A police traffic officer who was patrolling in Ramat Gan on Sunday spotted a motorcyclist driving recklessly, in what turned out to be a highly ironic arrest.

The motorcyclist sped away, avoiding several attempts by the officer to stop him for a routine check.

Then the rider abandoned his motorcycle at the side of the road and tried to escape on foot, but the officer succeeded in beating him in a foot race and arrested the man for an investigation.

An initial investigation revealed that the motorcycle had a forged registration, the motorcyclist had not held a driver’s license since 1996 – and in any case he had never held a motorcycle driver’s license.

In a further blow to the rider, it was discovered that he was driving recklessly over the speed limit as he hurried to none other than a hearing at the traffic court for previous infractions.

The suspect, a 47-year-old resident of Netanya, was arrested and will be brought on Monday for a hearing on an extension of his arrest at the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court.

The police emphasized that driving without a license constitutes a “ticking time bomb” on the road, and endangers the driver as well as everyone else.

“The police will continue to act through all means at its disposal in order to struggle in the matter of traffic accidents, and to mete out justice to the traffic criminals,” read a statement.