Photo bomb pigeon saves driver from speed camera fine

This driver must have had a guardian angel after miraculously avoiding a speeding fine in the craziest way possible.

A well placed pigeon saved this driver from a speeding fine.

Talk about a wing and a prayer — a German driver has been saved from a speeding fine by the miraculous appearance of an angel. Or a pigeon, anyway.

The motorist was clocked at 24km/h above the speed limit in a 30km/h zone in the town of Viersen, in western Germany.

However, he was spared the 105 euro ($170) fine by what local police dubbed a visit from the Holy Spirit.

At the exact moment the speed camera flashed, his face was obscured by a passing pigeon.

The intervention from above meant the fines bureau could not identify the driver and issue an infringement that would stick.

Bußgeld gespart. Der Heilige Geist mag sich etwas dabei gedacht haben. 54km/h statt erlaubten 30km/h. Weder Fahrer noch Taube werden verwarnt. https://t.co/I6QCFfXQOO pic.twitter.com/HcqolAWemu

— Polizei NRW VIE (@polizei_nrw_vie) May 27, 2019

Posting the photo on social media, police conceded neither the driver nor the pigeon would receive a fine.

Racing pigeons average about 100km/h and can reach 160km/h over short distances.

The driver of the 1990s model Renault Twingo wouldn’t be accustomed to breaking the speed limit. The pint-sized hatch is powered by a tiny four-cylinder engine that makes just 45kW — which is roughly half of what modern city hatches have on tap.

There is of course the distinct possibility that it was the pigeon that set off the speed camera. According to the BBC in another town north of Viersen earlier this year, authorities circulated an image of a pigeon captured by a speed camera. The bird had been clocked at 12km/h above the limit.

Without the pigeon’s postal address, police did not issue a fine.