My ID is Speeding in Switzerland

Factual Questions
21

Here is what Google made of the letter. It is not clear to me who supplied my address, whether the bike owner gave it, or if he simply said his step-brother lived in LA and the police picked me. I wouldn’t be surprised if the step brother was fictitious, since there seems to be a reference to a previously revoked license, and his face couldn’t be seen in the picture due to the helmet. He was driving 80kph in a 50kph zone (doing 50mph in a 30mph zone).

Bezirksstatthalteramt Arlesheim
Kirchgasse 5 4144 Arlesheim

Central +41 (0) 61 552 86 00
Direct +41 (0) 61 552 86 41
Fax +41 (0) 61 552 86 99
Postal account 40-7936-2 Dossier 010 09 429

Ian Johnson

Arlesheim, 24 April 2009

Criminal i.S. Ian Johnson, born 10.09.1983 [not my birth date]

Dear Mr Johnson

On Monday, 22.09.2008, 14:49 clock, has been in Biel-Benken, Therwilerstrasse Therwil in driving the motorcycle with her brother, stepfather, Didier Chiquet the speed urn locations within 26 km / h uberschritten. The High Geschwindigkeitsuberschreitung this is considered
gross violation of traffic regulations. My stepbrother gave you as a driver of the scooter to the issue date.
In attachment you will receive a copy of the ad, a recognition of facts and an extract from the Road Traffic Act. We ask you the form to sign and also deals with the enclosed envelope zuruckzusenden.

For your efforts, we thank you.

Yours sincerely

Bezirksstatthalteramt Arlesheim
The investigating officers

T. Achermann

Justice and Security Department of the Canton of Basle-City
Canton Police

> Transport
► Traffic Service for approval and sanctions
Traffic Department
Clara Strasse 38, Postfach, 4005 Basel
Procedure Head WM1 Rlchener Paul
Phone +41 (0) 61 777 79 96
E-mail paul.richener @ jsd.bs.ch
Clerk Wm Guido Riva
Phone +41 (0) 61 777 79 97
E-mail guido.riva @ jsd.bs.ch
Fax +41 (0) 61 777 79 86

Basel-Landschaft Police Traffic Supervision 3 Bruhlstrasse 43 CH-4415Lausen

Procedure number 081118.10 Basle, 21 January 2009

In a telephone / written summons was issued on 13.01.2009 Mr.
Chiquet Michel Didier

By writer Mr. Chiquet was questioned on the matter (survey shelved). Mr. Chiquet acknowledges his alleged opposition plot not. It was (using the photo mate material) his step-brother:

Ian Johnson,
born 10.09.1983
whft. [My address shown here]
• –

Security Department of the Canton of Basle-City

Canton Police

Page 2

Ferien Diesersei half here in Switzerland have been and are now back in America. Mr. Chiquet had at that time possessed no FA, so there is no vehicle steered. The files are sent to the requesting official body backward.

Service and penalties for VerkehrsfeuJessjung

Ressoi / lAferkehrsrecht

Beilaaen

File

Go back to the requesting judicial official agency

Date / Time

13.01.2009, 15:00 clock

to subpoena writing / telephone through Wm Guido Riva

Question:

“I want to make a statement.”
You now have the contents of this request for judicial assistance, and is described by the Verkehrsubertretung person handlebars of the motorcycle, Brand: Honda, SO 5889, aware. Who directed at the relevant time, this vehicle?

Answer:

"With high probability, it is my step-brother:

Ian Johnson
born 10.09.1983
whft. US-90001 Los Angeles,

He lives in America and was with us in Switzerland during the holidays. When he returned to visit is, I can not say evt only during autumn and winter again.

Question:

Who directs them out of this vehicle?

Answer:

"During this time my brother went with my scooter. I had to this time does not pass and drove Fuhrer is not so. This was for my brother in practice, since it is always my scooter had available. I was earlier in the possession of Lemfahrausweises, but these have only recently suspended and is reactivated.
I will present the details of my step-brother obtainable and announce them. "

At the final question

I have read the protocol itself, it corresponds to my data, I have no additions or corrections to be.

End of the interview: 15:35 clock

m Riva Guidcf

22

It looks to me as though somebody who was caught speeding by a camera is trying to avoid a fine and/or licence endorsement by naming someone else as the driver - someone who lives far, far away and who is outside the jurisdiction of the Swiss courts, and who he hopes the Swiss authorities will not bother to pursue.

Why he chose you, or how he got your name and address, I cannot say. Perhaps he just picked what he thought would be a fairly common English-language name, put it into Google or some directory or other, and came up with your details. Or perhaps he has some indirect connection with you that you are unaware of.

I’d write back saying that you have never heard of this man, that you are not his stepbrother and that you have never been to Switzerland. At least it will get the bastard into some kind of trouble.

A retired Australian judge has just been sent to jail for trying to pull this scam.

23

True story from many years ago.
I was living in Berlin and suddenly got a letter from Switzerland saying they caught me speeding in Zurich.
Now, I actually worked in Switzerland every summer, but was most certainly not in that country when this speeding event supposedly took place.
Then, on a hunch, I called a guy I knew in Zurich and, ahem, had had a brief affair with a few years earlier.
He was very embarrassed to admit that, yes, he had claimed I was driving his car during the speeding violation. It seems laws there are quite strict, and you can lose your license if you have more than one speeding ticked in a short period of time. He told the police that I was driving his car while visiting him. He never actually thought the Swiss police would contact me.
I was plenty pissed off, and worried about the next time I went to Switzerland - but luckily, nothing ever came of it.

Upswing - maybe somebody simply found your name somewhere and was trying to avoid losing their license and this has no other “scam” factor involved.

24

At least ianjohnson’s scammer picked on someone who is actually alive to blame for the speeding!

25

Hi Ian.

My name is Lorenz, I’m a journalist at Switzerland’s largest Sunday newspaper SonntagsBlick (www.blick.ch).

I’ve read your story about your Swiss speeding ticket and this all sounds very interesting to me - whether it is a scam or a mistake by the Basel Cantonal Police departement. It won’t be a lot of trouble for me to find out where the letter originated and it would be a amusing story for our paper as well.

If you like you can contact me under my E-Mail adress: lorenz.hon [A] gmail.com.

Kind regards

Lorenz

26

FWIW, I wasn’t quite quick enough to avoid a red light in Vancouver at about 0200 one morning. I saw the flash of the red light camera. A few weeks later I received a citation in the mail with the photo of my Jeep. So BC authorities, at least, can and do cite Americans for violations.

27

I think all Canadian provinces and most US states have reciprocal agreements for traffic violations.