A 21 year old Christchurch man appeared in court this afternoon charged with reckless driving - all because he posted pictures of himself driving recklessly on the internet.
Christchurch Police received numerous complaints from New Zealand and overseas when the pictures of the driver and vehicle performing by racer type offending on a public street, appeared on a web page, says Inspector Derek Erasmus.
"As a result we made inquiries into the incident," he says. "Members of the public recognised the street and police were able to track down the owner of the car through the registration seen on the internet and identified the driver through analysis of the film on the internet."
The video showed burnt outs and loss of traction, spinning and all sorts of behaviour that was of danger to other road users. It ended with the vehicle crashing on the side of the road.
"Other cars could be seen passing by," says Derek Erasmus. "He was the author of his own demise. If you perform a criminal act, we shall pursue you."
NB'
He pleased guilty at first appearance and was disqualified from driving for 9 months, and received 120 hours community work.
One of the complainants wrote;
'People like this are stupid & irresponsible, after all they filmed this and put it on the net, I feel sorry for the person in the other car that must have got a hell of a fright, I think that they should be taught a lesson, thanks in advance for your time.'
Another wrote;
`It's of some guys in a wrx doing some stupid acts of driving here in Chch and I know exactly where the video was taken. They end up crashing and you can get a good i.d of the number plate. I was wondering if you can get these guys for anything, as these are the muppets that make legit wrx owners like myself have a hard time in the public eye.'