by a human being. This letter from a gentleman in Surrey, England provides a perfect example of injustice. He had to speed up for a few seconds to get out of the way of some kind of emergency vehicle like an ambulance.
Article Excerpt:I WAS PUNISHED FOR GIVING WAY TO EMERGENCY VEHICLE
I WAS driving my car in a normal stream of traffic when I had to move to the centre of the road in order to pass a large van parked on the left.
As I indicated my intended manoeuvre and checked my rearview mirror, I saw that an emergency vehicle with flashing lights was coming up behind me at speed. Since I was by now almost abreast of the parked van, I accelerated for a second or two to get my car out of the way so as to give the emergency vehicle a clear road.
In so doing, I triggered a speed camera which was positioned precisely alongside the parked van. I got a fixed penalty fine and three penalty points.
I wrote to the police explaining the situation. But it seems that raking in money from the poor old motorist is all that interests them.
Edgar Riches, South Croydon, Surrey
Source: Letter to the editor (The Express (UK), 11/29/2004)
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