Record Setting Speeding Ticket Dents Swiss Bank Account
Posted on January 8, 2010
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Next time you’re in Switzerland, driving through a windy village road at the foothills of the Alps, you may want to make sure you’re either very mindful of the police, or very poor.
Turns out if you decide that you want to speed your way through Switzerland, there’s no such thing as the standard fine for driving say, 35 mph over the limit. In fact if you’re caught speeding in the land of fine watches and neutrality, and you have a lot of money, you better hope you keep your money stashed away some where the Swiss can’t find it (a Swiss bank account?).
A 53 year old man was recently given a record setting speeding ticket for nearly $290,000 after driving 85 mph in a 50 mph zone through the small town of St. Gallen in the eastern part of the mountainous nation. The worst part is he was driving a Ferrari Testarossa worth just a fraction of the fine.
Why the hefty fine for a mere 35 over the limit?
In 2002 Swiss voters approved a system that replaces prison terms for some offenses, including speeding, with fines based on your income. According to the Zürich based Tages Anzeiger (english translation here), the 53 year old man has an annual income of more than $820,000 and is worth well over $20 million.
And another tip if you are caught and given a hefty fine in Switzerland, don’t make any big claims to try and get out of the ticket. The Testarossa driver was initially fined almost $90,000 by the local jurisdiction. That fee was raised to more than $145,000 by the next court. The driver had claimed diplomatic immunity saying he is diplomat from the Republic of Guinea-Bissau.
Apparently that didn’t sway the courts and the fee was raised again to the $290,000 fine.
“The accused ignored elementary traffic rules with a powerful vehicle out of a pure desire for speed” the court said.
On the upside, apparently he only has to pay half of the fine now, and the rest is deferred and will be eliminated for good behavior.
Photo: Flickr / FlyinPhogotraphy
Original post by Jason Paur
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