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Great Scott! ‘Back to the Future’ fan ticketed for going 88 in his DeLorean

Well, what would you do if you were taking your newly acquired DeLorean out for a spin and suddenly noticed the speedometer hovering at around 85 mph? Wouldn’t you push it to 88 mph in the admittedly desperate hope that something magical might happen?

Spencer White of Santa Clarita, California, did just that last week. And got a ticket for his troubles.

Spencer White with his DeLorean. Spencer White

White, who happened to have his mom alongside him at the time, told the BBC it all started when he hit the gas to get past some slow traffic on the freeway.

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When he noticed he was moving at 85 mph, he suggested to his mom pushing it to 88 — the precise speed the DeLorean needed for time travel in Back to the Future. She was clearly up for it, imploring her son to “go for it!”

Next thing he knew, he was getting pulled over by a traffic cop.

“I had to open up the door because DeLoreans have these really weird windows on them, and [the cop] had a big grin on his face,” 36-year-old White explained.

After a brief discussion, the officer pulled out the radar gun and showed White the “88 mph” readout. To his surprise, the officer asked if he wanted to take a picture of it.

Clearly a fan of the movie that secured the car eternal fame, the cop asked White if he happened to have a flux capacitor inside the vehicle, the vital component that enabled McFly to travel through time inside his souped up DeLorean.

White, who only bought his beloved car a few months back, said he’d hoped the cop might let him off. But it wasn’t to be. The officer told White he didn’t immediately realize it was a DeLorean when he clocked it, adding, “But I still have to do my job.”

He got hit with a $400 speeding ticket, a fine that only a spot of time travel will be able to reverse.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
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