The Ultimate Book of Heroic Failures sampler 3

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The Most Speeding Offences in One Go Described as ‘the world’s most hapless driver’, a motorist from Turkey set a new all-comers’ record in November 2005 when he was flashed by the same speed camera four times in the space of one minute and thirty-seven seconds. Throughout this record breaking run in the Swiss town of Kreuzlingen he had no idea he was passing a speed trap. Baffled by the repeated flashing, he passed the spot again and again to investigate. This accomplished driver, whose identity was protected by Swiss privacy laws, told police that he thought someone was trying to annoy him with a flashgun and he wanted to check ‘what was going on’. His achievement was made possible by the location of two roundabouts on either side of the camera. Although speed cameras are designed to slow drivers down, this one had the opposite effect. Our man drove past at 36.6 mph, then 39, 42 and 47 mph. ‘It was a feat requiring precision driving,’ the police said.

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The Ultimate Book of Heroic Failures by Stephen Pile © Stephen Pile, 2011 Published by Faber and Faber, £12.99, out now in hardback and ebook. @FaberBooks Faber.co.uk


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