A court in Switzerland has levied a massive fine against a lawyer for tailgating on the highway while sitting behind the wheel of his BMW 5 Series. The 58-year old lawyer is now on the hook for a fine of roughly $116,000 after being pulled over in 2023 for following at an unsafe distance (between 26 to 40 feet) while on the A1 highway near Zürich and traveling at speeds of up to 74 mph, according to local news outlet Nau.
The Swiss lawyer was driving a turbo-diesel BMW 540d at the time, per Road and Track, and you might be thinking this is typical behavior for a BMW owner. But what is not typical—though it arguably should be—is the heavy fine the lawyer is facing due to Switzerland’s Day-Fine system, which stipulates that penalties must be based on the offending party’s income.
The tailgating lawyer reportedly makes about 1.7 million Swiss francs per year, or just over $2 million at current exchange rates. The court can impose a fine of daily rates between 30 and 3,000 francs, or roughly $35 to $3,500, in cases like these, but settled on fining the lawyer 50 daily rates of 1,970 CHF. That totals 98,500 francs, or just over $116,000. The tailgater was also charged an additional fine of 15,000 francs, as well as another 5,000 in court fees and the like.
The BMW-driving lawyer appealed the fine, however, forcing the case onto the docket of a higher court. The lawyer tried to appeal by arguing that the police had failed to read him his rights during questioning, and on grounds that the video footage police had used to determine his following distance was inaccurate.
Yeah, the court threw those arguments right out the window, dismissing both claims outright. News outlet Nau also cites the “millionaire” lawyer mentioning that his BMW 540d had “sports and racing brakes,” but the court upheld the guilty verdict nonetheless, saying the quality of the BMW’s brakes didn’t change anything.
That does sound like something a tailgating BMW driver would say. And, yes, I can freely say that as a BMW owner who agrees with all the typical jokes among car enthusiasts—low blinker fluid, etc. In the end, the court lowered the additional 15,000-franc fine to 10,000, but the daily rate remained, meaning the lawyer is still on the hook for 111,500 francs all told, or just under $131,500. Regardless of income, six figures is a lot of money to lose over tailgating someone on the highway.
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