Slashdot Mirror
Swiss Millionaire Hit By Record Speed Fine
tugfoigel writes "A Swiss court has slapped a local millionaire with a record speeding fine of $290,000.The man was reportedly caught driving a red Ferrari Testarossa at 137km/h (85mph) through a village.The penalty was calculated based on the unnamed motorist's wealth — assessed by the court as $22.7m — and on his status as a repeat offender."
The Swiss hate cars, even more than nanny-state California does. A 210+ mph ticket on a Veyron there had a max fine of $500.
Not a typewriter
In Switzerland the people don't give way to the car, and it's a good thing. A typical village speed limit is 50km/h, or 30km/h in the single-lane back streets, so this guy was doing 2x or 3x the speed limit. Your typical Swiss village was laid-out 500 years before cars existed, and has narrow roads, no curb on the gutter, and twisty turns around houses etc. The children are encouraged to walk to school un-escorted from age 5 onwards (not be driven a few blocks in an 5 litre V8 "SUV" as in Australia), so there's a very real chance of someone distracted by a butterfly not crossing the road as well as they could. The speed limit on the highway is 120km/h. And FWIW, the curve to the speeding fines is very steep. My wife got a few ~5km/h over speeding fines and they were usually less than 50 franks (USD$50). But once you start getting > 30km/h over the posted limit, the fines get huge.
Yes, we hate cars going at 210mph or at 85mph through towns because they kill people
He shouldn't have gotten a $500 fine, he should have lost his license and have his car impounded. Hopefully, next time he will.