Harmor
Error_Name_Not_Found
+605|6739|San Diego, CA, USA
Europe slapping rich with massive traffic fines

(via. http://www.michaelsavage.wnd.com/)

https://img196.imageshack.us/img196/6571/100110speedingticket.jpg

SF Gate wrote:

European countries are increasingly pegging speeding fines to income as a way to punish wealthy scofflaws who would otherwise ignore tickets.

Advocates say a $290,000 (euro203,180.83) speeding ticket slapped on a millionaire Ferrari driver in Switzerland was a fair and well-deserved example of the trend.

Germany, France, Austria and the Nordic countries also issue punishments based on a person's wealth. In Germany the maximum fine can be as much as $16 million compared to only $1 million in Switzerland. Only Finland regularly hands out similarly hefty fine to speeding drivers, with the current record believed to be a euro170,000 (then about $190,000) ticket in 2004.

The Swiss court appeared to set a world record when it levied the fine in November on a man identified in the Swiss media only as "Roland S." Judges in the eastern canton of St. Gallen described him as a "traffic thug" in their verdict, which only recently came to light.

"As far as we're concerned this is very good," Sabine Jurisch, a road safety campaigner with the Swiss group Road Cross.
Wow...just wow.  I wonder if they should apply this to parking meters?  Just ridiculous.
CameronPoe
Member
+2,925|6746
lol. Because a €50 fine will deter multi-millionaires from speeding?! What planet are you morons on?

Last edited by CameronPoe (2010-01-11 00:12:04)

Flaming_Maniac
prince of insufficient light
+2,490|6897|67.222.138.85
It's got nothing to do with deterrent..."euro-socialist trash" is a bit far (especially for a title Harmor ) but here in America we have a little thing called the 14th Amendment.
CameronPoe
Member
+2,925|6746
Just read it. How does it apply here? And how does it apply in the context of making people for whom a €50 fine constitutes less than a days interest accrual not feel free to speed as merrily as their heart desires? Practicality.

Last edited by CameronPoe (2010-01-11 00:16:45)

ruisleipa
Member
+149|6412|teh FIN-land
This is a brilliant idea and I'm very happy Finland has this system. IMO it could be applied to all misdemeanours punishable by fines.

It's not news, we've had this system for years as you can read in the article. An excuse for right-wing Americans to get invective towards 'socialism'. Pretty pathetic tbh.

There's a simple way of avoiding paying the fines - don't speed.

And Harmor - the title of this thread is stupid, wrong and offensive, just FYI.

Last edited by ruisleipa (2010-01-11 00:22:06)

DUnlimited
got any popo lolo intersting?
+1,160|6654|cuntshitlake

Harmor wrote:

Wow...just wow.  I wonder if they should apply this to parking meters?  Just ridiculous.
Wow at your logic. A speeding ticket is supposed to be a punishment. What kind of a punishment would $100 be to someone who makes more than that in an hour? A speeding fine is supposed to make you regret what you have done, parking ticket is not.

Last edited by DeathUnlimited (2010-01-11 00:22:47)

main battle tank karthus medikopter 117 megamegapowershot gg
Flaming_Maniac
prince of insufficient light
+2,490|6897|67.222.138.85

CameronPoe wrote:

Just read it. How does it apply here? And how does it apply in the context of making people for whom a €50 fine constitutes less than a days interest accrual not feel free to speed as merrily as their heart desires? Practicality.
Equal protection under the law. Fining one person one amount and another a different amount for the exact same crime is not equal protection under the law.

You want deterrent? Jail them for 30 days. Regardless of race, creed, color or bank account, lock them up.
Varegg
Support fanatic :-)
+2,206|7000|Nårvei

To my knowledge neither Germany, France or Austria practice fines like that and only Finland amongst the Nordic countries ...
Wait behind the line ..............................................................
Sydney
2λчиэλ
+783|7034|Reykjavík, Iceland.

Varegg wrote:

To my knowledge neither Germany, France or Austria practice fines like that and only Finland amongst the Nordic countries ...
Highest fine you can get in Iceland for speeding is $2000 or something I think. And that's for going 160 km/h in a 90 zone or something.
DrunkFace
Germans did 911
+427|6872|Disaster Free Zone

DeathUnlimited wrote:

Harmor wrote:

Wow...just wow.  I wonder if they should apply this to parking meters?  Just ridiculous.
Wow at your logic. A speeding ticket is supposed to be a punishment. What kind of a punishment would $100 be to someone who makes more than that in an hour? A speeding fine is supposed to make you regret what you have done, parking ticket is not.
They're not?

Flaming_Maniac wrote:

CameronPoe wrote:

Just read it. How does it apply here? And how does it apply in the context of making people for whom a €50 fine constitutes less than a days interest accrual not feel free to speed as merrily as their heart desires? Practicality.
Equal protection under the law. Fining one person one amount and another a different amount for the exact same crime is not equal protection under the law.

You want deterfrent? Jail them for 30 days. Regardless of race, creed, color or bank account, lock them up.
So fining x% of taxable income is not 'equal'?

Also community service > prison.
ruisleipa
Member
+149|6412|teh FIN-land

Flaming_Maniac wrote:

Equal protection under the law. Fining one person one amount and another a different amount for the exact same crime is not equal protection under the law.

You want deterrent? Jail them for 30 days. Regardless of race, creed, color or bank account, lock them up.
errr...it is equal if everyone gets fined the same percentage of their earnings.

and jailing everyone for speeding would be so stupid it's hardly wirth commenting on...
DUnlimited
got any popo lolo intersting?
+1,160|6654|cuntshitlake

DrunkFace wrote:

DeathUnlimited wrote:

Harmor wrote:

Wow...just wow.  I wonder if they should apply this to parking meters?  Just ridiculous.
Wow at your logic. A speeding ticket is supposed to be a punishment. What kind of a punishment would $100 be to someone who makes more than that in an hour? A speeding fine is supposed to make you regret what you have done, parking ticket is not.
They're not?
I meant parking permit, referring to Harmor's comment, not ticket. Straight Finnish - English conversion does not always work that well.

The point I am trying to make is what ruisleipa just said

Last edited by DeathUnlimited (2010-01-11 03:16:26)

main battle tank karthus medikopter 117 megamegapowershot gg
jord
Member
+2,382|6868|The North, beyond the wall.
To be honest I can see the point of view from both sides and take neither. I hope one day you can too Harmor.
ghettoperson
Member
+1,943|6839

jord wrote:

To be honest I can see the point of view from both sides and take neither. I hope one day you can too Harmor.
Ditto, I'm not too sure where I stand on this.
Surgeons
U shud proabbly f off u fat prik
+3,097|6680|Gogledd Cymru

Increasing the fine amount for repeat offenders seems like a better solution.

e.g. x = standard amount

1st time - x
2nd time - 3x
3rd time - 10x

or something
AussieReaper
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
+5,761|6343|what

If it stops repeat offenders from killing somebody, I'm all for it.
https://i.imgur.com/maVpUMN.png
Jay
Bork! Bork! Bork!
+2,006|5548|London, England

Varegg wrote:

To my knowledge neither Germany, France or Austria practice fines like that and only Finland amongst the Nordic countries ...
Germany's record is $190,000 so this is false.
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
Jay
Bork! Bork! Bork!
+2,006|5548|London, England

Flaming_Maniac wrote:

CameronPoe wrote:

Just read it. How does it apply here? And how does it apply in the context of making people for whom a €50 fine constitutes less than a days interest accrual not feel free to speed as merrily as their heart desires? Practicality.
Equal protection under the law. Fining one person one amount and another a different amount for the exact same crime is not equal protection under the law.

You want deterrent? Jail them for 30 days. Regardless of race, creed, color or bank account, lock them up.
I think equal protection under the law could be argued in the way the euros have gone with this. A $200 fine is harsh to someone making $20k a year but is nothing more than a nuisance for a millionaire. I wouldn't be opposed to them making it a percentage of income as it would affect all offenders at an equal ratio.

Btw, socialism has nothing to do with this. It's logical to fine all people at the same proportion of their income. The only real problem I see with it is that hard pressed municipalities will probably target rich people over poor people when sending out their police to fill their monthly quotas.
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
-Sh1fty-
plundering yee booty
+510|5664|Ventura, California

The Sheriff wrote:

Increasing the fine amount for repeat offenders seems like a better solution.

e.g. x = standard amount

1st time - x
2nd time - 3x
3rd time - 10x

or something
And above your tomb, the stars will belong to us.
mcminty
Moderating your content for the Australian Govt.
+879|6912|Sydney, Australia

AussieReaper wrote:

If it stops repeat offenders from killing somebody, I'm all for it.
This.
cl4u53w1t2
Salon-Bolschewist
+269|6663|Kakanien

JohnG@lt wrote:

Varegg wrote:

To my knowledge neither Germany, France or Austria practice fines like that and only Finland amongst the Nordic countries ...
Germany's record is $190,000 so this is false.
no way!

source?
CammRobb
Banned
+1,510|6320|Carnoustie MASSIF

CameronPoe wrote:

Just read it. How does it apply here? And how does it apply in the context of making people for whom a €50 fine constitutes less than a days interest accrual not feel free to speed as merrily as their heart desires? Practicality.
I believe there's a little thing called having your license taken away...
Jay
Bork! Bork! Bork!
+2,006|5548|London, England

cl4u53w1t2 wrote:

JohnG@lt wrote:

Varegg wrote:

To my knowledge neither Germany, France or Austria practice fines like that and only Finland amongst the Nordic countries ...
Germany's record is $190,000 so this is false.
no way!

source?
Germany, France, Austria and the Nordic countries also issue punishments based on a person’s wealth. In Germany the maximum fine can be as much as the equivalent of $16 million compared to only $1 million in Switzerland. Only Finland regularly hands out similarly hefty fine to speeding drivers, with the current record believed to be a $190,000 ticket in 2004.
http://www.cecilwhig.com/articles/2010/ … 195941.txt
I read the article wrong, it's actually Finland that held the record. Germany can fine up to $16M though.
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
Varegg
Support fanatic :-)
+2,206|7000|Nårvei

JohnG@lt wrote:

cl4u53w1t2 wrote:

JohnG@lt wrote:


Germany's record is $190,000 so this is false.
no way!

source?
Germany, France, Austria and the Nordic countries also issue punishments based on a person’s wealth. In Germany the maximum fine can be as much as the equivalent of $16 million compared to only $1 million in Switzerland. Only Finland regularly hands out similarly hefty fine to speeding drivers, with the current record believed to be a $190,000 ticket in 2004.
http://www.cecilwhig.com/articles/2010/ … 195941.txt
I read the article wrong, it's actually Finland that held the record. Germany can fine up to $16M though.
Hence why I snuck in the word "practice"
Wait behind the line ..............................................................
ruisleipa
Member
+149|6412|teh FIN-land
re the record fine:

"Helsinki police handed out a speeding fine totalling EUR 170,000 last Thursday to 27-year-old Jussi Salonoja, heir to a Finnish family foodstuffs fortune. Salonoja was clocked doing around 80 km/hour in a 40 km/hour limit zone in the capital. The fine is based on Finland's income-related system of fines for speeding and certain other traffic offences. Salonoja received upwards of 20 "day-fines" for his heavy right foot and for "endangering traffic safety". Given that his net income according to the Finnish tax authorities was around EUR 7 million, the police had little alternative but to write out a fine of EUR 6,000 per "day".
The speeding fine is convincingly the largest ever handed out in this country, and probably anywhere else in the world. It will in due course go forward to be approved by prosecutors at Helsinki District Court. This is not Mr. Salonoja's first expensive brush with the traffic police radar. He was clocked driving at 200 kilometres an hour down a motorway (speed limit 120 km/hour) in August 2000. On that occasion he received a fine of around EUR 39,000, again based on income and "day fines". At that time his net income was a good deal smaller, but the number of days calculated was greater, since the offence was more serious. Salonoja admitted that he had been overdoing it, and he agreed to pay up immediately.
    There is every chance that this latest fine will ultimately be smaller when the time comes to pay it. When such matters have gone to court, a number of defendants have proved that there have been changes in their declared incomes between the latest set of tax figures and the time of the offence. Windfall profits and options revenue tend to inflate incomes, and in the volatile economic climate, they can also deflate them.
        One recent case in point was the Nokia executive and motorcycle enthusiast Anssi Vanjoki, who saw his colossal EUR 115,000 fine reduced to just under EUR 6,000. It does not always work quite as smoothly, however. Former dotcom millionaire Jaakko Rytsölä had a fine of EUR 50,000 reduced in court to little more than EUR 100, but an Appeals Court ruling hiked it back up again to EUR 16,000."

So they normally don't pay it all anyway. Unfortunately.

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