Lars Chevrolet Camaro Z28 from 1994.
Photo: Private
Lars Vallgren received a traffic ticket in Jönköping. Even though his car was in a garage in Vettasjärvi in Gällevare municipality.
Photo: Private
When it’s summer, Gällivarebon Lars Vallgren, 59, usually dusts off his sports car, a Chevrolet Camaro Z28 from 1994, to go out on the roads.
But when winter sets in, he sends it by transport to a garage in Vettasjärvi.
This year’s winter was no exception.
At the beginning of December, the car was driven with a trailer to the garage where it is now parked.
– We’re having quite a winter here. And it’s basically like a racing car. It is not possible to drive then, he says.
That’s why Lars Vallgren raised eyebrows when in January he received a traffic fine of SEK 800 issued by the municipality in Jönköping, which is almost 150 kilometers away from Vettasjärvi in Gällivare.
“Totally unreasonable”
The parking notice states that Lars Chevrolet received a traffic ticket in the Dalvik area at around 1pm on January 3.
– It’s fucking 150 miles away. It is unreasonable. You see what the car looks like. Should I have driven in snow all the way down to Jönköping. It doesn’t work when it’s slippery. It can only be driven straight ahead in the snow.
Lars Vallgren suspects that the parking attendant entered the wrong registration number when they were to hand out parking fines. He has appealed the parking ticket to the police.
– It’s been two months since I paid the fine, but I haven’t heard anything from them, and inflation is ticking away. I want interest on the money, says Lars Vallgren.
The police: It was a red golf – not a Cheva
Johnny Gustafsson, press spokesperson in the police region East, confirms that the police have received Lars Vallgren’s appeal.
– I would like to say that it is very, very likely that Lars’ appeal will go through. There was a car there in Jönköping, and it was indeed red. But it was a red Golf – not a Chevrolet, he says.
According to Johnny Gustafsson, there are two possible explanations for the miss.
– One is that it is a matter of human error. The second is that the sign is affected in some way, so it appears to be that number. We may never get an answer to that, he says.
Long waiting time
Even if Lars’ appeal will most likely go through, it will take time before he gets his 800 kroner back. The processing time is between four and five months.
– Unfortunately, that is the case. But when it really comes down to his case, there is very little that says he won’t get redress, says Johnny Gustafsson.
Lars Vallgren is satisfied when he receives the positive message regarding his appeal. But less satisfied with the processing time.
– If the state is wrong, then I think they should try to fix it as soon as possible. I have six days to pay. But they will last for four months. A decision that is so simple. But it still takes four months, says Lars Vallgren.