Kevin poses with the famous car. 77197 Picture: JOE MASTROIANNI
By Vanessa Chircop
A HUMBLE little Datsun 120Y that cost the State Government millions of dollars in lost speed camera revenue, is up for sale – for just $750.
The car, which was affectionately dubbed Charlie by its Altona owner, made headlines in 2003 when it was clocked by a fixed camera in Deer Park, travelling at 158 kilometres per hour on the Western Ring Road – a speed it could never physically reach.
The car’s owner, Vanessa Bridges, who was a PhD student at the time, was left gobsmacked when she opened the $430 fine and quickly wrote a letter objecting to the fine.
But instead of waiving the fine, Vanessa was made to feel like a liar and a criminal and faced losing eight demerit points and her licence.
Vanessa, along with her parents Kevin and Dorothy, took on the State Government – horrified that such a gross mistake could be made.
The result was the State Government shut down the speed camera system and was eventually forced to waive and pay back millions of dollars in fines, compensation and lost demerit points to 170,000 drivers who were wrongly fined by the faulty cameras.
Many of the 2,500 people who lost their licence through the fines also sought compensation from the Government after also losing employment.
Today, Vanessa’s parents are selling the almost 40-year-old car on behalf of their daughter for just $750.
Dorothy told Star the car had been sitting in her backyard for years with the family not wanting to part with it.
“We’ve had some fun with it through the years,” she laughed.
Dorothy said she still remembers the look on her daughters face when she opened the fine.
“She was so shocked – she said ‘mum I couldn’t even go that fast’.”
Kevin said the car was tested and it was found it could only reach 117 kilometres per hour.
“And that’s pushing it,” he said.
The car’s speedometer was also tested and it was found that when the needle hit 100 the car was actually only travelling at 90 kilometres per hour.
All jokes aside, the couple said the saga was extremely stressful with Vanessa being forced to hire a solicitor.
“She was really getting a rough deal,” Dorothy said.
“It was very stressful.”
To top it all off after the fine was finally waived five months later, Vanessa was left with an $800 solicitor’s bill.
The bill was promptly covered by the State Government, wanting to avoid any further embarrassment by the ordeal.
Dorothy said she would like to see the car restored to its former glory. “We wish we could afford to fix it up – I hope someone cherishes it and does it up to make it better than what it is.”
