AUTONEWS

Fleximan is the new superhero for Italian drivers to destroy speed cameras...But the police are looking for him

A masked individual, who destroys the speed cameras that fine thousands of motorists, seems like the plot of another Marvel superhero film. The most curious thing is that the individual in question – or individuals, as no one seems to know whether we are dealing with one criminal or several – even has the name of a superhero, as he is referred to by the population and the police (who are looking for him) as Fleximan.

This species of avenger, which fights hard against speed control cameras mounted on the sides of roads and highways, began its reign of terror a few months ago. This is according to the authorities, as drivers see him as another alternative version of Robin Hood, who takes from the police to benefit the poor (and rich). And, in the process, he has already claimed at least 15 victims with his angle grinder, precisely the number of radars that Fleximan has put out of service.

The motives of this “superhero” are not known but, according to the local press, his raids against radars coincided with the attempt to increase the number of speed control posts by the Italian State. It is also known that Fleximan is increasingly bold, as he has started leaving messages in the places he “visits”, which has the power to leave the police on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Especially because along with the paintings appeared threatening messages such as “Fleximan sta arrivando”, that is, “Fleximan is coming”.

A surveillance camera caught the so-called Fleximan in action, accompanied by a “helper”, while they were cutting another post from a speed camera(image above)

The thief that Italian drivers apparently like most never showed his face, but he was already caught with his hands dirty, that is, cutting the post that supported a radar with an angle grinder. A security camera filmed the robbery, making it clear that the “superhero” does not work alone.

As expected, if many drivers love the Fleximan, there is no shortage of people who consider it a criminal and a vandal – which it obviously is, according to the law –, hoping that the moment comes quickly when the authorities get hold of it. While this does not happen, Matteo Salvini is accusing the mayor of Bologna of reducing the maximum speed in the city to just 30 km/h and thus increasing the number of infractions, while other mayors, such as Villa del Conte, who was once victim of Fleximan, admit that speed cameras are instruments of repression.

The police revealed that they hope to arrest the man soon and, to make that happen, they have pulled out some tricks, including resorting to the anti-mafia brigade. The bad news for authorities is that Italy actually has a lot of speed cameras, around 11,000, substantially more than the United Kingdom (7700), Germany (4700) and Spain (1000). And, according to Il Messaggero, one of those that was destroyed, installed in the Padua area, is also one of the most “productive”, having issued more than 58,700 fines during a period of just a month and a half, which is equivalent to approximately 1300 drivers fined per day.

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