He Drove 168 in an 80 Zone and Thought He Was Getting Away: the First Tabanovce Arrest Made by a Camera, Not a Patrol

At 13:15 on 21 August, on the way out of Macedonia, police officers at the Tabanovce border crossing stopped a Porsche with Dutch plates. The driver, a 35-year-old Dutch national, thought he was leaving. Instead he was taken into custody.

The reason had nothing to do with anything police saw at the crossing itself. A check through the "Safe City" system showed the driver was on record as having committed an offence under Article 297-A of the Criminal Code - reckless driving of a motor vehicle. He had been doing 168 kilometres an hour on a stretch where the limit is 80.

Twice the legal speed. Not ten over, not twenty - double. And it was caught by a camera rather than a patrol, which means the man drove like that without a single moment when anyone stood in his way.

This is the first case of its kind at Tabanovce, and that is exactly what makes it interesting. Until now the logic was simple: a foreigner commits an offence, crosses the border, end of story. The plate-reading system changed that arithmetic - the penalty catches up at the exit, when it is too late to explain yourself.

A criminal complaint will be filed against the Dutch national. He will be tried in Macedonia, for an offence committed in Macedonia, detected by Macedonian cameras.

It is understandable that some foreign drivers are reacting loudly to the new regime. But 168 in an 80 zone is not a misread sign or unfamiliarity with a strange road. That is a choice made behind the wheel, and the system did exactly what it was paid to do.