Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/29/2905.asp

9/20/2009

The Netherlands: Parked Truck Receives 45 Automated Speeding Tickets
A stationary vehicle was accused by a speed camera in The Netherlands of speeding 45 times in one afternoon.

Dutch lumber merchant Martin Robben no longer believes that the speed camera never lies. As reported by De Telegraaf, the man was falsely accused of speeding forty-five times on August 25 while his vehicle, a commercial truck, was parked on the side of the road in Oldeberkoop village.

"Sometimes there were only three seconds between the tickets," Robben told the Dutch paper. "That's impossible... Nobody can be flashed dozens of times in an afternoon."

As is the common practice in Europe, tickets sent in the mail do not include photographs of the alleged offense, just a demand for payment. In Robben's case, the demand amounted to thousands of euros, which forced him to retain the law firm of Anker and Anker to help him prove his own innocence. Defendants must make a special request to see the evidence against them.

The Netherlands is home to Gatsometer, the premier manufacturer of speed cameras worldwide. The same device that falsely accused Robben is currently used in a number of US cities, including Silver Spring, Maryland. Speed cameras around the world have accused stationary vehicles of speeding, as documented in Australia as well as France and the UK.

Source: Stilstaande auto 45 keer geflitst (De Telegraaf (The Netherlands), 9/18/2009)

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