Fake Speed Cameras Mounted

In А Pranky Social Experiment

Despite not even being turned on, the cameras made a great impact. PHOTO: POLICE LITHUANIA

16 FEB - Fake speed cameras were installed at different locations in Kaunas, Lithuania, as part of a weird social prank.

The outdated and deactivated control devices were found out when police patrol teams came across them while circling through residential areas of the country's second largest city.

In one case there were two cameras mounted on a tripod facing opposite directions of street traffic. Fake cameras were noticed on different occasions and on one of the days the Police encountered four separate units.

Investigation

The authorities began investigating as to who was behind the weird social experiment. While doing so, the police communicated the story on social media, announcing the interesting findings and teasingly urging people to be careful on the road. "As the number of tripods in Kaunas is increasing, be careful not to exceed the speed!", the Police warned.

Discovery

Soon enough the facts came to surface. "It turned out that a group of four private citizens decided to set up a social experiment aimed at discovering the effect of control devices on drivers behaviour. None of the involved was currently serving on any of Lithuania's law enforcement institutions", said Traffic Supervision Division Chief Specialist at Lithuanian Police Renatas Siaurusaitis for ROADPOL Media. The group assembled several decommissioned speed cameras and put them at different road sections throughout Kaunas. Then they backed away and videoshot the consequences of the cameras on the speed of the passing drivers.

The four "perpetrators" got away without even a warning as no violation of public order or the Road Traffic Rules were registered. Road traffic was also not physically obstructed. "Otherwise, officials would certainly have decided to impose administrative liability", Siaurusaitis stated.