A British tourist in Dubai racked up roughly $47,000 in fines within four hours while driving a rented Lamborghini Huracan.
The National reports that the 25-year-old driver was snapped by speeding cameras no less than 33 times in the hours after renting the mid-engine supercar.
Of the 33 offenses, 32 of them came on the busy Sheikh Zayed Road where the driver was nabbed traveling between 126 km/h (78 mph) and 230 km/h (142 mph). The other offence occurred on Garn Al Sabkha Road. All 33 occurred between 2:31 am and 6:26 am on July 31 and were often just minutes apart.
The Huracan was rented from Saeed Ali Rent a Car. According to Faris Iqbal, a partner in the dealership, the tourist paid just over $1600 to hire the car for two days and left his passport as a guarantee.
The speeding fines amounted to $20,900 while an additional $27,000 will be needed to retrieve the car if it’s impounded by police.
Unsurprisingly, the tourist doesn’t want to pay the fines and remains in possession of the Lamborghini while the rental dealership still has his passport. The dealer requested a travel ban on the tourist but it was rejected.
“It’s still with the tourist, parked at his hotel. I won’t be trying to take it back, because once I do, I know I have to surrender it to police,” Iqbal said.
“Then who pays the money for the impound? We shouldn’t do so for sure. It’s his fault and he should pay that amount.”
Speeding fines issued in the United Arab Emirates are done so in the name of the vehicle owner, meaning tourists can rent vehicles, get speeding fines, and leave the country. The UAE and the UK have a treaty on judicial assistance so it’s possible that the dealership could file for the ruling to be carried out in the UK. However, this is a costly process.