By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

Attention, speeders: Quit your whining. It could be worse. You could be driving in Finland.

In Finland, speeding fines are determined by how much money you make. In one recent case, a Nokia phone executive was fined $103,000 for doing 47 mph in a 30-mph zone.

That's right, $103,000 for driving slower than most people on the Pali Highway! And you thought those camera citation fines that start at $57 were outrageous.

That $103,000 fine set a record, but it wasn't that unusual. In another case, a driver doing 43 mph in a 25-mph zone was fined $71,400. Hundreds in Finland and other Scandinavian countries have received traffic fines of $10,000 or more under a legal system that believes people should suffer equally for their driving sins.

And you thought those van cams were intrusive?

Listen to this: When you are pulled over for speeding by police officers in Finland, they immediately feed your name via cell phone into a computer that checks your social security number and finds your latest tax returns. The data tell the officer how much your fine is going to be.

I'm not making this up. It's been reported recently in the Wall Street Journal and on National Public Radio.

According to the stories, most people in Finland think there's nothing wrong with the system; when the government tried to cap the fines for most speeding tickets at $7,825 last year, only 29 of the 200 members of Parliament supported the legislation.

The minimum fine for speeding in Finland, by the way, is $63.

The unlimited fine system comes into play when a motorist is caught doing more than 12 mph over the limit. According to The Wall Street Journal, fines are then calculated by a system so complicated that only accountants can understand it. Basically, it goes like this:

Take the driver's monthly net income, reduce it by 1,500 Finnish marks, divide by 60, subtract 15 marks for each child or nonworking spouse and add up to 20 marks for other assets, including real estate. That figure is then multiplied by a number ranging between one and 120, depending on the severity of the violation as determined by the police officer to determine the fine, which in some cases can be paid immediately via the offender's cell phone.

Honest.

Now, I'm not ready to suggest that we institute a Finnish-style program here, but you've got to admit that the idea has potential.

Think of what we could do if we could just catch television producer Al Masini or First Hawaiian Bank exec Walter Dods letting it rip on the H-1 Freeway early one morning. Imagine if we could clock June Jones on one of his midnight Harley runs. We could have enough money to fix up our schools in no time.

Maybe we could get all the former Bishop Estate trustees together on the pretext of a road race for charity, then spring a speed trap on them. Or we could give a Porsche to all the visiting Pro Bowl players next year and point them toward H-3.

In any case, aren't you glad you don't drive in Finland? Lucky you speed Hawai'i.

Mike Leidemann writes about transportation issues. Write him at The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802, Call him at 525-5460, or e-mail mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.