Court cancels speeding fine after owner claims not to know who was driving

On 1 September 2015, 24 Heures reported that a former mayor of Nyon lost a court battle to have a speeding offense overturned. He claimed innocence, and while the resulting investigation revealed big questions about the accuracy of speed camera photographs, he lost. The Vaud court sided with the police who argued that it is the speed measurement that matters, not what can be seen in the photographs.

In a more recent case 20 Minutes reported that another car owner had more success. This owner received a CHF 450 speeding fine. After paying he was sent a photograph showing an unidentifiable driver. He took this photo to court and claimed he didn’t know who was driving the car when it was flashed by a speed gun at 77 km/h in a 60 km/h zone in May 2015.

The Vaud court sided with the accused, cancelled the fine and requested the state pay costs.

This ruling is contrary to new rules introduced on 1 January 2014 as part of the federal Via Sicura project created to improve Swiss road safety. Article 6 on page 68 of the rules says: if the author of an offense is unknown, then the fine falls on the owner named on the vehicle’s ownership papers.

Read 20 Minutes article (in French)
Read 24 Heures article (in French)

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