It Doesn’t Pay To Be A Flasher

Monday, 31. January 2011

So there you are driving down the road, minding your own business when you see, hidden in the bushes on the other side of the road, the old bill hiding in the undergrowth with a speed camera. Obviously, believing that drivers travelling in the other direction, seeing the camera at the last minute, and swerving across the road into oncoming vehicles, could present a severe danger. Or seeing the officer at the last minute and suddenly braking could cause a multi car pile up, so you perform your civic duty and warn drivers of the impending dangers by flashing your headlights frantically at them. Not that I would ever do such a thing but if this is the sort of thing you would do you might like to think again following the case of Michael Thompson who did just that in Grimsby. The magistrates couldn’t understand the civic duty he was performing and fined him £175 with £250 costs for ‘obstructing a police officer in the execution of her duty.’ And this was after he put forward the arguments I mentioned above. Totally unjust. What are your views? By Graham Hill