Four years after a reckless life-threatening trip through Switzerland’s Gotthard tunnel, a German speeder was finally put behind bars in Germany on Tuesday. The police went and collected him from his home in Stuttgart, according to the newspaper Le Matin.
© Swisshippo | Dreamstime.com
The judge had tried to convince the 44 year-old to make his way to prison voluntarily, however he failed to respond to several requests from the authorities after declaring himself unwell.
In 2014, the man was recorded driving at speeds as high as 200 km/h on Switzerland’s A2 motorway, which runs through the Gotthard tunnel. In the tunnel he crossed the the central double white line numerous times
In 2017, the cantonal court in Lugano convicted the man and ordered a sentence of 30 months with one year behind bars. However, a German court judged that the speeding wasn’t against the law in Germany. Not satisfied with this verdict, a public prosecutor in Stuttgart challenged the verdict in the court of appeal and won.
Opened in 1980, with a length of 16.9 kilometres, the Gotthard tunnel is the longest road tunnel in Switzerland and the fourth longest in the world. The tunnel speed limit is 80 km/h.
On 24 October 2001, a drunk truck driver collided with another truck in the tunnel causing a fire. 11 people died and around CHF 14 million of damage occurred. Repair work took two months, which cost the canton of Ticino an estimated CHF 33 million in lost revenue, according to RTS.
More on this:
Le Matin article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
