A driver who was caught speeding in the city of Lausanne in Switzerland, is facing an eye-watering fine of up to 90,000 Swiss francs (over $110,000) and he can afford it.
The man was clocked going 27 kilometers per hour (17 mph) over the speed limit on a local street.
Why the steep penalty? Because the speedster, a repeat offender, is one of Switzerland’s wealthiest individuals, and the Vaud canton bases fines on factors such as income, fortune, and overall 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 report noted.
Switzerland’s recent fine isn’t even a record. In 2010, a millionaire Ferrari driver received a ticket equivalent 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.
The new rules allowed judges to issue fines based on personal income and wealth for misdemeanors such as speeding and drunk driving.
Under the current system, an indigent offender might spend a night in jail instead of paying a fine, while Switzerland’s wealthiest could face penalties in the tens of thousands.
A Vaud court recently ruled that the tycoon must pay 10,000 Swiss francs ($12,300) immediately, with the possibility of an additional 80,000 if he commits a similar traffic infraction within the next three years.
Switzerland’s “24 Heures” newspaper first reported the case, describing the man as a French citizen listed by Swiss economic weekly Bilan among the 300 richest people in Switzerland, with a fortune in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The paper said an automated police radar photographed the offender driving at 77 kilometers per hour (48 mph) in a 50 kph (31 mph) zone. “A quick-calculating prosecutor tallied the maximum fine the driver faced under the law,” the report added.
Vincent Derouand, a spokesperson for the Vaud public prosecutor’s office, said the defendant didn’t contest the decision, which was handed down in June for the infraction nearly a year ago, in August 2024.
The Vaud criminal code sets maximum financial penalties based on the “personal and economic situation of the offender at the time of the ruling”, considering factors such as income, fortune, lifestyle, and family financial needs.
The newspaper reported that the man had already been caught for a similar speeding infraction eight years ago.
He paid 10,000 Swiss francs then and could have faced another 60,000 if another violation occurred within two years.
Even Swiss cops aren’t immune: one officer was fined in 2016 for racing nearly twice the speed limit through Geneva while chasing thieves who had blown up a bank teller machine.
