Germany does not sanction Czech tycoon for driving at 414 km/h

BERLIN (AP) — Prosecutors in a German city have decided not to file charges against a Czech millionaire who drove a high-powered sports car down a German highway at a speed of at least 257 miles per hour (414 kilometers per hour).

On Friday, the German news agency dpa reported that prosecutors from the city of Stendal reviewed footage of the stunt and concluded that Radim Passer had not broken the law when he drove his Bugatti Chiron to extreme speeds on a stretch of motorway between Berlin and Hanover.

In a post that appears at the bottom of the video, which was uploaded to social media, Passer wrote that it was recorded last year on a 10-kilometer (6-mile) straight section with three lanes and “visibility throughout the section.”

“Safety was a priority, so the circumstances had to be safe to be able to do it,” he said.

There are no speed limits on more than two-thirds of Germany’s road network, attracting foreign drivers who want to drive at breakneck speeds not allowed in their own countries.

Still, German authorities can prosecute drivers who drive recklessly, regardless of speed. However, Stendal’s prosecutors told dpa that they believed that Passer had not endangered anyone because he had chosen the best time and conditions for the maneuver.

The recent rise in fuel prices and Russia’s war against Ukraine have reignited debate in Germany about imposing a universal speed limit to help the country wean itself off Russian energy, but the Free Democratic Party of pro-business trend and which heads the Ministry of Transport, rejected the idea.

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