Skip to main content

Finnish fine fury

A driver reacted with fury following a fine in Finland for a speeding offence. The millionaire was hit with a fine of €54,000 (around £40,000) for driving at 22.4km/h (14mph) over the posted speed limit of 80km/h (50mph). In Finland a national database allows police to view the income of speeding offenders and to set fines in proportion. With the man earning a healthy €6.5 million/year, the fine was deemed appropriate by the authorities. The man however was less than impressed and posted his complaints onli
May 20, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
A driver reacted with fury following a fine in Finland for a speeding offence. The millionaire was hit with a fine of €54,000 (around £40,000) for driving at 22.4km/h (14mph) over the posted speed limit of 80km/h (50mph). In Finland a national database allows police to view the income of speeding offenders and to set fines in proportion. With the man earning a healthy €6.5 million/year, the fine was deemed appropriate by the authorities. The man however was less than impressed and posted his complaints online, although others in the country added comments proving less than sympathetic to his plight. A British driving instructor meanwhile was caught and fined in New Zealand’s South Island for speeding, after being clocked at 176km/h (110mph). The New Zealand police were less than impressed, given that the stretch of road has a posted speed limit of just 96km/h (60mph). The man’s excuse, that he was on an emergency mission taking his father to a toilet, did not hold water. Ironically the British man is a former police officer and his job is now to teach high speed driving skills to officers in the UK.

Related Content

  • Yoga on wheels
    February 24, 2015
    A motorcyclist in India has posted videos online of himself practicing yoga while riding his bike at speed. The man rides at speed of 64km/h, while leaning back on the bike practicing his yoga moves, with his hands completely away from the controls. He also stands on the seat and the fuel tank while practicing yoga and regularly covers distances of up to 5km in this fashion. When asked, he said that he is aware of the dangers of his particular brand of yoga but enjoys the thrill. His son too is said to be i
  • Half a protest
    July 30, 2012
    A British man cut his own car in half as a protest after being fined for having it parked illegally on the road, despite the fact that it was in his own driveway at the time. One wheel of the vehicle had been protruding onto the pavement (sidewalk) by a mere 50mm and the car had been registered by its owner as being off-road, without the annual license duty being paid. However when the man returned from work he discovered that it had been clamped and was told by the authorities that it would be towed away.
  • TISPOL: drink driving continues to be a pan-European concern
    January 18, 2016
    Drink-drive enforcement still has issues in Europe, according to pan-European police body TISPOL Drink-driving is the cause of around 5,000 road deaths in Europe. In the UK alone, it is estimated that 230 (14%) of the country’s 1,713 road deaths are due to drinking and driving. For England, Wales and Northern Ireland the limit for driving is still 80mg (0.8) of alcohol/100ml of blood. Scotland reduced its limit to 50mg (0.5) of alcohol/100ml of blood in December 2014, bringing it into line with most
  • Improving safety for vulnerable road users
    January 2, 2013
    Dutch-style cycle safety for other European nations – Mike Woof writes A recent event held in London during October was aimed at improving safety for vulnerable road users. Called Love London go Dutch, the event was intended to highlight some of the experience from Holland in reducing risk rates for vulnerable road users such as cyclists. Similar events were held in other UK cities, while other major European cities such as Paris that are seeing an increase in cycling also have a lot to learn from Dutch exp