A wealthy Swiss lawyer has been fined 115,000 euros for failing to respect social distancing. The amount was calculated based on his income.
This is a particularly hefty fine for this Swiss motorist. A 58-year-old man was fined 108,500 Swiss francs (a little over 115,000 euros). His crime: not having respected the safety distance with a vehicle he was following on the motorway, reports the Swiss daily Aargauer Zeitung.
The crime, committed in March 2023, took place on the A1 motorway near Zurich. Driving his BMW 5 Series, the driver was driving between 110 and 120 km/h while being “between eight and twelve metres” from the vehicle in front of him, for almost 2.5 km.
A fine proportional to income
According to the main person concerned, the police officers did not clearly explain his rights to him and the calculation of the safety distance by video was inaccurate. The allegations were rejected by the court for which “the fact that his vehicle is equipped with sports or racing brakes” does not reduce his braking reaction time.
So why is the fine so heavy for this Swiss lawyer? Because its amount is calculated according to the income of the motorist. And the latter receives 1.7 million Swiss francs per year, or more than 1.8 million euros, according to figures communicated by the court.
The sum is divided as follows: the driver will have to pay 10,000 Swiss francs (around 10,700 euros), as well as a “conditional” fine of 95,500 Swiss francs that the fifty-year-old will pay if he commits a new traffic violation within two years.
