You know what’s crazy? I’ll tell you what’s crazy!
Judges in Switzerland are Crazy!
Do they legislate yodeling to reduce avalanches? no.
Do they mandate that beer wenches in shorts and suspenders be of a certain curvaceous caliber? Hardly.
Do they regulate ski runs on the Matterhorn, outlawing Black Diamond runs? Not yet.
So what’s so crazy about Swiss Law?
DATELINE: ST. GALLEN, Switzerland
According to the Associated Press: A Swiss court has slapped a wealthy speeder with a Matterhorn-sized fine.
Are you buckled into your gondola for this one? Got your regurgitation bucket handy?
The speeding ticket was $290,000.
TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY THOUSAND DOLLARS!!
Was the guy driving the space shuttle in a no space shuttle zone?
Apparently the record breaking fine was assessed against a driver who was going a mere 35-miles over the limit.
That’s the equivalent of 70 mph in a 35 mph zone.
It’s excessive, but not $290,000 excessive.
The driver is reportedly a repeat offender and his estimated worth is $20 million dollars. Even for this guy, 290K is more than a slap on the wrist.
The question is why? Why can the Cantonal Court in St. Gallen levy such an astronomical fine on a driver who is barely speeding by Los Angeles standards.
And if 35 over in Switzerland is gonna cost you 290-grand, how much is a LEFT ON RED going to cost? Half a million dollars? What if you double park outside the courthouse while paying your 290-thousand dollar fine? what is that fine? A BILLION DOLLARS?
Are the Swiss Crazy? Are their laws as full of holes as their cheese?
What if you kill someone? What if you burp in church? The sense of punishment fitting the crime is so vague here it makes you wonder if the judges read the law books with mayonnaise smeared on their pupils.
The court said the driver has the right to appeal the fine. Well, that’s mighty legal of them isn’t it.
The Blick daily newspaper in Zurich reported the fine was more than twice the previous Swiss record of about $107,000.
I wonder what that guy did to get a $107,000 fine? Put his gum under the table at the local brew house?
So the next time you feel like bitching about the local yocal cop lighting you up for 10 over, just remember, you could be in Switzerland where your first born and a vial of DNA is going to be necessary to satisfy the offense.
And that is high altitude crazy.