size_of_light
18-08-2010, 06:46 PM
Link to the video clip below the story:
Fears for young Australian drivers speeding at 111mph to invoke 'ghost' of dead cyclist - and post footage on YouTube
Fears are growing for the safety of young drivers in an Australian town as a dangerous urban legend has them trying to hit 111mph on an unlit road to conjure the ghost of a dead motorcyclist - and film it for YouTube.
The trend has become so prevalent that local police have been forced to issue public warnings as residents fear for their safety on the roads at night.
The urban legend tells that newly qualified drivers - known locally as 'P Plates' - in Newcastle, New South Wales, who achieving the speed on Lemon Tree Passage can summon the spirit of a 20-year-old motorcyclist who was killed in an accident on the road in 2007.
It is alleged the 'ghost' of the dead motorcyclist appears as a bright light chasing after drivers trying to make them slow down.
As fears that teenagers speeding dangerously are distracted while driving by either the 'ghost' or the act of filming, police are worried that the dangerous high-speed stunt is also putting other motorists at risk.
A spokesman for Port Stephens said: 'It is alleged that if you drive at speed in a dangerous manner, a bright white light comes in behind you and that's what they are calling the Lemon Tree Passage ghost.
'There have been several phone calls that people are going out there and while attempting to get footage for YouTube these cars are traveling at excessive speed.'
'We want speeding drivers to know that the only bright light they'll be seeing in their rear windows will be the red and blue lights of a police car.'
However, it has not prevented a raft of videos being uploaded to YouTube claiming to show the ghostly bright light filmed from the rear window of speeding cars as dozens of youngsters join in the dangerous trend in the area 100 miles north East of Sydney.
Many of the people in the videos are so convinced by what they are seeing their language deteriorates to a point where we could not use their videos in the story .
In one of the videos young male voices can be heard shouting: 'There it is.
'Oh my God, this is f*****g real!'
The footage shows a white light pursuing the car but it is unclear what is causing it.
Debate on the trend is raging across the internet with people arguing the validity of the 'ghost'.
One poster who claimed to have seen the light, and describing themselves as a 'promising student' rather than a 'stupid, mindless kid', said: 'I myself, did not believe, but this experience has somewhat aroused the supernatural within me.'
A more cynical commentator, SiltentC22, wrote: 'Hard to say what it is, it's just as likely someone driving with their high beams as it is a ghost.
'You couldn't consider this to be evidence of anything without a proper test conducted.
'I doubt this will happen but rather (that than) people ending up in accidents imitating the video above.'
Even a serious attempt to explain the phenomenon by paranormal website Unexplained Australia, as seen in the video below, fails to rationalise the appearance of the white light.
Two males are heard trying to explain away the situation and point out and after posting the video they pointed out that the phenomenon is visible without speeding.
But as curious drivers adhere to the urban myth the extremely dangerous nature of the trend is causing an equal amounts of debate and worry.
One internet poster, DarryllK, wrote, 'Don't know if there is a ghost, don't care - what I care about is that I travel that road regularly with my young children in the car and don't wish any of my family to be killed or injured due to idiots speeding.
'For years I was a funeral director and had to remove the mangled dead (many innocent children) from tangled wrecks caused by young drivers thinking they were bullet proof behind the wheel. USE YOUR HEAD AND THINK ABOUT IT.'
The motorcyclist was killed in a collision with a speeding car on the road in November, 2007.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1304022/Young-drivers-hit-111mph-Lemon-Tree-Passage-tribute-dead-motorcyclist.html#ixzz0wys2r2wB
The Lemon Tree Passage Ghost - YouTube
Fears for young Australian drivers speeding at 111mph to invoke 'ghost' of dead cyclist - and post footage on YouTube
Fears are growing for the safety of young drivers in an Australian town as a dangerous urban legend has them trying to hit 111mph on an unlit road to conjure the ghost of a dead motorcyclist - and film it for YouTube.
The trend has become so prevalent that local police have been forced to issue public warnings as residents fear for their safety on the roads at night.
The urban legend tells that newly qualified drivers - known locally as 'P Plates' - in Newcastle, New South Wales, who achieving the speed on Lemon Tree Passage can summon the spirit of a 20-year-old motorcyclist who was killed in an accident on the road in 2007.
It is alleged the 'ghost' of the dead motorcyclist appears as a bright light chasing after drivers trying to make them slow down.
As fears that teenagers speeding dangerously are distracted while driving by either the 'ghost' or the act of filming, police are worried that the dangerous high-speed stunt is also putting other motorists at risk.
A spokesman for Port Stephens said: 'It is alleged that if you drive at speed in a dangerous manner, a bright white light comes in behind you and that's what they are calling the Lemon Tree Passage ghost.
'There have been several phone calls that people are going out there and while attempting to get footage for YouTube these cars are traveling at excessive speed.'
'We want speeding drivers to know that the only bright light they'll be seeing in their rear windows will be the red and blue lights of a police car.'
However, it has not prevented a raft of videos being uploaded to YouTube claiming to show the ghostly bright light filmed from the rear window of speeding cars as dozens of youngsters join in the dangerous trend in the area 100 miles north East of Sydney.
Many of the people in the videos are so convinced by what they are seeing their language deteriorates to a point where we could not use their videos in the story .
In one of the videos young male voices can be heard shouting: 'There it is.
'Oh my God, this is f*****g real!'
The footage shows a white light pursuing the car but it is unclear what is causing it.
Debate on the trend is raging across the internet with people arguing the validity of the 'ghost'.
One poster who claimed to have seen the light, and describing themselves as a 'promising student' rather than a 'stupid, mindless kid', said: 'I myself, did not believe, but this experience has somewhat aroused the supernatural within me.'
A more cynical commentator, SiltentC22, wrote: 'Hard to say what it is, it's just as likely someone driving with their high beams as it is a ghost.
'You couldn't consider this to be evidence of anything without a proper test conducted.
'I doubt this will happen but rather (that than) people ending up in accidents imitating the video above.'
Even a serious attempt to explain the phenomenon by paranormal website Unexplained Australia, as seen in the video below, fails to rationalise the appearance of the white light.
Two males are heard trying to explain away the situation and point out and after posting the video they pointed out that the phenomenon is visible without speeding.
But as curious drivers adhere to the urban myth the extremely dangerous nature of the trend is causing an equal amounts of debate and worry.
One internet poster, DarryllK, wrote, 'Don't know if there is a ghost, don't care - what I care about is that I travel that road regularly with my young children in the car and don't wish any of my family to be killed or injured due to idiots speeding.
'For years I was a funeral director and had to remove the mangled dead (many innocent children) from tangled wrecks caused by young drivers thinking they were bullet proof behind the wheel. USE YOUR HEAD AND THINK ABOUT IT.'
The motorcyclist was killed in a collision with a speeding car on the road in November, 2007.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1304022/Young-drivers-hit-111mph-Lemon-Tree-Passage-tribute-dead-motorcyclist.html#ixzz0wys2r2wB
The Lemon Tree Passage Ghost - YouTube