Swede Faces World Record Speeding Penalty of $1m

Source BBC, 13th August 2010

A 37-year-old Swedish driver who was caught driving at 290km/h (180mph) in Switzerland may be given a world record speeding fine of SFr1,080m ($1m; £656,000), prosecutors say.

The driver who has not been named, was clocked driving his Mercedes sports car 170km/h over the limit. Under Swiss law the level of fine is determined by the wealth of its driver and the speed recorded. In January, a Swiss driver was fined $290,000 -which is the current world record.

Local police spokesman Benoit Dumas said of the latest case that "nothing can justify a speed of 290km/h". "It is not controllable. It must have taken 500m to stop," he said.

The Swede's car - a Mercedes SLS AMG - has been impounded and in principle he could be forced to pay a daily fine of SFr3,600 for 300 days.