‘Foolish’ skater caught on speed camera

A rollerblader, who set off a speed camera by skating past it at nearly 40mph, has been labeled ‘extremely foolish’ by road safety campaigners.

In the footage posted on YouTube, the skater challenges himself to trigger the speed camera’s flash by attempting to break the local 30mph limit on a moonlit road in Hastings, East Sussex.

Professional skater Sam Tuffnell can be seen wearing only a reflective vest without a helmet or armour to protect him while travelling.

Using a hill to gain momentum, he manages a top speed of 39mph, setting off the speed camera in the darkness.

According to Sussex Police, the daring man cannot be prosecuted under the Road Traffic Regulation Act as breaking the speed limit on roller skates is not considered a criminal offence. The law only applies to motorised vehicles.

Delighted with the video, Mr Tuffnell, 28, who reportedly broke his coccyx a few days earlier, said: “Everyone loves the video. They think it’s brilliant. Some people think it’s quite mad.”

“I might have been going a bit faster than 40mph. I have been towed by a car at 65mph and it didn’t feel far off that.”

Neil Hopkins, a spokesman for Sussex Safer Roads Partnership, commenting on the dangerous act told Yahoo! News today that the stunt was nothing short of extremely foolish. 

Mr Hopkins said: “Had he come off, either through an imperfection in the road surface or any misjudgement on his part, he would have suffered serious injury since skin wears down quickly when sliding down the road at 30mph.”

“Furthermore, as has been frequently stated over the years, speeds limits are just that - not targets.  And they are all in place to protect people's lives on the road, no matter how they get around.”

[Story: CCTV appeal following hit-and-run]

He added that such activity should always take place off the road under supervised conditions and ideally with protective clothing worn.