COPENHAGEN (AP) – A 29-year-old man in Denmark faced a whopping 86 preliminary charges on Friday for driving at high speed on motorcycles, riding on the rear wheel – also at high speed – and endangering others, police said, adding that the man had mounted a camera on his motorcycle helmet which provided investigators with several hours of footage of how he drove.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it,” Amrik Singh Chadha of the police in eastern Denmark said in a statement.
“There is no doubt that it has been a big and unconventional case for us to investigate.”
When detained in May for riding a motorcycle with no licence plates and without having a valid permit, police found a video camera had been mounted on the man’s helmet which had recorded how he drove on the rear wheel at high speed.
Police said that it led to the man facing 25 cases of preliminary charges for that alone. He has not been identified.
The incriminating videos also led to an additional 38 preliminary charges of reckless driving for speeding over 100 per cent above the limit.
On top of that, the footage led to a series of other charges related to the man’s driving which the police considered likely to endanger the life and safety of others.
After months of watching the incriminating footage, police on Friday went public. The preliminary charges are one step short of formal charges.
In Denmark, reckless driving includes driving more than 100 per cent above the speed limit, driving at a speed of 200 kilometres per hour or above and driving with a blood alcohol level above 2.0.
A 2021 law allows police to confiscate vehicles for reckless driving besides giving hefty fines and suspending a driving permit. Under Danish law, a driver is considered to be driving under the influence of alcohol if the blood-alcohol level is equal to or exceeds 0.5 grammes per thousand.
Police said several of the man’s video recordings had been posted on social media and shared with a larger group of people. They also were able to identify two others on the footage and seized their vehicles, the statement said.
The man likely faces a prison sentence.
