Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

OFFBEAT

Swedish speedster stopped after ‘testing engine’ at nearly 200 km/h

A 26-year-old Swedish man was let off with a fine despite being clocked driving nearly 200 kilometres an hour.

Published: 22 October 2010 15:38 CEST

Swedish speedster stopped after 'testing engine' at nearly 200 km/h

He told police he simply wanted to test his newly tuned engine.

The man was driving on the E4 motorway in Ljungby in southern Sweden when he sped past an unmarked police car, the local Smålandsposten newspaper reports.

The officer gave chase and during the pursuit estimated that the driver covered a 1.1 kilometre stretch of highway in a mere 19.8 seconds, corresponding to a speed of 193 km/h, nearly twice the posted limit of 100 km/h.

When the cop finally managed to stop the Swedish speed demon at the next exit, the driver confessed immediately to having broken the speed limit by a wide margin.

“I’ve had the car in for servicing and wanted to check that everything was okay, even at high speeds,” the man told the officer, according to the police report filed on the incident, which took place back in August.

But the police officer was apparently in a charitable mood and accepted the man’s explanation, letting him off with a 4,000 kronor ($600) speeding fine.

“Normally, a driver’s licence is revoked on the spot if the posted speed limit is violated by at least 30 km/h,” Eva Saxlund of the Kronoberg County police told the newspaper.

The officer had noted in his report, however, that no incidents or accidents occurred during the time he was in pursuit of the vehicle.

According to the prosecutor, the fact that the man didn’t pose a threat to anyone else on the road was sufficient enough to prove that the man’s driving wasn’t in fact reckless.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

EXPLAINED: When can a child sit in the front seat of a car in Switzerland?

In Switzerland, a simple rule for taking children in motor vehicles has been in place for a good two decades: Every child up to a height of 150 cm or the age of 12 must travel in a suitable child seat.

Its Austrian neighbour has even stricter rules in place. Babies and children in Austria must be correctly secured in a child’s seat up to the age of 14 if they are below 135 cm in height.

The German law takes a more relaxed approach and regulates that children from the age of 12 or those that are taller than 150 cm can ride in the vehicle without a child seat – with the appropriate seat belt, of course.

When can a child sit in the front?

According to the law in Switzerland, once a child has reached a height of 150 cm, they can sit anywhere in the car with or without a child or booster seat.

However, a child needs to reach a minimum height of 150 cm for the safety belts to guarantee their safety in a way that the neck is not constricted while driving in the event of sudden braking or an accident.

In principle, children are allowed to sit on the front passenger seat regardless of their age, however, this is not recommended by experts who argue that children are much safer in the back of the car. Furthermore, if a vehicle is equipped with airbags, rear-facing car seats may only be used if the front airbag on the passenger’s side is deactivated.

A driver at the Stelvio Pass, Santa Maria Val Müstair, Switzerland.

A driver at the Stelvio Pass, Santa Maria Val Müstair, Switzerland. Photo by Jaromír Kavan on Unsplash

Can I be fined for my child travelling without an appropriate car seat?

You can and you will. The fine for transporting an unsecured child under the age of 12 is 60 francs, which, given the risk driving without an appropriate child seat poses to your child’s life, is mild.

But what about public transport?

Though this may seem illogical to some, Switzerland does not have any safety laws dictating that car seats be used on its buses, meaning it is not uncommon to see mothers standing in the aisle of a packed bus with a baby in a sling while struggling to hold on to a pole for stability.

Though politicians did briefly discuss equipping buses with baby and child seats in 2017 to avoid potential risks to minors, nothing came of it. Ultimately, supplying buses with special seats or introducing seat belts proved unrealistic given the number of seats and considering how often people hop on and off a bus – there is a stop almost every 300 metres in Switzerland.

Instead, drivers are now better informed of the dangers posed to minors travelling on their vehicles and parents are advised to leave children in strollers and not load those with heavy shopping bags.

Url copied to clipboard!