Travel

Tourist fined 150,000 ISK for destructive off-road idiocy

By Staff

Not a pretty sight Damage like this can take years, even decades to be repaired. The motorist in question should have asked himself: "Am I here to enjoy the view and beauty, or destroying it, so that nobody else can?" Photo/The Police in North-Eastern Iceland.

A foreign tourist travelling in Iceland was fined 150,000 ISK (1,100 USD/1,000 EUR) for off road driving in Eastern Iceland. Another motorist witnessed the behaviour, which took place on Tuesday, wrote up the motorist‘s licence plate and notified police.

It is astonishing that anyone would think of driving like this

A post on the Facebook page of the Police in North-Eastern Iceland shows pictures of the damage done, noting that the off-roading motorist left a picture which "is far from pretty, and it is astonishing that anyone would think of driving like this." The pictures show that the person in question has torn up the sands and the delicate vegetation.

Although it might be tempting, driving off the road is strictly forbidden in Iceland. And for a good reason. Damage like this does not repair itself, and it can take years for the tracks to disappear. In the meantime the view and natural beauty has been destroyed for everyone else.

Follow the law; take down the license plate numbers of offenders

The Police in Eastern Iceland encourage motorists to follow the law and to help law enforcement in capturing off-road drivers by taking down their license plate numbers and preferably by photographing their destructive antics.

We at Iceland Magazine don‘t have harsh enough words to describe what we feel about behaviour like this, and encourage everyone to assist the police by reporting offenders. Together we can stop selfish idiots from destroying Icelandic nature.

In this case the police tracked down the off-roading, nature destroying idiot, and fined him for his reckless behaviour.