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How much money does it take to get a speeding millionaire’s attention?
A Swiss court thinks it knows the answer: $290,000.
According to an Associated Press report, judges in eastern Switzerland based the fine on the lead-footed driver’s estimated worth: more than $20 million.
A statement on the court’s Web site identified the driver as a repeat offender. The driver was going 35 miles an hour over the 50 mile an hour limit.
That works out to more than $8,000 for each mile over the limit. Ouch!
But does assessing fines based upon the speeders’ incomes work?
Europeans certainly seem to think so.
In another European country, a sausage tycoon from Finland was fined 170,000 Euros for going double the posted limit, according to a 2004 report on the BBC Website. That is more than $234,000.
That makes the $300 average speeding fine in Rancho Santa Fe sound pretty reasonable.
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