danielemccabe

Ok, while in Europe for Euro delivery of my car, i drove past a strobe light camara in switzerland. i vaguely remember it. this was in February by the way. it's for going 72 in a 62 zone, which really pisses me off.

Anyway, has anyone had this before, and does anyone know if I should worry about paying it?

Oh, and by the way, it's all in German. if you are german and reading this, maybe you can check it our for me and tell me if it's legit.

and i thought the swiss were cool.....

AMGC60-3

Wow, They want 119.86 euro for like 10 miles over the speed limit, some of these European countries do like to rake you over the coal.

danielemccabe

yeah, it's a little insane. my first thought was just forget about it, but i'm not sure that's a great idea.

olszowa12

Switzerland is the craziest country when it comes to fines and tickets. I've studied there for 3 years in boarding high school and had enough of it after that.

To give you an example: a friend of mine (who is Swiss) forgot to return his license plate from his wrecked Audi S5. He returned it 2 weeks after he got a letter saying he has to pay a fine of 600 Swiss Franks and stay overnight in jail (arrest at a police station). I mean WTF?! Where do they get these ideas from.


As to your speeing ticket, it depends how the US handles these kind of things (but I presume they're well organized). I remember only that everytime my Swiss friend (with Swiss license plates) got tickets from Germany, he did not pay them.

black-clk500

if you travel to europe a lot or even occasionally I'd pay it, I guess.
if you don't plan to go back to Europe again then screw 'em.
I don't think they would bother to try and collect from you, if they could.
Plus, aren't the Swiss harbering that fugitive Roman Polanski for sexually assualting a young girl like 30 years ago--I digress

BTW: I loved your post on the European Delivery, it cemented my decison for the P31, it looks so sweet.
I just bit the bullet today and ordered a car very similar to yours again!

AMGC60-3

Yea, its better that you pay it and then you dont have to worry about the Swiss sending some secret spy team to your door step Just feel lucky they didnt stop you and impound your new car And be sure to keep the ticket for memories sake.

black-clk500

Good way to look at it--maybe you can frame it or something, kinda like a souvenir. Seems like a good start for provenance (sp?)--50 years from now when the car rolls across the stage at Barret Jackson you can stick it in the trunk.

ATL_MB

So they want Euros, and not Francs?

Wait a few weeks to pay it -- the way the Euro is going, it could be a $40 ticket by the end of the month.

_AMG_

I would pay it. Its better to just pay it off and avoid any future problems.

chief63

Pay it? Really? You guys have way too much spare cash. Never pay a ticket with a rental car in Europe right away. If the rental company asks you do, than please do. But if they don't, why would you pay it?

Got a parking ticket in italy with a rental car, never paid it and the car company never asked. At least give yourself a chance.

Always bet on people's laziness. If they see it's going to be too much work, they'll probably drop it. It's a small fine anyways for them.

jvanbrecht

Not sure about Europe, but in South Africa, the ticket is sent to the rental car company, who then notifies the renter, if you don't pay, they just charge it to the credit card they have on record (its in the rental agreement, so you cannot claim an unauthorized charge). It's like this for most major name brand rental car companies, so I suspect its the same.

ZephyrAMG

Do you have any attorney buddies that might have an inside scoop?

mikekuriger

I would forget about it unless you're served the ticket and are forced to sign for it. Otherwise, they have no proof you got it. I've never paid for one of those camera tickets and never heard from them.

mike~

Palmball

Wow, I heard the Swiss were pretty **** about tracking people down for stuff like this within other European countries, but to track you back to the US is insane! I've been flashed a few times in France and Switzerland but so far have been lucky not to get a ticket....but then again I was driving my British registered car so it must be a lot harder for them to track down. I guess it's quite a lot easier for them to get the drivers details on a rental car.

Personally, I really wouldn't bother paying unless you plan to go back to Switzerland - they're not going to come after you and are just trying their luck!


This reminds me of when I was over the pond last September on a holiday to California/Nevada. I was driving out of Death Valley and on the road to Las Vegas in my rented Corvette (unbelievably, hiring a Corvette felt so cool but then I am British!).

To be honest, I didn't hang about in it and was driving on the largely empty road at speeds between 90 and 140mph. So, when I was pulled over having been caught by radar for doing 117mph in a 70mph zone, I've only got myself to blame!

I didn't try any excuses and when asked why I was driving so fast, I just honestly replied saying that I was in a Corvette and the road was empty!

Firstly, the cop was in utter shock that I was going so fast and wanted to arrest me (he told me anything over 100mph is arrestable in the States??).

But to be fair to the guy, once he realised I was on holiday and my missus wasn't insured to drive the Corvette which she'd be left in out in the middle of nowhere, he decided to issue me a ticket for reckless driving and the ticket showed I had a court appearance in Las Vegas three months later.

He told me that as I lived in the UK, I should phone the court up when I get home and tell them I can't attend court and I should be able to pay the ($1200+) fine!

So, I get home and ring the court up 4-weeks later. No record of me or my citation number. I ring up again in another 4-weeks and still, no record of anything. I ring for a final time the day before the court date and....still no record. The court even told me that as the offence was so 'minor' and I lived outside of the US, they probably wouldn't bother taking it any further but they did have a year in which to do so and would write to me if they were going to.

So, it actually looks like I was let off which, given the fact I love visiting the States and would have needed to pay the fine to avoid arrest when going back, was very lucky indeed!

Thats what I call justice....you guy's in the US have it so good!

LZH

If you goto Switzerland often, pay. If not, then don't pay it. Simple. But if you don't pay it and go back and get pulled over you can expect to spend some time behind bars.

rory breaker

Are you kidding me? No way you should pay that.

rory breaker

bingo.

harrower

Forget it. Don't pay. Add it to your trip scrap-book as memento. Notice the tag on ticket was your temp German plate and this will not prevent you from getting your PA tags. I doubt they will pursue this matter as the costs will outway the value of the ticket. They send these out in the hope you will pay.

black-clk500

hey you should think about blurring out your name and address on that ticket.
There's a lot of shady folks out there looking for that kind of info.
Maybe I'm just a little paranoid, but I would get that covered up quick.
Sorry for again, but I wouldn't want to see you get in trouble.
my .02

amdeutsch

Its legit. In European countries you can be issued a ticket by mail and are expected to pay for it. Keep in mind that they already ran your info; through the temp customs plates most likely. If you did any kind of CC security deposit while picking it up they have your number.

Just in case you missed it; they gave you a 4 mph break to account for speedo error.

MB_Forever

I would just pay it in order to avoid future problems should you ever decide to purchase another car through the European Delivery program.

danielemccabe

thanks dude, yeah the the Euro delivery was the one of the cooler things i've EVER done. and i WILL be doing it again. probably with a black series or something ridiculous. so i may not want to return to Europe a wanted man.

i'm going to contact the local police and see what they think.

NORCAL///AMG

Let your conscience guide you

blume

best advice so far. agreed.

bigbodybeeenz

I got 4 speeding tickets in Germany while over there a couple years ago. Never paid them and I've been back many times since.

Don't pay.