In that heart-pumping moment, as one waits for the officer to approach the window, a pit opens somewhere in one’s digestive tract. It’s the weight of the unknown answer to the question, “what’s this gonna cost me?”
For most of us, we’re scrambling to assemble the stack of licenses and documents for the officer, while trying to work out our story. Play dumb but polite, then apologize and make promises of never again.
Then the window goes down and all hell breaks loose. For these five speeders, they didn’t realize how expensive hell could be.
Finland – $60,000
As is the norm in Scandinavia, the Finnish base speeding tickets on a sliding scale. The more money one makes, the higher the ticket.
Reima Kuisla, a Finnish business person, learned this first hand in March of 2015. He was going 64 in a 50 zone when the cops pulled him over. The fine was 54,000 Euros, about $60K.
Kuisla was so put out, he threatened to move abroad due to the enormous fine, but that didn’t change his fate.
The Swiss intend to deter the wealthy from gaming the system, speeding against the threat of fines they can easily pay. The sliding scale levels the field.
Considering Kuisla made about $7-million a year at the time, nobody felt sorry for him.
Finland – $103,000
If you’re not familiar with Finland, have you heard of Nokia? Anssi Vanjoki, the director of said company, took a hit when cops busted him going 47 in a 31 zone in Finland.
In January 2002, he was cruising on Harley Davidson in Helsinki. Apparently, nobody told him Harleys are for cruising, not speeding.
When the police pulled his last income data to configure his bill, the computer spits out a fine of over $100K. At the time, Nokia was not the up trending company of its former self.
Vanjoki appealed the ticket with more current data on his income. The judge dropped his fine by 95 percent.
Finland – $217,000
In February 2004, the young heir to a Finnish sausage business, Jussi Salonoja, thought 50 in a 25 zone was a good idea.
The problem for this rich young stud was that he made seven-million euros in 2002, per the last report the police could pull.
Considering the precedent set by Anssi Vanjoki in 2002, Salonoja intended to fight the lofty ticket in court, but with as much money in the bank, as he had at the time, it was unlikely to pan out.
Switzerland – $290,000
If you think the Finnish authorities are tough, check out what happened in Switzerland in 2010. Driving a red Ferrari Testarossa, a Swiss millionaire flew through a village at 85 miles per hour.
The posted speed limit was 50, but we all know the cops were just jealous of that sweet Italian whip… That, and the rich man’s villa with four other luxury cars in the garage.
Needless to say, the speeder didn’t get out of the fine. For a few days, he held the record for the highest speeding ticket in Switzerland, nay the world.
Switzerland – $1-million
Only days after the last case, another Swiss person of great wealth ripped the prize for the most ridiculous speeding ticket ever from the first winner.
Authorities had pulled the driver, whose name we do not know per Swiss’ laws, many times before. It’s safe to say that he (let’s assume it was a man, not for the money but the speeding) knew the risks.
His estimated worth at the time was $20-million, warranting a ticket near $1-million. At the very least, he could rest assured that nobody would try to beat that ticket.
Take one piece of advice from this list. Speeding is dangerous. Tickets are expensive. Never drive fast in Finland or Switzerland. The cops there do not play around.