"I'm a king, I can do whatever I want": aggressive driver gets off with a 3,500 CZK fine

A scandal has erupted in Czechia over a video showing a driver of a white Kia Ceed openly abusing and threatening a police patrol. According to police, the man was pulled over after speeding down a motorway at 180 km/h, cutting off other vehicles, making dangerous lane changes, and driving without a seatbelt.

During the stop, the driver behaved aggressively — all captured on video that he filmed himself and which has since gone viral online. Stepping out of the car, he refused to comply with the officers' instructions, claimed to be a disabled pensioner, and declared straight into the camera: "I'm a king, I can do whatever I want."

The man hurled crude insults at the officers, threatened to have them fired, and claimed they wouldn't be physically able to take him away. He also tried to convince police that he hadn't been driving at all — that an unknown person had been behind the wheel and had fled the scene. He even offered a female officer cash on camera. According to police spokeswoman Pavla Kofrová, on-site alcohol and drug tests came back negative.

A symbolic fine for reckless driving

Despite public outrage, the actual punishment turned out to be surprisingly lenient. Czech police did not investigate the incident as a criminal offense — attempted bribery — and instead referred the case to the municipal authority in Chomutov, which initially declined to comment on the details. The editorial team had to request the information under the Freedom of Information Act.

According to David Kuhn, a lawyer with the Chomutov municipal authority, the driver was fined 3,500 CZK for the traffic violation plus 1,000 CZK in court costs — 4,500 CZK in total. Five penalty points were also added to his driving record, but his license was not revoked.

Not a single crown for insulting police

The outcome regarding the insults directed at the officers was even stranger — that part of the case was forwarded to the Jirkov municipal office. There, however, proceedings never even began, and the case was closed.

"Since the content of the report did not establish an unlawful act whose level of social danger corresponded to the elements of this offense, the administrative body closed the case," confirmed Hana Harousková, spokesperson for the Jirkov municipal office's internal administration department. As a result, the driver did not receive even a minimal fine for grossly insulting the patrol officers.

"He got off scot-free"

The case has drawn sharp criticism from road safety experts. According to Roman Budský of the Vize 0 platform, the outcome of the proceedings looks like a mockery and points to long-standing gaps in Czech legislation.

"This man essentially got away with it. The five points will expire, and 3,500 crowns is nothing — the state pays him about the same in benefits. For comparison, abroad there are clear tariffs for insulting police officers: in Germany, we're talking about thousands of euros, and in France, a fine for assaulting a police officer can reach 15,000 euros. Here, a man attacked a representative of the authorities, and the agency claims it poses no danger to society," Budský commented.

He said the key task now is to introduce a clear legal definition of aggressive driving into Czech law as soon as possible. "A working group has already been set up under the Ministry of Transport, involving the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Police Presidium and the Supreme Court, with the goal of defining aggressive driving in law, introducing penalties for illegal street racing, and toughening sanctions for those who refuse alcohol and drug tests. I hope the new rules will come into force by July next year. The current situation is extremely demoralizing for police officers on the ground," the expert added.

Read also: Exchanging a driver's license for a Czech one

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz