TAILGATING DRIVER FINED R2.27 MILLION

Drivers who tailgate seems to a problem in most countries. Not only is it disrespectful, but also dangerous. Some countries do nothing about it, while others go rather big on handing out fines when someone is caught tailgating.

A driver of a BMW 5 series recently dared to tailgate and found out the hard way that Switzerland is one of the countries doing everything they can to put an end to tailgating.

The driver was fined a shocking 108,500 Swiss Francs which related to about R2.27 million.

But, there’s more to this than meets the eye. That’s because in Switzerland, fines are linked to an individual’s personal income. The 48-year-old driver in question has a taxable income of R35 million per year.

Even though he could obviously afford the fine, the driver still contested the fine in the Swiss High Court. His lawyer argued that the authorities calculated his following distance inaccurately using video. He also said the police officer never read him his rights before they questioned him.

His claims were dismissed, but at least he managed to slash the fine to a more affordable R210,000.

Image credit: Autoa.net