Hi

First, I have been reading this forum for some time now and found it helpful since I moved to Zurich 6 months ago. So maybe you can give me some tips about my problem?:

The hole thing startet out when I was being flashed by a moveable speeding camera in Zurich in January. After a month or so, I got a letter, which stated that I had to report who the driver of the car was. First I wanted to check/arrgue how they could know that I was the speeder and not the car next to me at the moment of action (this was a 3 lane road, with 2 lanes in my direction. The camera was placed on the opposite side of the road). The camera took pictures both with a front view and a rear view, both with both cars next to each others. This was due to breaking of one of the car in the time between the pictures Anyway, in the letter there was some threat/chance about going to court if I didn't report the driver of the car. (I didn't fully understand the letter in detail, because of very difficult and formal german). So I figured not to bother and sent the form back.

So yesterday, another letter arrives, from the Stadtrichters von Zurich, with a enclosed bill of 648 CHF! WTF? Further I read the details of the bill: 330 CHF in "Busse", or the actual speeding ticket. This was as expected.
But then comes the real shock: 300 CHF in "Spruchgebühr", which I would translate into some kind of court fee. WTF??? What happened to justice? The actual ticket is fair enough, but can they just add a random fee on top of that?
And at the end they of course added 18 CHF in a "Schreib- und Zustellgebüren".

So do you guys have any tips about the 300 CHF extra fee? Is there any way to make a complain? Do I have any rights? Maybe someone has been in a similar situation before?

Thanks!

This happened because you didn't pay the fine. Therefore it went to court. If you'd paid the fine the matter would have been dealt with and nothing recorded on your file.

However, if you don't nominate another driver then it is automatically assumed to be you. If you don't pay it - they'll process it through the court which gets very expensive.

I think your big mistake here was not to clarify what this letter meant (the letter also explained your options) and to send back a blank version (which kind of acknowledges that you got it, so you can't use the old "I never got the letter" excuse.

So your options are pretty limited now. You've lost your chance to contest it or nominate someone else. I'd pay the additional amount, or it WILL keep getting bigger, believe me.

I sympathise, but this IS Switzerland... That means you can't afford 'not to bother'. You should have contacted them right there and then!

They can, and they will, because you didn't comply with their original request... I guess I would play the role of 'stupid-auslander-who-knows-absolutely-nothing' and see where that will take you. By the way, how fast were you going in the first place?

Most mobile speed-detection units use almost military-grade laser/radar technology for range and velocity detection, and usually cost upwards of 200'000chf for the unit alone. Multi-lane detection is possible, but depending upon the technology used, this has a much higher "cull" rate (detections thrown out because of interference from other vehicles). Did you actually get copies of the pictures? It should include the data-block, ie the time, date, lane, speed, etc.

Zürich are the Swiss champions of speed/red light camera enforcement. As it accounts for over 20 Mio. CHF of their budget, they are not going to let up anytime soon.

But shouldn't they have told him when and where to attend, so he could defend himself?

Sorry if I made myself unclear.

When I mean: didn't bother, I mean that I didn't bother to argue with the Police. I sent the form back as I was told to, filled out, with me as the driver. Besides, yesterday was the first time I have seen any bill in this case. In the first letter there was no bill, just a request after the driver. If I had gotten any bills before, I would have paid it!

I have of course not seen the pictures. This was some of the difficulties with the german part: It said something about going to court if I wanted to see the pictures. I asked my native swiss neighbour to help me with the letter, but he was as well in doubt....

Well, if you haven't seen the pictures, I don't know how you can say that other cars were also present. Bear in mind that multi-lane camera detection usually involves either an overhead (rare - usually only fixed installs) or angled measuring methods. This means a car that is directly next to you will not necessary prevent a valid infringement detection.

I can say it because I was driving next to another car that was also driving in the same direction as me. If they have cameras that can detect which of the cars that was going to fast, I think they should prove it to me. That's all...

But it really doesn't matter since I already has accepted that I was the driver. I'm more concerned with the 300 CHF extra fee, that seems to come from nowhere.