The driver was clocked going 27 kilometers per hour (17 mph) over the speed limit on a street in the Swiss city of Lausanne, and now he’s facing up to 90,000 Swiss francs (over $110,000) in fines as a result. But he can afford it.
Why the eye-popping penalty? Because the speedster, a repeat offender, is one of Switzerland’s wealthiest people, and the Vaud canton, or region, serves up fines based on factors like income, fortune or general family financial situation.
The Swiss are not alone. Germany, France, Austria and the Nordic countries all issue punishments based on a person’s wealth. The recent fine isn’t even a record in Switzerland. In 2010, a millionaire Ferrari driver got a ticket equal to about $290,000 for speeding in the eastern canton of St. Gallen.
Back then, the Swiss safety group Road Cross said rich drivers had been lightly punished until voters approved a penal law overhaul three years earlier that let judges hand down fines based on personal income and wealth for misdemeanors like speeding and drunk driving.
Under today’s rules, an indigent person might spend a night in jail instead of a fine, while the wealthiest in the rich Alpine country could be on the hook for tens of thousands.