Getting a fine in someone else car as a visitor then leaving the country

Transportation, Travel and Trips
1
Yeah, so im on Switzerland on holiday at my cousin, and in my stay here i drove his car, and i think i got a fine. Now im heading home and i need to know what happens after. Do my cousin have to Pay the fine?

2
Yes, if it comes. And he can tell the police, if the fine is higher or should be combined with a driving ban, that it was not he who drove.

3
Wouldn't he then be legally bound to give the name and address, etc, of the person who was driving?

4
As it is so difficult to actually prove who is driving it is the car owner who is responsible for the fines. They can nominate the actual driver, but if they don’t pay it comes back to the owner.

5
IIRC only for the standardised fines of less than 260 CHF. For everything else the actual driver is the culprit, the identity needs to be proven.

@OP, such a standardised fine (let's say you were flashed 10km/h over the limit) is a non-issue here, no additional consequences, provided your friend pays within the time limit. Depending on where you're from it can be the preferred way to let your friend be the official driver because the actual driver may get additionally hit in the country of residence. Many countries have something like driver points, getting hit there has often a long lasting effect. Nothing keeps you from paying your friend for the fine informally.

6
In principle, the owner of the car is contacted with an indication of the nature of the offence and is asked to either confirm that he/she was the driver or asked to state who was. In a simple case, say a small speeding fine, the bill can be paid (it does not matter by whom) and there are no further consequences.

This happened to me earlier this year. I leant my car to a relative for a few days. About one month after the car was returned I got a letter saying that there was speeding incident with my car (a few km/h over the limit) and the bill was SFR 40.- . It was a pure "administrative" matter so I paid it and the relative compensated me. Of course, if it was not so simple (say excessive speeding which has serious consequences) I'd have stated the particulars of the driver at the time of the incident and not involved myself further.

7
But how could you know, with absolute certainty, who was driving at the time?

8
There are photos and I have it on good authority that if you try to lie (e.g. my wife was driving, take her license) they can tell with absolute certainty. That's why they take a picture from the front as well.

9
Some cameras take pictures from the front, but not all. They may have pictures of the driver, they may not.

10
Maybe the person who wasn't driving had a solid alibi?

11
I, as owner of the car, should know who was driving it at a specific time. This also applies say to a car renal company which is expected to have records or a car from a company car pool where there should be some system for logging usage.

If I, as registered owner, cannot name someone else, then the assumption will be that I was driving.

In the specific incident I mentioned the relative had the car in his possession for 4 days and, from the date of the speeding incident and the location, it was clear.

Interesting would be when the owner claims that X was driving at the time and X denies it.

12
As an owner you should know who you lent the car to.But if you are not present you cannot know who was driving at a particular time.

13
OK, but in practice, how far would "not knowing" get you.

I guess that in a serious case, say extreme speeding which can carry a custodial sentence, the authorities would try to establish who was "responsible" for the car at the time (usually first the registered owner) and then if they had successfully discharged that "responsibility" onto someone else (hirer, borrower etc.). The person found ultimately "responsible" for the car will have to say either "Yes, I was driving" or "I don't know who was driving".

Unless the car was reported stolen sufficiently long in advance of the incident or there is some unusually creative defence, that is something better than having lent the keys of the car to a total stranger in a pub, not knowing who was driving will be more or less the same as admitting to driving.

Of course, this is slightly different from the case the OP has outlined.

There it will be clear who was claimed to have been driving at the time. Only that person will no longer be in the country and may never come back. So end of story ?

14
The only places that don't have front pictures are some mobile radars and maybe older cameras?

For everything else, there is no getting away. Friend got flashed years ago, tried to say it was his wife because he didn't want to lose his license. They got called to the police station, asked again "who was driving" and then got shown the picture clear as day. I remember the wife telling me "I could see what earrings I was wearing that day".

In practice there is no getting away.

And if we're discussing philosophically, I assume it's easy to remember who was driving your car when. Worst case scenario, check your Google Maps timeline, or that of people that borrowed the car around the time of the offense.

Maybe you don't remember, but Google surely does

15
Not me, I don’t use Google. Not the search engine, not the documents or sheets, nor gmaps, nor fitbit, nor waze. I use blockers as well.

Yes, I’m the exception to the rule.