One of the easiest ways to save yourself a lot of time, headaches and energy in life is to not break basic road laws, as roads, unlike many other secluded places where laws are broken, are full of cops ready to hand out fines and jail time. The next easiest way is to not film yourself doing it for the ‘Gram or whatever.
Alas, the internet clout points are too tempting sometimes.
The Derbyshire Constabulary in the East Midlands region of England said in a statement on Monday that an automotive journalist by the name of Joe Achilles received a 615-pound fine, or $799 at current exchange rates, for going nearly 100 mph in an Audi R8 on “one of the most notoriously dangerous road[s] in the UK,” Snake Pass. He also got six penalty points against his driver’s license, and the general rule in the UK is that people can be disqualified from driving for building up 12 or more penalty points within three years.
But the thing was, this transgression wasn’t caught in the act—police saw what happened after the fact, since, the statement said, Achilles uploaded a video of the drive to Facebook. From there, officers from the Derbyshire Constabulary’s Roads Policing Unit saw it while “investigating an entirely different matter.”
Because the video was taken from outside of the car, the statement said police measured distances between road signs and found the car to have been driving between 58 mph and 93 mph in a 50-mph zone on the two-lane road, all while facing oncoming traffic. The Monday statement dates the incident as Saturday, Nov. 3, which was nearly a year ago, because the internet is forever.
It’s a good reminder that while it’s possible to get carried away to a point, it’s best to consider yourself lucky if you don’t get pulled over for breaking a law—let alone nearly doubling the speed limit. Roads can be fun but they aren’t race tracks, just like highways aren’t drag strips. We’re also each responsible for however much we choose to speed by, if at all.
If you do get away with something, in terms of tickets and in keeping yourself and others safe, it’s not really in your own best interests to post the evidence online for the those who are bored at work to enjoy. There are cat videos for that kind of thing, you know.