Racing on the relay harrow at 150 – the little daughter thought it was like a rollercoaster

It wasn’t a stupid thing, it was a stupid thing to do: a 40-year-old man drove over the Staffelegg from Küttigen in early summer with his seven-year-old daughter. On the passing lane just before the pass pub, he overtook the vehicle in front of him, which was traveling at around 60 km/h.

His first problem: He accelerated his 340 hp BMW to 153 km/h. His second problem: The police were carrying out a speed check – which is why he was waved out and ultimately cited. Even after the tolerance deduction of 5 km/h, it was still 68 km/h too fast in the out-of-town area, where the top speed is 80 km/h. This is considered a serious, serious violation of traffic rules – from 60 km/h too fast in the 80s you are officially a “speeder”.

The public prosecutor’s office writes in the indictment that the man knew the route and therefore the applicable speed limit well, and therefore disregarded it “consciously and intentionally in a particularly blatant manner.” Applying the Raser article, the public prosecutor’s office demanded a suspended prison sentence of 14 months with a probationary period of four years and a fine of 3,000 francs.

Daughter thought it was like a roller coaster

Before the full court under court president Bettina Keller, the accused stated that he had not paid attention to the speedometer while driving because he had to concentrate on the road. However, he was surprised by the measured speed; he would have expected 120 km/h. He had only had his BMW at the time for a few months and it was more powerful than its predecessor. Nevertheless, the modern vehicle felt stable and good even at 150 km/h – he didn’t worry about his daughter’s safety.

In his plea, the public prosecutor stated that the case was actually clear. The accused had already admitted everything during the interview with the cantonal police, saying: “It is what it is.” He also said that his daughter always had fun when he accelerated the car so that she was pushed into the seat. It feels like a rollercoaster for her. The fact that the accused had his daughter with him during the speeding trip made the crime even more unscrupulous, according to the public prosecutor.

He went on to say that the case took place in May last year. So before the law was revised in October 2023, in which the courts were given – under various conditions – more discretion in cases of first-time speeders. The accused should therefore be sentenced to a conditional prison sentence. It wasn’t the first time he made mistakes on the road – twice he drove too fast, once he caused a minor accident due to carelessness.

Lawyer quotes the Federal Court

The accused’s lawyer also argued for the revision of the law. However, he introduced “Lex mitior”: the principle that if the law in question has changed between the crime and the verdict, a perpetrator should be punished according to the milder version. For this he also pulled out a federal court ruling, which recently sentenced a Ticino man who had been sentenced to a conditional prison sentence in the first instance to a conditional fine for precisely this reason.

That’s what the full court finally did: It sentenced the accused to the maximum penalty of 180 daily rates of 190 francs (34,200 francs), conditional on a probationary period of four years, and a fine of 3,000 francs.

In her statement, Judge Keller stated that although the accused had been traveling “massively too fast”, the court was of the opinion that he could benefit from the revision of the law to mitigate his punishment – especially because he did not have a relevant criminal record. And although it was “not ideal” that he had his daughter with him. He now has to prove himself over the next four years, she said at the end: “Nothing can happen now.”