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By Sean O'Driscoll
Senior Crime and Courts Reporter
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German police are hunting for a "Cookie Monster" caught speeding in Dortmund.
The driver, who was dressed as the goggle-eyed Sesame Street character, was photographed by a roadside speed camera.
On October 8, Dortmund Police posted a photograph of the driver on X, formerly Twitter, writing: "Yes, of course … it's totally funny to put a Cookie Monster mask over your head, drive along the A45 and get flashed," in reference to the flash of the roadside camera.
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In a statement, the police said the vehicle, an Audi, was registered to a 57-year-old man, but the identity of the driver had not been established.
It said that on September 20, "Cookie Monster" was photographed by a speed camera on the A45, in the direction of the city of Hagen.
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The photo was taken by a mobile camera on the Dortmund-South motorway junction and the Westhofener junction.
When analyzing the data, the police noticed the driver was wearing a mask.
"The mask is reminiscent of a character from The Muppet Show or Sesame Street," the police said.
The police also said they did not know whether the driver was male or female or whether they deliberately drove too fast so the speed camera would take a photo of them, in the hopes of keeping the picture "as a funny trophy."
The 57-year-old man the car is registered to "will soon receive a letter from the traffic fines office," the police added.
The driver, who was going 11 kph over the speed limit, faces a 40 euro fine.
In a statement, Peter Bandermann, a spokesperson for Dortmund Police, said there was a serious side to the story.
"Anyone who causes a serious accident is not only responsible for property damage but, in the worst case, may also be responsible for killing a person," he said.
"It doesn't help the relatives of a person killed if the person responsible tearfully regrets the masked fun in court," Bandermann added.
Police said the costume would severely limit the driver's field of vision, increasing the risk of accidents.
They added that driver distraction and a lack of full vision are major causes of accidents on German roads.
While German police have a sophisticated system for photographing speeding motorists, the country is cutting down on people posting photos of car crashes online.
In August, the German government approved legislation to penalize people for taking photographs of fatal accidents.
Photographing or recording fatalities will be treated as a criminal offense, with a fine of up to 1,000 euros and a prison sentence of up to two years.
Campaigners said motorists recording not only violated privacy but also got in the way of emergency services.
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