Cat gets owner into a fine mess

A cat may look at a king, but it may not travel curled up in the space between the steering wheel and windscreen, as a Swiss driver has learned to his cost.

Switzerland’s highest court rejected the man’s appeal against a SFr300 ($321) fine for “driving a vehicle in an unsafe condition as a result of an unsecured load”.

The driver claimed that legally an animal is not a thing, and therefore cannot be a load. He said that there are no regulations governing the transport of pets, and if there were, his cat would be a passenger, and would be obliged to wear a safety belt.

But while the court admitted there are no special rules for pets, it said the rules on loads still applied: items should not endanger anyone and not be able to fall. As it was, the cat partially blocked the driver’s view, and could have distracted him if sudden braking had made it fall, or if it had decided to get up and wander round the vehicle.

The court also made short shrift of his argument that animal protection laws prevented him from tying the animal down. It pointed out that he could have used a cat box.

In addition to the fine, the owner also now has to pay costs of SFr2,000.