In a case that caught the attention of the Swiss media, a wealthy lawyer was sentenced to an astronomical fine for dangerous driving on the highway. The incident took place on the A1 freeway near Zurich, where the driver was intercepted for following another vehicle too closely, between 8 and 12 meters, while driving at a speed of 120 km/h.
Variable fines
The driver, a 58-year-old lawyer, was behind the wheel of his BMW 540d turbo-diesel when he was stopped. Contrary to what one might think, this behavior is not just a question of brand, but also of the way Switzerland applies its laws. Indeed, Swiss law on daily fines stipulates that penalties must be proportional to the offender's income.
The lawyer in question earns around 1.7 million Swiss francs a year, or just over 2.7 million dollars at the current exchange rate. Under the daily fine system, fines can vary from 30 to 3,000 francs per day. In this case, the court decided to impose 50 daily fines of CHF 1,970 each, totalling CHF 98,500, or around $157,412. To this must be added an additional fine of 15,000 francs and 5,000 francs in legal costs.
An unsuccessful counter-suit
The lawyer attempted to challenge the decision on appeal, arguing that the police had failed to inform him of his rights during questioning and that the videos used to assess the safety distance were inaccurate. However, these arguments were rejected by the court, which upheld the conviction despite the lawyer's attempts to defend himself.
The court also took into account the characteristics of the BMW, which the lawyer praised for its “sports and racing brakes”. But this was not enough to sway the court's decision, which confirmed that the quality of the brakes made no difference to the seriousness of the facts.
A costly lesson
In the end, although the court reduced the additional fine to 10,000 francs, the total penalty remains substantial. With the daily fine still in force, the lawyer will have to fork out 111,500 francs, or just under 131,500 dollars. Regardless of income, losing that kind of money for aggressive driving is a costly lesson.
So, even for the very wealthy, the rules of the road in Switzerland are strict, and money is no guarantee of impunity.