$ 290,000 speeding fine

Sounds like it was only because of his money that they fined him so much.

It'll teach him but it's also unfair.

 

No, the rules in Switzerland clearly say that fines go by income. The guy has a yearly income of US$ 850 K net (estimated by court) and approx. US$ 22 M of wealth. The Swiss guy claimed he had a diplomatic passport issued by the State of Guinea-Bissau but the Swiss never accepted his diplomatic "status" and he was not accredited. He also tried to produce a passport from the U.A.E. No chance, he is from Saint Gall, Switzerland, and made his money as a CPA, then went into real estate.

Marcel Massini

 

This - or something similar - pops up every few years. MM's point above is right, here's a slightly more detailed breakdown. For many minor infractions, one simply pays a fine and that's the end of it (no points nonsense).


km/h over = Fine
1-5 (121-125 km/h in a 120km/h ) = 20 CHF simple fine (no registering of drivers name)
6-10 = 60. CHF simple fine (no registering of drivers name)
11-15 = 120 CHF simple fine (no registering of drivers name)
16-20 = 180 CHF simple fine (no registering of drivers name)
21-24 = 260. CHF simple fine (no registering of drivers name)
************************************************** ****
25-29 = 380 CHF fine, plus 'having to go to court'
30-34 = 550 CHF fine, plus 'having to go to court'
35-39 = 10 Tagessätze* + 700 CHF fine, plus 'having to go to court'
40-44 = 15 Tagessätze* + 900 CHF fine, plus 'having to go to court'
45-49 = 20 Tagessätze* + 1100 CHF fine, plus 'having to go to court'
> 50 = 30 Tagessätze* + 1300 CHF fine, plus 'having to go to court'

A Tagessätze is approximately 1 day's worth of net income for the culprit.

 

SMALL but IMPORTANT addition:
If you are caught driving 21 km/h (15 miles) over the limit you automatically LOSE your drivers license for 3 months. Plus the fine and huge administrative costs, of course. Also important to know is that the tolerance for most of the fixed Swiss radar stations and speed guns (radar traps) is ONLY 2 km/h now. Which means that if you drive 53 km/h in a 50 km/h zone you will be fined for 51 less the limit of 50 = 1 km/h too fast.

Marcel Massini

 

All of this certainly increases the stakes, doesn't it? At what point is it "economical" to flee? Not recommending this, of course, but at some point it would seem that people won't have an interest in pulling over as the fine becomes "excessive".

I also don't like the way our Courts, DMVs and insurance companies pile-on here in the US. It seems the hits just keep on coming even after you're punch drunk!

CW

 

So, if you plan on going fast, you need to obscure your license plates, and wear something so that even if they figure out who owns the car, they can't id you. Seem simple to me, and with those fines, no reason not to do that.

Art

 

Hi Marcel,

I thought the bar for loss was higher -- essentially where the *** line in my post was (> 25km/h too fast). But, yes, that is a pretty critical oversight on my part.

Fortunately in my Swiss travels I was never 20km/h too fast.

 

NO, the bar for loss of driver's license is 21 km/h. No matter if you are in a 50 km/h zone or on the motorway in a 120 km/h zone.

Oh, btw, on the 60 km long motorway between Lausanne and Geneva, there are more than 20 (!) fixed speed cameras, covering both directions. That is a speed camera every 3 kms!! No fun over here. Just this week we had a kid here in Zurich going through a tunnel (leading into the city) where the limit is 60 km/h, he drove 148 km/h. This young man will walk for several years now, that's for sure (or use public transport).

Marcel Massini

 

Holy crap! That's a lot of money.
Wonder how the owner must feel, paying a fine worth more than his car.

 

The swiss really do hate anything to do with speed, and cars, and speed.
In the words of JC, "Nein!, It is too noisy! Get it out, Get it out!"

 

I really feel like us, motorists are the worst scumbags on earth when i read stuff like that.

 

Do the authorities claim any kind of "road safety" link with their harsh intolerance of speeding infringement? Or is that just how it is?

Here in Australia we have had a series of high publicity tragic accidents in the past couple of weeks, mainly whole families with head on with trucks in unfortunate road situations.. yet in the very same news articles same day are calls from somewhere for (more) "speed cameras" without even investigating or knowing the causes yet!

 

+1

 

I dont necessarily agree with the levels at which the fine are set but i do agree with the idea of basing the fine on ones income.

 

Most speed cameras are money making traps. I have seen countless studies in France that showed that most fatalities occur on B roads and because of drunk driving. But of course,setting up an alcohol check up doesnt bring money...

 

i never speed too much in switzerland. the fines are massive.
its just as easy to pop over the border to italy

 

Those who are in favour of speed cameras usually reason that 'speed kills'. I disagree with this. It's not speed itself but the speed difference. If I drive above the speed limit on a long and empty road with great vision there's less danger than driving below the speed limit at night in heavy rain and traffic.
Speed cameras don't take these circumstances into account and are therefore very arbitrary and unfair IMHO.
I don't mind when police pull someone over who they've followed and who has shown dangerous driving, even at low speeds.

 

I hope you noticed that less than 1 mile after the Swiss-Italian border in Chiasso, towards Como, in Italy, is an ITALIAN Speed Camera installed, on the motorway. And it is NOT the only one. Oh, and Italy and Switzerland now have a new agreement/new law that they regularly exchange police information re Swiss drivers speeding in Italy and Italian drivers speeding in Switzerland. There is no escape anymore! Italians speeding in Switzerland will be fined in Italy if the Swiss don't catch them right here (the Swiss police notifies the Italian authorities) and vice-versa. Since January 1, 2010, the same police exchange information now also exists between France and Switzerland and the system also works between Germany and Switzerland and vice-versa. All this as a result of the enlarged Schengen zone in Europe. Of course this has nothing to do with dangerous roads and risky driving, the ONLY reason is to get more $$$. NEVER believe politicians and don't speed! All the 26 cantons of Switzerland have their individual budgets for their annual income through fines and speeding cameras, seriously!

Marcel Massini

 

We have strict drink driving laws, and good random checks on it.

The number of road deaths, as tragic as it is, is relatively tiny but gets high public profile.. and the politicians attention and the camera regime is both a 15 second "fix" AND tidy earner.

Our drivers licence standards were changed only recently to double the number of log book hours to 120 spent on learner plates but that doesn't do much since it only doubles the amount of time being taught by mum/dad and who knows what bad habits.

The driving test for Provisional then full licence doesn't even involve the simplest of emergency braking tests.. ever.. but they DO pay very strict attention, and fail you promptly, for the *slightest* speed limit infringment as if that is the essence of safe motoring in their official mind.. sigh.

Needless to say we sometimes have vast distances to cover and wide open roads and our national limit is STILL 100 km/h and most people either die of boredom or "risk" their licence to set a decent, but still reasonable, cruise speed.

In my view the absolute worst offenders are those who pass B-double trucks on highways which have 110 km/h limit whereas the trucks have 100 km/h speed limiters.

Such is the fear (in some) peoples minds, of "speeding" or that "speed kills" they are quite happy to *crawl* past the truck taking as long as it needs, minutes maybe, to ensure they don't go over the "speed limit".. unsafe motoring at its very worst to sit alongside such a thing like that unnecessarily IMHO.

 

I got hit in Switzerland coming home to Geneva from the Montreaux Jazz Festival. I think I was going like 8-10 over the limit.

It was **not** pleasant.

 

Please read my earlier post re number of speed cameras between Montreux-Lausanne and Geneva...........and the tolerance is 2 (two) kilometers, not more.

Marcel Massini

 

I hope to do some driving in Italy for the first time middle of the year.. I hope I will avoid major problems like this.

Rome-Modena is the likely route at this stage.

Stelvio Pass and northern parts might have to be another trip.

 

Just don't speed. The motorway limit in Italy is 130 km/h, in Switzerland it is 120 km/h. If it rains it can be MUCH less in Italy.

Marcel Massini

 

"ZURICH (Reuters) - A millionaire motorist clocked up a record fine of 299,000 Swiss francs ($290,000) after Swiss police caught him racing through a village at 100 km per hour in his red Ferrari Testarossa, Swiss media reported on Thursday."
So is this more than his car is worth? Im surprised they didnt sieze the car as well....