Speeding Tickets

Getting traffic tickets in Norway is nothing like getting them in America.  There is no chit-chat about where someone is going to and did they know how fast they were driving.  There are no extenuating circumstances or good lawyers to help get out of them.  If a driver is speeding, they’re speeding, and a hefty fine will surely follow.

Kory got a speeding ticket in Norway once.  The policeman was crouched down in tall wild flowers along the roadside with a laser gun.  The police car was not visible from a distance.  Once he clocked Kory’s speed, he stepped out into the street and motioned us over.  He instructed Kory to get out of our car and go sit in the backseat of the police car while he wrote up the ticket.  That was different.  Kory obeyed, while I sat nervously in our vehicle without him. 

There was no need to ask for proof of insurance or registration because that’s all computerized and the policeman knew that information by just punching in our license plate number.  They’ve gone more high-tech since then, as their laser now reads license plates from a distance. Whether they are speeding or not, if someone hasn’t paid their insurance or registration tabs, they get pulled over, fined, and the plates are taken off the car and the driver is on their own to find their way home.  There’s no “reasonable cause” before someone gets pulled over – anyone can be for no reason.

Kory was handed a ticket on a standardized form that looked like all other bills we get in Norway.  It showed the account number where to transfer the money, and how much is due by what date.  There was no court appearance, no second chance. 

The penalty for speeding is on a sliding scale based on which speed zone it occurred. As it was, Kory was going the equivalent of 56mph in a 50mph zone and it cost him over 500 dollars.  We were in shock.

I was complaining about the ticket to a cousin and he said he got a ticket once for going 20mph over the limit and it cost him over fifteen hundred dollars.   He thought we got off lucky. 

Kory had an option to spend three days in jail rather than pay the fine.  I was in favor of the jail time since he’s retired and I’m the family accountant and knew we had better things to do with that money.  He thought maybe I should “do the time” instead. 

A speed camera in a tunnel caught another cousin once.  He was going so fast that he was given three weeks mandatory jail time, a huge fine and he lost his license for nine months.  He received his ticket in the mail along with the date and instructions on how he was to admit himself to prison. 

After Kory got his ticket, a friend reminded us, “People in Norway only drive as fast as they can afford.”