85 in a 50 Results in $290K Fine

Terry Olaes

Terry Olaes

I Used to be the [H] News Guy
Joined
Nov 27, 2006
Messages
4,646
Before you complain about your local jurisdiction’s speeding ticket fines, just be thankful that you’re not this guy in Switzerland. He was nailed going 35 MPH over the limit in a 50mph zone and got a ticket for two hundred and ninety thousand fething dollars! I wonder if he could just go to a comedy traffic school on a Saturday so he won’t take the point? :p

In 2002 Swiss voters approved replacing prison terms for some offenses, including speeding, with fines based on your income. …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.
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They should have traffic tickets vary based on the value of the car your driving...

The more expensive/valuable the automobile... the higher the citations for each offense. They could afford it.
 
Fines based on your income? Who would have known the communists really won the cold war?
 
I believe their is a country that fines you based on the amount of money you earn in a year... Seems a fairer way of doing it to me :)
 
Tech News? Anyway, thats mighty harsh for that speed. Well depending on how much he spent on his car, maybe he can afford it :p
 
well, this guy has been convicted multiple times before, did not accept the lower fine, pretended to be a diplomat and the fine was based on his income. that of a millionaire. what do you expect...
 
BettiePage said:
They should have traffic tickets vary based on the value of the car your driving...

The more expensive/valuable the automobile... the higher the citations for each offense. They could afford it.
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Guess I'm not moving to Switzerland anytime soon. Besides, in the US, a law/statute like this would never pass simply because this would violate some very basic tenants of the Constitution as they relate to equal justice under the law. I'm actually surprised that Switzerland would uphold such a law, but their people voted on it and if it jives with their Constitution or their equivalent, then that's their problem.
 
ProfessorKaos64 said:
Tech News? Anyway, thats mighty harsh for that speed. Well depending on how much he spent on his car, maybe he can afford it :p
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Are you going to spend every post questioning my articles? Since you're new, I'll explain it for you. This site talks about tech, cars, space, games... pretty much anything that is interesting to a geek. Do a search on cars and you'll find no shortage of articles. Enjoy your stay.
 
Fething dollars? Is that like Linden dollars?
 
Terry Olaes said:
Are you going to spend every post questioning my articles? Since you're new, I'll explain it for you. This site talks about tech, cars, space, games... pretty much anything that is interesting to a geek. Do a search on cars and you'll find no shortage of articles. Enjoy your stay.
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Geez, my bad Terry, I just assumed that was what the [H] Forums were for. Sorry
 
BettiePage said:
They should have traffic tickets vary based on the value of the car your driving...

The more expensive/valuable the automobile... the higher the citations for each offense. They could afford it.
Click to expand...

kirbyrj said:
Fines based on your income? Who would have known the communists really won the cold war?
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Right? Poor folks would be doin' all the crimes! hahaha... Wait so if someone misreports their income they'll get cheaper speeding tickets?

WTF? :eek:
 
kirbyrj said:
Fines based on your income? Who would have known the communists really won the cold war?
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Fines are punitive and supposed to be a way to correct behavior really. If you make $600k a year, is a $100 ticket really going to do anything to stop you from breaking the law?
 
Theyve recently put up signs around here "Reckless driving max 8 years" I am willing to guess noone actually gets 8 years, but that sign is enough to scare everyone to slow down lol.
 
LeninGHOLA said:
Fines are punitive and supposed to be a way to correct behavior really. If you make $600k a year, is a $100 ticket really going to do anything to stop you from breaking the law?
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So if you won the lottery, you should get $200,000 speeding ticket? How is that fair. Or would you give all of your money to charity to be treated like everyone else.

Make $600k a year first, then I'll watch you obeying the speed limit in your Audi R8 4.2 FSI. hahahaha... :D
 
I got a 96 in a 65 ticket once. Never had to pay a thing on it though because I was going 80, not 96. The cop lied when he wrote the ticket, the radar only read 80. Also the highway patrol dash cam thing showed him acting extremely unprofessional trying to antagonize me. So I got some lolz in court :p I can only imagine that the reason the cop wrote the ticket that way is because it was exactly 31mph over the speed limit which would have made the fine the maximum amount. I guess he wanted to have me help out his stats for the month lol
 
Flexion said:
So if you won the lottery, you should get $200,000 speeding ticket? How is that fair. Or would you give all of your money to charity to be treated like everyone else.
[...]
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man, read the article. he was notorious for speeding, convicted multiple times, lied to the authorities by pretending to be a diplomat and he didn't accept the initial 90k fine. so what.
 
Methadras said:
Guess I'm not moving to Switzerland anytime soon. Besides, in the US, a law/statute like this would never pass simply because this would violate some very basic tenants of the Constitution as they relate to equal justice under the law. I'm actually surprised that Switzerland would uphold such a law, but their people voted on it and if it jives with their Constitution or their equivalent, then that's their problem.
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hahaha then how is income tax that varies based on your income as opposed to a flat tax legal? sides I think the insurance companies would love it... means folks with more expensive cars would be more careful when driving.
 
Flexion said:
Right? Poor folks would be doin' all the crimes! hahaha... Wait so if someone misreports their income they'll get cheaper speeding tickets?

WTF? :eek:
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no the tickets would still be normal rates... just that it would increase as the value of the automobile goes up... cant lie about the value of the car when it is in the blue book.

sides they can always check your income tax statements if ticket values increase based on income...

and if you feel like perjury to increase the fines... good for em.
 
Methadras said:
Guess I'm not moving to Switzerland anytime soon. Besides, in the US, a law/statute like this would never pass simply because this would violate some very basic tenants of the Constitution as they relate to equal justice under the law. I'm actually surprised that Switzerland would uphold such a law, but their people voted on it and if it jives with their Constitution or their equivalent, then that's their problem.
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Do we live in the same country? The United States of America? How many times was the constitution walked all over in the name of fighting terrorism? It's only a matter of time until it's disregarded in the name of traffic safety (meaning having officers generate tax revenue and ignore serious crimes).
 
In a sense, what they're doing isn't wrong. Crimes deserve punishment. What is punishment for most people (a $200 ticket) is not a punishment for him. That's why most crimes are punished with jail time since jail is pretty much punishment for everyone. But, they decided to switch to a fine-based punishment system, so this treatment is perfectly valid.

Consider suing somebody for infringing on copyrights/patents and making money off of it, or stealing and making money by selling stolen goods. There is no "set fine" since it doesn't make sense to punish a vast theft network with something like $200 when they've made millions. Rather, they'll simply seize all your assets (variable fine) and likely put you in prison.
 
I shouldn't move there...and I should stop speeding.
 
Flexion said:
So if you won the lottery, you should get $200,000 speeding ticket? How is that fair. Or would you give all of your money to charity to be treated like everyone else.

Make $600k a year first, then I'll watch you obeying the speed limit in your Audi R8 4.2 FSI. hahahaha... :D
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It is the exact same idea as a flat tax. Flat tax is considered the holy grail for conservatives.
 
Methadras said:
Guess I'm not moving to Switzerland anytime soon. Besides, in the US, a law/statute like this would never pass simply because this would violate some very basic tenants of the Constitution as they relate to equal justice under the law. I'm actually surprised that Switzerland would uphold such a law, but their people voted on it and if it jives with their Constitution or their equivalent, then that's their problem.
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Many other countries do it this way, Germany is one.

It is a smart way of doing it. Think about it; if you are a millionaire, would a $100 ticket makes you think twice of speeding again? Or would a $29,000 ticket make you think twice about speeding?

It is not about punishing someone for making too much money, it is about getting them to not do it again.

Also, 'equal justice' as you state is not as simple as you make it. How is it 'equal justice' to give someone a $100 ticket that is making $50,000(.002% of his income) and the same $100 ticket to someone making a million a year(.0001% of his income)? Seriously, who was 'punished' more by that $100 fine? How can you call that equal?
 
i think income based fines are fair (as long as its done right)

rich people shouldnt be allowed to laugh at the law by getting fined amounts that are negligible
and poor people shouldnt be give an excessive fine
 
BettiePage said:
no the tickets would still be normal rates... just that it would increase as the value of the automobile goes up... cant lie about the value of the car when it is in the blue book.
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What stops someone from buying a cheap used car and heavily modifying it to be much faster to serve the same purpose then?
 
N2OInferno said:
What stops someone from buying a cheap used car and heavily modifying it to be much faster to serve the same purpose then?
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not saying it's perfect... but fines based on variables related to the perp is better than fixed fines where the rich can just laugh it off. sides for a custom car... get it appraised and get an appropriate fine :) not many folk drive a hand built car from scratch or a totally suped up rebuilt car.

it also doesnt take into consideration if your breaking the law while in a company car etc...
 
N2OInferno said:
What stops someone from buying a cheap used car and heavily modifying it to be much faster to serve the same purpose then?
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You'd have a consultant/adjuster on site riding with the PO PO, to identify the modded parts and NOS cans. You know, like some car modding drift king Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift Mofo, hangin' out with the coppers and chompin' down on donuts in the squad car. Like the FBI hiring hackers for cybercrime.
 
So if one does not have a job they can speed as much as they want?
 
So if you're broke and unemployed and driving a beater that can go 100+ you can speed all you want :)
 
I don't think that the crime of speeding (unnecessarily endangering fellow citizens) should be punished with the paying of our fiat currency at all. If you speed once warning. Second warning. Third license suspended for 6 months. Caught driving on a suspended license then jailtime. That seems like a perfectly logical way to deal with the problem. Paying 200 dollars or 290k dollars is not fair for putting others lives at risk. The current system is bs made up because people want to pay a fine and keep on speeding and the governemnt will take the money so they aggreed on it but its not right. Nobody has a "right" to drive on public roadways. If you endanger others you should not drive period.
Just one mans opinion
 
brandinb said:
I don't think that the crime of speeding (unnecessarily endangering fellow citizens) should be punished with the paying of our fiat currency at all. If you speed once warning. Second warning. Third license suspended for 6 months. Caught driving on a suspended license then jailtime. That seems like a perfectly logical way to deal with the problem. Paying 200 dollars or 290k dollars is not fair for putting others lives at risk. The current system is bs made up because people want to pay a fine and keep on speeding and the governemnt will take the money so they aggreed on it but its not right. Nobody has a "right" to drive on public roadways. If you endanger others you should not drive period.
Just one mans opinion
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Finally, a sound answer. This is practiced in other parts of the world.

Although I do believe the flat tax/speeding ticket argument is communist, the capitalist I'm Tony Stark and like to blow shit up with my Iron Man suit any time anywhere cuz I get da money kinda mentality isn't necessarily right either.
 
brandinb said:
I don't think that the crime of speeding (unnecessarily endangering fellow citizens) should be punished with the paying of our fiat currency at all. If you speed once warning. Second warning. Third license suspended for 6 months. Caught driving on a suspended license then jailtime. That seems like a perfectly logical way to deal with the problem. Paying 200 dollars or 290k dollars is not fair for putting others lives at risk. The current system is bs made up because people want to pay a fine and keep on speeding and the governemnt will take the money so they aggreed on it but its not right. Nobody has a "right" to drive on public roadways. If you endanger others you should not drive period.
Just one mans opinion
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Not really plausible since traffic ticket revenue is vital for out Cities.
 
Flexion said:
Finally, a sound answer. This is practiced in other parts of the world.

Although I do believe the flat tax/speeding ticket argument is communist, the capitalist I'm Tony Stark and like to blow shit up with my Iron Man suit any time anywhere cuz I get da money kinda mentality isn't necessarily right either.
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Obviously a flat amount of money is rarely the proper punishment for crime with some exceptions. If i deface public property a flat fee = to repair cost plus wasting time of government officials cost plus extra to pay for similar crimes never caught would be in order. Repeat offenses = jail time of course.

There are very few crimes that should be punished with monetary fines. I just don't understand that thinking. But if you consider of who owns our supposed "representative" politicians that make these laws.... rich lobbyists, corporations, special interests what have you it comes clear. They are laws for the common man not the rich and elite or corporations. They will pay thier fines and laugh. They should be accountable with jail time!
 
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