1.4 million dollar speeding fine

**rustyrobot** · 13th August 2010, 13:14

Ouch!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10960230

A Swedish driver who was caught driving at 290km/h (180mph) in Switzerland could be given a world-record speeding fine of SFr1,080m (£656,000), prosecutors say.

The 37-year-old, who has not been named, was clocked driving his Mercedes sports car at 170km/h over the limit.

I wonder how many community service hours that converts to?

**onearmedbandit** · 13th August 2010, 13:17

If his ticket is worth that much his income would be such that it wouldn't be too much of an issue to him.

That is a gorgeous car too.

**slofox** · 13th August 2010, 13:17

Originally Posted by rustyrobot

I wonder how many community service hours that converts to?

I believe it is 26,387,422 hours, 6 minutes, 4.375 seconds...

**Swoop** · 13th August 2010, 13:42

Talking of speeding fines...

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/motoring/n...ectid=10665576

UK: Speeding drivers revel in Oxford's great switch-off.

The A44 Woodstock Road is the type of place for which speed cameras were invented. The pretty, tree-lined street serves as both a busy thoroughfare to Oxford town centre and a bustling residential area, complete with a church and nursery school.

A speed camera in its yellow box still sits on a grass verge at the side of the road, but yesterday drivers took no notice of it, zooming past at speeds well over the 30mph limit with no fear of a fine or points on their licence.

Earlier this month Oxfordshire council switched off every speed camera in the county and, judging by their speeds and the fanfare which accompanied the news, the drivers know it.

What they did not know, however, is that the film was left inside two of the speed cameras for a five-day test period. During that time the cameras secretly recorded the speed of passing cars.

And, while the drivers will face no prosecution, the results of the experiment proved what road safety groups feared: with the Gatso cameras out of action, drivers simply ignored the speed limit.

On Woodstock Road, 110 drivers were caught travelling at more than 35mph along the 30mph road in the five-day test period. That's 18 per cent more than the number of drivers who used to be caught speeding in an average week.

It is a law-breaking trend which, owing to Government budget cuts, could soon be replicated across the country. And it is a situation which has provoked anger from road safety groups and senior police officers who say lives are being put at risk.

The decision to switch off the 72 fixed and 89 mobile speed cameras in Oxfordshire came after the county council had its central-government Road Safety Grant of £1m (NZ$2.2m) cut by £300,000. In turn, the council cut the budget of the Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership - the group which maintains the speed camera network in Oxfordshire - by £600,000 and, in effect, forced the switching off of every speed camera in the county.

The cuts to the road safety grant were mirrored in every council across England and Wales. The Government says it is up to local councils, if they so desire, to fund the speed camera network using money earmarked for other areas.

But this has been ridiculed by road safety groups, who say that cutting a road safety budget is encouraging councils to scrap speed cameras.

Ellen Booth, a spokeswoman for Brake, said: "The government is saying that it is up to local councils and that they have not made anyone turn any cameras off. What we are saying is that if the Government cuts road safety funding, the cameras are going to be switched off."

But, financial motives aside, there is safety to consider. Thames Valley Police and senior officers from other forces have reacted angrily to the decision to remove speed cameras.

They point to statistics published by the Department of Transport in 2005 which highlighted the virtues of speed cameras.

The report examined thousands of cameras installed across England and Wales between 2000 and 2004.

It monitored sites before and after cameras were installed and showed that the cameras brought about a 70 per cent reduction in speeding. The report also said that fatal accidents were reduced by 42 per cent, and that serious injuries fell by 22 per cent.

A survey for the AA appears to dampen the suggestion, so often peddled by certain elements of the media, that the Gatso is the scourge of the driver. It shows that 70 per cent of its 15,000 members accept that speed cameras play an important part in road safety.

Chief Constable Mick Giannasi of Gwent Police is the road safety spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo). He said: "Only the minority of people would say that speed cameras are unnecessary. Most sensible and balanced people understand that they are necessary.

"Our position at Acpo is that speed cameras are the cornerstone of reducing speeding and deaths on the road."

Mr Giannasi says that last year 2222 people died on the roads in England and Wales. He says that a Government target set in 1998 was to reduce deaths by 40 per cent by 2010. By last year the reduction was 45 per cent. He added: "There is no doubt in my mind that cameras have helped bring that down. Those who criticise them will say that improved vehicle design and the increasing capabilities of the emergency services have been responsible. And, yes, these things do have an impact, but so do speed cameras.

"With budgets being cut, it is likely we will see other areas going the same way. I know that Wiltshire is set to follow suit. And yes, we will still have officers with speed guns and officers in vans, but it is not going to have the same impact as speed cameras. It is unrealistic to think we can replace a system that has been removed.

"My concern is that we will see the reduction in serious accidents and death being reversed."

The decision by the Government to cut road-safety budgets comes shortly after the Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond, pledged that the coalition Government would "end the war on motorists".

Mr Giannasi added: "There is not a war on the motorist and there never has been. We are trying to stop people dying on the roads. That is not a war, it is a noble cause. We are disappointed by the statement from the secretary of state and we are not shy about saying so."

Back on the Woodstock Road Carla Bramble, a 45-year-old housewife who has lived there all her life said: "Cars used to slow down when they saw the camera and, because there is another one along the road, they would maintain that speed.

"But now they belt along the road as fast as they like. People have read the papers and they know that all the cameras are off. They know they can go as fast as they want on this road now, and that is what they seem to be doing."

- INDEPENDENT

By Mark Hughes

**mashman** · 13th August 2010, 13:42

hardly surprising Switzerland nearly went broke if that's the fines their citizens can afford to pay... They shoulda auctioned the car for charity too

**Genie** · 13th August 2010, 13:43

He was going a little fast wasn't he.

What I don't get...still!

Why the hell make a car that can go that fast if you're not allowed to utilise it!

Like hello, if you don't want people to speed then dont 'make vehicles that go that fast....simple.

**mashman** · 13th August 2010, 13:55

Originally Posted by Genie

Why the hell make a car that can go that fast if you're not allowed to utilise it!

Like hello, if you don't want people to speed then dont 'make vehicles that go that fast....simple.

cough cough, trackday, cough cough

**onearmedbandit** · 13th August 2010, 13:58

It's all a conspiracy.

The manufacturers make cars that can easily surpass any speed limit. The Government then allows these vehicles to be sold and driven on their roads with no means of restricting them, fitted with tyres that are speed rated up to 250km/h, allowing revenue to be gathered by the way of fines. The police make a lot of noise about reducing speeds, but they don't want this to be a success as then they will be out of a job. Then you have the doctors and nurses who moan about the carnage caused on the roads by speeding, but they don't want it to stop because then there will be less demand so therefore less jobs available. The government departments who pay for the road safety ad's appear to be making an effort, but look at the quality of the adverts themselves. Doomed to fail. And why not. For those people too will be without a job if they are successful. And even if they did want to make the best ad, the advertising agency want it to fail as well, otherwise they won't be making anymore commercials and reaping huge income from them any longer. And don't get me started on the undertakers.

Face it. There are too many people making money off the dead and injured for anything serious ever to be done about speeding.

By the way, that was all tongue-in-cheek. Or was it...... do-do-do-do-do-do-do...twilight zone....

**rustyrobot** · 13th August 2010, 14:27

Originally Posted by Genie

Why the hell make a car that can go that fast if you're not allowed to utilise it!

To be fair, at least in the country that car was manufactured there are stretches of road that it could legally go top-speed. Not sure what the excuse is for Japanese and American vehicle manufacturers.

I was looking at the stats on the autobahn last night too, and surprisingly the crash rates in the unlimited speed zones are the same (sometimes lower!) than the restricted speed zones. Which seems infeasible because can you imagine all the 16 year old boy racers here racing their WRXs, Supras and Nissan Pulsars if there were unlimited speed roads?! Scary! (Not to mention all those 40-something techies on their sportsbikes

)

**p.dath** · 13th August 2010, 15:37

I can understand that in this economic recession they are looking to trim budgets - but think about it - this will also trim Government income. Perhaps a shorted sighted measure by a Government official only looking in the "expenses" column.

I'd prefer they were removed for a more sensible reason - than a mistake.

**Milts** · 13th August 2010, 18:56

Originally Posted by rustyrobot

To be fair, at least in the country that car was manufactured there are stretches of road that it could legally go top-speed. Not sure what the excuse is for Japanese and American vehicle manufacturers.

I was looking at the stats on the autobahn last night too, and surprisingly the crash rates in the unlimited speed zones are the same (sometimes lower!) than the restricted speed zones. Which seems infeasible because can you imagine all the 16 year old boy racers here racing their WRXs, Supras and Nissan Pulsars if there were unlimited speed roads?! Scary! (Not to mention all those 40-something techies on their sportsbikes

)

Fortunately that's not so much of an issue in Germany... getting a license costs in the thousands of euros, includes 20 supervised hours (on a closed track I think?) and a really serious amount of traning in both hazard detection AND skill. So their poor boy-racer-wannabe's can't afford to drive and the rich ones have the training to do it without crashing quite so much.

**Rogue Rider** · 13th August 2010, 19:40

So how fast is considered fast these days? Back in the day, a bike doin 100 miles (160km) an hour was the go, 180km was the king shit.
I have had my Speed triple a tad over that, but curious to know just how fast it would go.
So whats the fastest anyone has been on there bike, you can say "on the track" if it makes you feel safer....
Fastest I have been "on the track" is 247km per hour. That felt insane and heavenly all in one sensation. Don't think I'll go there ever again though. Struggle to go over 100 much these days, I never speed................

**EJK** · 13th August 2010, 19:46

Who give a fuck about the fine...

...that is just a HOT DAYUM car.

**marty** · 14th August 2010, 07:50

Originally Posted by rustyrobot

I was looking at the stats on the autobahn last night too, and surprisingly the crash rates in the unlimited speed zones are the same (sometimes lower!) than the restricted speed zones. Which seems infeasible because can you imagine all the 16 year old boy racers here racing their WRXs, Supras and Nissan Pulsars if there were unlimited speed roads?! Scary! (Not to mention all those 40-something techies on their sportsbikes

)

Have you ever driven on a 'proper' high speed road? Pavement quality, corner engineering, width and design all contribute to safe high speed driving. And the one thing that we don't have here - driver ettiquite - abounds on the autobahn. You'll never see a Kia Picante in the fast lane, and in the unlikely case that you did, its cheesecutter-wearing driver would very quickly find out what living in the fast lane is all about.