Well,
Mr. Gatsonides and unpleasant is not up to us to decide, I think.
His Monte Carlo win was because there were people spontaneously throwing water onto his wheels. That that helped cooling them was a pleasant surprise. Of course, I think we know that this is a bit optimistic
.
For time keeping, my understanding was that the invention came out of something a little different, but of course worked out in the end as it did: A cash cow.
Apparently, Gatsonides, wo wanted to market his cars as Gatford, wanted to improve his corner speeds, but to do that, you needed to know how fast you went before and how fast you went with another technique. And so the Gatsometer was invented.
That a racing driver gets upset about a speed trap is maybe understandable, but a bit over the top. And that he can make money with his invention and indeed making speeding fines less of a guess and more scientific is - I believe - better.
PS) In Holland they're now using infrared instead of a normal flash. So you don't know you've been speeding. How this has anything to do with safety is beyond me. I can imagine that a flash makes you look at your odometer and adjust your speed. How can you learn from a infrared flash? And later, when you get the fine, it makes it harder to proof the thing was adjusted improperly. As happened to me once. (flashed at 60km/h, but the sign showed 80. I made some pictures of the situation and didn't have to pay in the end)
Oh well, you never win.
And apparently, the Dutch also invented the wheel clamp.
