A western German driver narrowly avoided a fine after a bird miraculously flew in the path of a speed camera and obscured the image on May 21.
North Rhine-Westphalia Police described the moment a pigeon appeared in the frame and obscured the driver’s face, concealing necessary evidence to prove who was behind the wheel, as a form of divine intervention from the “Holy Spirit.”
The radar had detected the driver was traveling 54 km/h (33.5 mph) on a 30 km/h (18.6 mph) stretch of Amerner Way near Viersen, 166 miles northwest of Frankfurt. The penalty would have been a 105 euro ($117) fine but, after reviewing the image, police decided not to issue an infringement provided the driver also took it as a divine message to slow down.
“We have understood the sign and leave the speeder in peace this time,” police said. “We associate with it the hope that the protected speeder understands this ‘hint from above’ as well and drives appropriately in the future.”
In theory the pigeon was also speeding and could have been issued the same fine.
“Actually, the pigeon would have earned a fine, because he was ultimately too fast on the way but, since we do not know where he lives at Pentecost, we allow grace to prevail here too,” police said.
On social media police confirmed neither the driver nor pigeon received a warning.
