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A wealthy businessman speeding to the finish line has been handed a €121,000 fine (A$200,000) for travelling 30km/h over the speed limit in Finland.
The Finns, some might say smartly, calculate speeding fines with a "progressive punishment" approach based not only on the severity of the infringement – but also on the offender's income.
The driver, 76-year-old multimillionaire Anders Wiklöf, told Nya Åland [↗] he "really regrets the matter". The fine amounts to half his disposable income over 14 days.
“I had just started slowing down, but I guess that didn’t happen fast enough. It’s how it goes.”
Yep, that's how it goes when you're the chairman and founder of a A$550m-a-year holding company...
Wiklöf (above, in the stadium that bears the name of his company) has been fined twice previously for speeding, which factored into the fine he was given, along with a 10-day licence suspension.
Those earlier offences netted him fines of €63,680 (~A$100,557 ) in 2018 and €95,000 (~A$150,075) in 2013.
He said he hoped the fine would be spent usefully. “I have heard the government wants to save €1.5bn on healthcare in Finland, so I hope that my money can fill a gap there,” he said.
Generous fella.
How does Finland's system work?
In Finland, a unique "day fine" system is in place, which adjusts speeding fines according to a motorist's salary. Essentially, the fine is calculated using an offender's daily disposable income, typically considered to be around half of their daily salary.
The size of the fine also increases with the severity of the speed limit violation. In other words, the higher the speed above the limit, the more "day fines" the driver incurs.
This progressive approach to speeding fines has led to some significant penalties for high-income drivers.
In 2002, Anssi Vanjoki, a former director of Nokia, was handed a fine of 116,000 euros (~A$183,250) for travelling at a speed of 75km/h in a 50km/h zone while on his motorbike.
In 2015, Reima Kuisla, a businessman from Finland, was penalised with a 54,000 euro fine (~A$85,366) for driving 22km/h over the 50km/h speed limit.
Speaking with Euronews, a Finnish police officer said: "The minimum is a six euros per day fine, so it is always at least that, but it can go all the way to tens of thousands."
And the record goes to...
Switzerland employs a similar system, and it currently holds the record for the highest speeding ticket ever issued worldwide: In 2010, a Swedish driver was detected travelling at a staggering 290km/h.
The driver was penalised with a fine of 3600 Swiss francs per day, applied over a 300-day period. This resulted in a cumulative fine amounting to approximately 1,080,000 Swiss francs, or roughly A$1,091,340.
In Australia, using Victoria as an example, exceeding the speed limit by 30km/h would get you a $600 fine regardless of your income, and an automatic three-month suspension of your licence.
In 2017, the UK implemented stricter speeding penalties. Based on the severity of the offence, drivers can now be fined up to 175% of their weekly income. However, fines are capped at £2,500, equivalent to around A$4150.
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