Angry speeder sues the government

20 March 2008

MADRID – A man caught driving at 260 kilometres per hour on a highway in northern Spain is suing the Spanish government for more than EUR 300,000 in compensation for confiscating his driving license.

The 42-year-old man, whom court officials identified as Constantino G. S., was clocked by police travelling at more than twice the legal speed limit last year in an Audi A8 sedan. His driving license was immediately withheld and he was charged with reckless endangerment. More than a year later, a judge acquitted him of the charges due to a legal loophole.

In response to being banned from driving for 13 months, Constantino G. S. filed a lawsuit requesting EUR 313,454 in compensation for the added expenses and time it had cost him to travel to and from work and for the "moral damage" caused by having his photo published by the media.