Slashdot Mirror
YouTube Video Leads To Arrest For Speeding
JoshuaInNippon writes "A 42-year old man was arrested outside of Osaka, Japan in connection with a YouTube video of him going more than 130km/h (80mph) over the speed limit on his 1300cc motorcycle. The man reportedly borrowed his friend's camera and videotaped himself speeding at well over 180km/h in a 50km/h zone, illegally passing cars multiple times in the process. The man's friend then distributed the video online. Local police say they received an anonymous tip about the YouTube video and investigated. It then took them nearly half a year before making the arrest, but the motorcyclist, who apparently admitted guilt, is now likely facing both multiple fines and jail time. Japanese police say it is the first time they've used evidence from the internet to pursue such traffic violations. With a multitude of similar speed enthusiast home videos on YouTube and other sites, might more careless braggers start facing legal problems?"
So wait........that's ~112MPH in a 30.....ok, 80 over, goodbye license, but HALF A FUCKING YEAR? Don't you guys have you know, real police things to do?
30 mph zones are generally ones with high congestion, lots of pedestrians, and not necessarily a lot of room to mess up. Imagine if this was in a car rather than a motorcycle (to my knowledge, the laws and penalties are generally the same for both). That's a lot of potential for death and destruction (and they'd be lucky if they didn't have an accident). Admittedly, a motorcycle has less potential for destruction but it's still potent at those speeds (especially since sidewalks in Japan are often crowded).
Someone who commits this sort of recklessness needs to be made aware it is not acceptable. Revoking their license isn't enough to do that; they'll just ride without one.