The $290,000 Speeding Ticket

The Swiss courts just handed down the world’s most expensive speeding ticket: 299,000 Swiss francs, or just under $290,000. According to the BBC, the motorist was barreling through a small village at 85 miles per hour: 35 mph over the speed limit. Because the Swiss, like many European countries, assess higher speeding penalties to those with a greater ability to pay and because he was a repeat offender, this millionaire had to part with a small fortune. In Switzerland, even the rich have a strong incentive to follow traffic laws.

Stateside, the fines for speeding are bit more lenient. Last August, an off-duty Ohio police officer was caught driving 147 mph down the highway and walked away with a $150 fine and a six-month suspension of his driver’s license. For the rich, penalties for traffic crime amount to a pittance. Millionaire CEO Richard Anderson was driving at an estimated 60 mph on the streets of the Financial District when he struck and killed Florence Cioffi in January 2008. Despite refusing a Breathalyzer test and initially leaving the scene of the crash, Anderson was able to plea down to a 16-day jail sentence, 250 hours of community service, and a fine.

The amount? $350.