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A professor used physics to prove he didn't run a stop sign and avoided paying $400.
Dmitri Krioukov, a physicist at the University of California San Diego, was apprehended for running a stop sign. Krioukov then convinced a judge of his innocence through a 4-page paper, Physics Central reported.
According to Krioukov's paper, published online, he sneezed, accelerated quickly and then abruptly slammed on his brakes at a stop sign. Then, a larger car went by his, creating the illusion that he hadn't stopped.
The officer perceived Krioukov's angular velocity instead of his linear velocity. That means that the officer's perspective 100 feet away could have created the optical illusion that Krioukov hadn't stopped when in fact he did.
The California judge was convinced, and Krioukov got off scot-free.
We'll see if his argument creates a precedent in traffic court.
Here's a chart Krioukov made showing how the officer's vantage point could have led to a misperception about speeding:
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