Most provincial councils pay minor speeding fines given to their civil servants out of taxpayers money, the AD reported on Wednesday. In Groningen province, for example, 30 fines were paid in the last six months of 2007.

A Groningen spokesman said the province had to pay the fines following a 2006 court ruling. That ruling, which is being appealed later this month, said if the speed limit is being broken by less than 10 kph and the driver was not reckless, the employer has to pay.
Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Nijmegen city councils told AD their civil servants pay their own speeding fines.