Norway DUI laws don’t come even close to U. S. DUI laws by comparison. Ask the Norwegian driver who was arrested last October near the airport for Southern Norway’s Kristiansand.

Svenson was stopped, according to a Reuters report, when the cops suspected he was driving under the influence. Svenson’s blood alcohol content was reported by technicians as .188 percent. That’s more than the .02 percent legal limit (in Norway). Svenson was drunk even according to South Carolina’s standards.

The interesting thing about Norway’s dealing with driving under the influence is their standard for levying fines. In the United States fines are stated in the law as it’s written. Norway sets the fine according to current income in addition to factoring in overall personal wealth. Did that get your attention? It got mine.

Norwegian court records say Svenson’s income is 751,769 kroner. That’s equivalent to $117,000 a year in the U. S. But Sven’s personal wealth is 228 million kroner which is $36.6 million in U.S. dollars. Now we’re talking money.

The court fined Svenson 700,000 kroner or $109,000 U.S. for drunk driving. In Svenson’s case, that sounds like a mere slap on the wrist. His license was revoked for two years and three months according to Norway’s drunk driving formula. If you’re in a tavern in Norway, my advice to you is to ask the bartender for a "Shirley Temple." That’s old movie slang for a non-alcoholic beverage.