Rupert Goodwins' Diary

Monday 14/01/2002

Egalitarian bunch, the Finns. If you get caught speeding, you get a fine -- just like here -- but it's linked to your worth. Doesn't that make sense? There's no way a £150 quid fine means the same to a multimillionaire as it does to an out-of-work brickie. So if you happen to be an executive vice-president of Nokia and are nabbed doing nearly fifty in a thirty MPH zone on your favourite Harley, you shouldn't expect to part with pocket money.

However, Anssi Vanjoki, the bike jockey in question, copped a world-record £70,000 fine. That's a lot of dosh, even if you're accustomed to trousering £8 million or so per annum for your sterling work. He's appealing, on the grounds that the recession has reduced his income this year and that he's a jolly important chap who keeps the wheels of Finnish industry turning with even more dash than those of his Hog.

He's not likely to get much sympathy from his colleague, Nokia president Pekka Ala-Pietila, who got hit previously with a £21,000 fine for similar velocity-related naughtiness.

Perhaps they could just drive slower in future? I know it's an unfashionable option, in much the same way that people seem reluctant to spend a month keeping to the speed limits and thus bankrupting the Gatso network...