Guilty verdict in high court Millionaire drives too close on the A1 - over 100,000 francs fine

A millionaire drives too close to the car in front of him on the A1 in Aargau. Now he has been sentenced to a heavy fine.

The Aargau High Court has found a driver guilty of gross violation of traffic regulations due to insufficient distance when driving behind each other on the A1 highway. As the Swiss man is a top earner, the penalty is correspondingly high: CHF 108,500 is involved.

Specifically, the High Court sentenced the 58-year-old driver to a conditional fine of 50 daily rates of CHF 1970 each (a total of CHF 98,500). The probationary period is two years. The convicted driver must pay the connecting fine of CHF 10,000.

This is the result of the judgment published on Wednesday. According to the High Court, the fine of 50 daily rates is at the lower end of the sentencing range of up to three years' imprisonment.

Income of 1.6 million francs

A daily rate for a fine is generally a minimum of 30 francs and a maximum of 3,000 francs. The amount of the daily rate is assessed according to the offender's personal and financial circumstances at the time of sentencing. The judgment of the High Court shows that the Swiss national has a taxable income of 1.674 million francs.

The driver had appealed the judgment of the District Court of Zofingen to the High Court. He wanted to achieve an acquittal with numerous legal subtleties. For example, there was no relevant evidence for the alleged insufficient distance.

Driven far too close

The driver was driving his BMW on the A1 highway towards Zurich at 9.35 am on a Thursday in March 2023. Near Kölliken AG, he followed the vehicle in front on the overtaking lane over a distance of 2,400 meters at a speed of 110 to 120 km/h with an insufficient distance of eight to twelve meters.

In its deliberations, the High Court stated that the police video showed that the defendant had followed the vehicle in front of him on the highway at a very short distance. Right at the beginning of the video, it can be seen that the distance between the two vehicles was only one guideline and a small part of the distance between two guidelines.

The police vehicle was then traveling at a speed of 124 km/h, whereby in the next few seconds the speed was reduced to 112 km/h with comparable distances between the vehicles.

The High Court found that the Swiss driver's driving behavior had caused a serious risk to the safety of others. His driving behavior was to be qualified as "reckless". The driver had created a high abstract accident risk for the vehicle in front and any following vehicles.

Accident with fatal consequences

It is generally known that, due to the high speeds driven on the highway, even minor driving errors can lead to accidents and subsequent accidents with fatal consequences, according to the ruling. The judges cite, for example, a sudden braking maneuver by the vehicle in front or a brief moment of inattention.

Because the driver of the car was denied access, he must also pay the court costs of CHF 3,000 as well as the first instance costs of CHF 2,124. He has to pay his lawyer's fee himself. The judgment is not yet final and can be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court. (Judgment SST.2024.85 of 21.08.2024).

SDA