YouTube video is evidence
Why record crazy driving stunts?
If there’s one thing that confuses parents in the digital age, it’s our progeny’s obsession with posting their misdeeds online.
Please, don’t get me wrong. I am not — like some old codger who wears his pants hiked up past his waist and complains about the government full- time — decrying modern youth as somehow more poorly behaved than all who have gone before. No generation has a monopoly on teenage stupidity. I, for one, might still be unemployable had Facebook been around in my formative years.
No, the confusion stems from the narcissism of the YouTube generation, who seem to be willing to post proof of their most inane escapades — too often, it seems, involving a motor vehicle — in the quest of nothing more important than looks and likes. For us Boomers, who have gone to such great lengths to forget, or at least suppress, the more, shall we say, extra- legal escapades of our youth, it can be extremely difficult to reconcile. Indeed, I sometimes find it hard to decide which troubles me more: putting so many people’s lives in danger by the stupidity of their actions or recording the entire event so they can post proof of their guilt online.
It’s especially hard to understand how these people think they will get away with such nonsense. Take the case of Quebec’s most notorious case of online vehicular stupidity. Three teenagers decided to race down Highway 15 north of Montreal at 190 km/ h, weaving in and out of cars, driving on the unmarked shoulder and endangering the lives of everyone travelling through Les Laurentides that evening. And, of course, they videoed the entire stunt and posted it online.
Unfortunately for the driver, Sebastien Bernier, the budding Steven Spielberg in the passenger seat managed not only to film him behind the wheel ( proving he was the perpetrator) but also capture video of the illicit speeds they were travelling ( proving the infractions committed). The video went viral and, though it was quickly pulled down, it’s not like the Quebec police had to break a sweat identifying the miscreants.
Even if an online posting can’t, in and of itself, prove the offence took place beyond a reasonable doubt, it can lead to serious consequences. As the leader of the Demon Road Qc Facebook group, Tommy Barr- Longuepee posted all manner of videos celebrating the havoc his club wrought on their motorcycles — speeding, weaving in between cars, standing- on- the- seat wheelies while speeding and weaving in between cars and — well, you get the idea. Seemingly more conscious of repercussions than Bernier, Barr- Longuepee took the time to digitally obscure all the licence plates in the video and, of course, he and his acolytes were wearing motorcycle helmets, preventing the identification of the riders.
On the other hand, deliberately drawing the attention of John Law — for instance, posting pictures of yourself online holding a sign saying “F--- the cops” while displaying your dangerous- driving tickets — seldom has a happy ending. On subsequent search of Barr- Longuepee’s home, police not only found the original videos posted online on his computer’s hard drive but also marijuana and cocaine. Needless to say, BarrLonguepee went away for a while.
And even if you do manage to evade the long arm of the law, there always seems to be some comeuppance. Perhaps the most egregious example of Canadian motoring excess — Victoria Highway Run 299km — was posted on YouTube on April 8, 2012. Saanich, B. C. police were quickly alerted to the video depicting a motorcycle hitting speeds over 295 kilometres per hour, passing a whopping 67 vehicles illegally ( some at the aforementioned 295 km/ h while splitting lanes) and riding on the shoulder.
Their reaction was swift and impressive. Despite the paucity of evidence — the helmet- mounted camera shows nothing but the motorcycle’s dashboard and the road ahead — the Saanich P. D.’ s forensic team was able to analyze the video so finely that they not only proved that the motorcycle in question was a 2006 Yamaha YZF- R1 but, by identifying specific chips and cracks (“accidental identifiers” in police parlance) in the motorcycle’s triple clamps,
proved that it was the 2006 Yamaha specifically owned by one Randy Scott.
In fact, Saanich Police’s forensic identification specialist, Const. Will Dodds, so thoroughly dissected the video evidence that he is presenting a review of this very case at this year’s International Identification Conference in California, proving that even the smallest of our police forces — Saanich is a Victoria bedroom community of about 108,000 — have the resources to deal with motoring malfeasance. Or as Sgt. John Price of the Saanich department said, reiterating the resolve of every police department contacted, “We have the science and we are willing to spend the money to apprehend these offenders.”
Unfortunately, proving the motorcycle was the Yamaha in question and putting Scott at the controls were two different matters. The offence took place after he bought the motorcycle but before he re- registered it ( meaning its ownership was in legal limbo). So, despite the judge accepting that “the suspect Yamaha R1 sport bike was, in fact, the same motorcycle that was depicted in the YouTube video,” the evidence proving the identity of the driver was deemed insufficient and Scott was acquitted.
There is ( some) karma to be had, however. Scott was later apprehended driving a car at more than 160 km/ h around Victoria. One Lamborghini Gallardo impounded. One licence ( however temporarily) revoked. No video needed.