Federal Court upholds decision Speeding driver caught - court converts prison sentence into a fine

A speeding driver is sentenced to prison in the first instance. The appeal court commutes this to a fine. The Federal Supreme Court now supports this practice.

A speeding driver caught in Ticino receives a conditional fine instead of the conditional prison sentence imposed at first instance. The Federal Supreme Court confirms this ruling by the Court of Appeal. It corresponds to the new regulation that came into force in October 2023.

The driver was traveling at 188 km/h on the freeway. The speed limit was 100 km/h. In November, the Ticino Court of Appeal converted the conditional prison sentence of 12 months imposed at first instance into a conditional fine of 180 daily rates.

This was permissible, according to the Federal Supreme Court in a ruling published on Monday. The new provision in the Road Traffic Act stipulates that first-time offenders can be punished with a fine instead of a minimum sentence of one year's imprisonment for speeding offenses.

The condition is that the offender has not been convicted in the last ten years of a felony or misdemeanor involving a serious risk to the safety of others or the injury or death of others.