Swedish king caught driving 160 km/h, can't be fined

[cliss]

Date: Thursday, April 22, 2004
Source: Aftonbladet, Swedish newspaper
*note: this is in Swedish, translated by CLiss.
http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/nyheter/story/0,2789,465684,00.html

"Swedish king Carl Gustav clocked at driving 160 kilometers per hour outside Stockholm". Swedish laws prohibit issuing fines for the king; essentially means that he can crash or kill a pedestrian and there is no recourse.

Queen Silvia denies that the king was driving too fast. "I can testify that he didn't". But King Carl Gustav refused to answer to Aftonbladet's questions. Aftonbladet revealed that on Sunday the royal couple exceeded the speed limit driving from Karlskoga to Stockholm. The whole family went to drive go-carts, Porsche and STCC-Volvo at the Gellerås Race Track. When they drove home, the king stepped on the gas on the E18 road toward the capitol city. First the king drove a yellow Porsche 911 Carrera GT3, with Queen Silvia as a passenger.
"They drove incredibly fast; they were driving 150 to 160 and passed cars the whole time", said a witness. Another witness said, "They drove unbelievably fast and it smelled burnt".

<snip>
-------------

The problem with this story is that the king is above the law, and so he cannot be fined or prosecuted in any way. The Swedes are alarmed because he could theoretically cause a crash or kill an innocent pedestrian, and there is nothing the authorities can do about it.

[PartyPooper]

1. He sounds a bit like our King.

You know, His Majesty George W. Bush.

:eyes:

[mobuto]

8. Actually, I'd say it sounds more like Ed Rendell

Cough

[truthisfreedom]

2. 95-100 MPH

[whistle]

3. Isn't 160 KMs ....

...100 miles per hour? That's what many drivers hit on the interstates. In Florida that would be 30mph over the limit and the fine would be about $300.00 plus mandatory drivers ed and a doubling of points. Lose of drivers license and insurance are likely consequences. What they do in Sweden is not my concern. But if King Gustav comes here and pulls that, I don't think there will be diplomatic immunity.

[Voice_of_Europe]

13. hmm...

I'm actually pretty sure that there WILL be diplomatic immunity...
What makes you think there won't...??

[Eureka]

4. It's good to be the King <n/t>

[TahitiNut]

6. (drat) You beat me by 7 minutes.

God Save Mel Brooks.

[Eureka]

7. I had to type as quick as I could

I knew there would be lots of disappointed fans out there decrying whoever got in first :-)

[Endangered Specie]

5. Ill bet no one ever tried to pull over Bush's motorcade

[Voice_of_Europe]

12. No Motorcade needed..

the nice thnig here is that the Swedish King doesn't need a motorcade... he can drive his own Porsche all around the country without having to fear anything...

[Zero Gravitas]

15. without having to fear anything...

like obeying the law?

[AGD4y2357y]

32. How is he not obeying the law?

The law says that he is exempt from the law. So by definition he can not disobey a law he is not subject to.

[Christ was Socialist]

9. Let's be fair here and remember

Ted kennedy.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[July]

14. What's your point? n/t

[democracyindanger]

22. Yeah...What's your point? nt

[Nihil]

34. I'd guess ...

... that at least no-one died as the result of the named Swedish
privileged person driving fast whilst one person did as a result of the
named American privileged person driving drunk.

Yep, I know it's ancient history now but that's what happens when
people point fingers at "foreign privileged people" while forgetting
that their own privileged people are not angels.

Like I said, I'm not the poster that you replied to and so am guessing
here but that is the obvious "point" that you seem to be missing.

(End of public service announcement :-))

[Voice_of_Europe]

11. smelled burnt

Smelled burnt?
At only 160 ? common!! On German highways 140 is the average speed and no car or tires smell burnt...

I think the real story is that a king can break a law at will... not that he drove 160 which isn't really THAT fast...

Plus: The king can't be fined.
But if he drives over a pedestrian and hurts somebody this is not just a FINE... not even the king can kill at will. So lets stay reasonable here...

[daleo]

16. It is time to invade Sweden

And relieve them of this tyrant. They will strew flowers at the liberation. Plenty of oil in the North Sea, too, which is not so far away.

[KDLarsen]

17. Unfortunately..

... the North Sea oilfields are split between Denmark, Norway and the UK.

I personally think he should issue an apology, if he indeed was speeding. On the other hand - I drove from my niece's first birthday party at an average of 140 km/h, since there was literally no traffic.

So, what was the traffic conditions at the time?

[daleo]

20. I was being ironic about Bush invading, of course

Although the fact that the North Sea oil fields are owned by Denmark, Norway, and the U.K. would not necessarily deter the BFEE. They could cut a deal with the U.K. (a la Iraq) and grab it all, relieving Scandinavians of their constitutional monarchies as cover.

Seriously, though, if he was speeding he should issue an apology and donate a hefty fee to charity, in lieu of a fine, if charging him creates constitutional issues out of proportion to the offense. I was under the impression that the Swedish royal family was quite down to earth.

[KDLarsen]

35. Most of them are down to earth

And they realize that the days, where they were the ruling power, is gone. Most of them consider themselves as representatives of their country instead.

[tinanator]

18. Thats nothing, he could have gone twice that

He has some incredibly ferocious American vehicles that would put that story to shame. I guess the outraged have never driven to LA on 99.

[TacticalPeek]

19. It's the famous SUCK privilege.

Speeding Under Consent of the King.

:)

[kysrsoze]

31. Diplomatic Immunity!

[pscot]

21. It's good to be the King

N/T

[Heyo]

23. I dont get it....

Isn't the rate 2.2km = 1 mile.. that makes it like 70 miles an hour...

Do I have my figures wrong?

I do that in bumper to bumper traffic every morning and evening.

Heyo

[NickB79]

25. Damn metric system :-)

2.2 to 1 is the ratio of pounds to kilograms, actually, 2.2 lbs per kg.

[Heyo]

26. Oh yeah....

youre right!

:toast:

Well.... maybe the dude was haulin' ass... so what?

Maybe he had to take a dump.

:evilgrin:

Heyo

[ElsewheresDaughter]

24. 160 kilometer/hour = 99.4193908 mile/hour (mph)

[Love Bug]

27. R.H.I.P.

Rank Has Its Privileges

[DemoTex]

28. I had dinner with King Gustav and Queen Silvia 1991.

It was a cozy little affair with 600+ people in a SAAB aircraft hangar in Linköping. King Gustav looked a lot like writer Salman Rushdie back then.

[MrSlayer]

29. It's good to be the King.

But really, who cares if the guy was driving fast? 99 MPH is not that big of a deal. Ever drive the Autobahn? You have to go at least 100 just to merge into traffic.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

So what. He didn't kill anybody.

It remains to be seen how responsible he would be for it if he did. This article is much ado over nothing. We give diplomatic immunity in America as well.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

30. So what. He didn't kill anybody.

It remains to be seen how responsible he would be for it if he did. This article is much ado over nothing. We give diplomatic immunity in America as well.

[AP]

33. It must be embarrassing for such a good, liberal country to still have a

monarch.

I can't wait until the world turns the page on the anachronism that is inherited privilege.