Former F1 Driver David Coulthard gets a $33,000 Speeding Ticket

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed)
Nov 2nd 2009 at 11:02PM

The truly wealthy never seem to care about tickets. They park where they want and drive how they want, because the penalties never mean much more than pocket change to them. Well they might want to give that a second thought as one extremely wealthy motorist has received an unpredecentedly large speeding ticket in Mumbai.

The fine was imposed on one David Coulthard, one of the most successful Formula One drivers never to win a world title. The Scotsman recently retired from active duty, but still performs from time to time for the Red Bull Racing team he helped form. On a recent demonstration run for 50,000 fans in India, Coulthard reportedly hit a top speed of 162 miles per hour... in a 30 zone. The result was that the local officials withheld the $33,000 deposit put down for the team for the event. Which has to be the biggest speeding ticket ever issued.

Gallery: Red Bull Racing demonstration in Mumbai

Tags: david coulthard, DavidCoulthard, formula one, FormulaOne, mumbai, speeding ticket, SpeedingTicket

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Sports, Crimes and Misdemeanors

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

jra_2000 Nov 3rd 2009 3:25AM

"$33,000"

"Which has to be the biggest speeding ticket ever issued."

Ummm, no...

Wall Street Journal

January 2, 2001

Finnish Drivers Don't Mind Sliding Scale, But Instant Calculation Gets Low Marks

By Steve Stecklow

HELSINKI, Finland -- Jaako Rytsola, a 27-year-old Finnish Internet entrepreneur and newspaper columnist, was cruising in his BMW one recent evening. "The road was wide and I was feeling good," he later wrote. "It's nice to be driving when there's no one in sight."

But this road wasn't empty; a radar-equipped police car was clocking his speed. The officer pulled over Mr. Rytsola's car and issued him a speeding ticket for driving 43 miles an hour in a 25-mile-an-hour zone. The fine: $71,400.

The staggering sum was no mistake. In Finland, traffic fines generally are based on two factors: the severity of the offense and the driver's income. The concept has been embedded in Finnish law for decades: When it comes to crime, the wealthy should suffer as much as the poor.

etc.

Ernest Nov 3rd 2009 5:30AM

Also this:

Anssi Vanjoki, 44, has been ordered to pay a fine of 116,000 euros ($103,600) after being caught breaking the speed limit on his Harley Davidson motorbike in the capital, Helsinki, in October last year.
His fine beats an earlier speeding penalty of 80,000 euros handed down to internet millionaire Jaakko Rytsola.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1759791.stm