Prosecutors have decided not to press charges against a Czech millionaire who drove a high-powered sportscar along a German highway at speeds of at least 257mph. Germany's dpa news agency reported Friday that prosecutors in the town of Stendal reviewed footage of the stunt and concluded that Radim Passer had not broken the law when he pushed his Bugatti Chiron to extreme speeds on a stretch of autobahn between Berlin and Hannover. In a post below the video, which was uploaded to social media, the tycoon wrote that the video was recorded last year on a six-mile straight section with three lanes and "visibility along the whole stretch," the AP reports.
"Safety was a priority, so the circumstances had to be safe to go," Passer said. More than two-thirds of Germany's highway network has no speed limit, a feature that has attracted foreign drivers who want to drive at breakneck speeds not permitted in their own countries. German authorities can still prosecute drivers who drive in a way that is considered reckless, regardless of their speed. But Stendal prosecutors said they believed Passer had not endangered anyone because he had chosen the best time and conditions for the stunt.
The recent rise in fuel prices and Russia's war on Ukraine have reignited a debate in Germany about imposing a universal speed limit to help the country wean itself from Russian energy, but the pro-business Free Democratic Party that runs the Transport Ministry has rejected the idea. Russia provides about 55% of the natural gas and 35% of the oil consumed by Germany, per the Washington Post. (More autobahn stories.)
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