As an NYC resident who has had a car in the city for nearly 10 years, I know all too well the relentless pain of parking tickets. However, in the many parking violations I’ve received over the years, the grand total doesn’t even kind of come close to $1 million. In fact, I would argue almost no one can claim that, except for one Greek lady. She might well have gotten the most expensive parking ticket of all time. The funny thing is that our average parking tickets are closer to $1 million than the whopper she got. 

What is the most expensive parking ticker ever? 

Imagine looking at your parking ticket, where you might normally see a $65 fine, and instead, you find a few more zeros. This lady received the most expensive parking ticket in the world at the hands of the ​ municipality of the island of Rhodes, asking her to pay a breathtaking €6,648,444 ($6,740,657) for a parking-related offense. 

When she first opened the invoice, the nearly fainted when she saw the figure that she thought was €6,648. However, when she picked herself off the floor, she realized the situation was actually so insane that it had to be a mistake. In a way, the size of the fine made her feel better. 

Cash or card? 

CarScoops reports that this legendary woman went down to the municipality’s office the next day to pay the asinine fine. She reportedly walked up to the counter, presented the letter, and said that she couldn’t pay the fine with a credit card but would like to pay the $6.7 mil in cash. This was a joke pointed at the policy stating that “all fines over €100 must be paid through a card.”  

The clerk was stunned when he saw the letter and the woman offering cash. He, too, believed the parking ticket fine must be a mistake. However, they haven’t figured out how this mistake happened, but we assume she will get the confusion worked out. 

What is the most expensive speeding ticket?

Tickets are a major way for governments, big and small, to raise funds. According to Car and Driver, the U.S. brings in an average of 6.2 billion annually on speeding tickets. Add parking tickets and any other moving violations, and we can see this is a lucrative practice. 

Despite the U.S.’s love of ticketing, the most expensive speeding ticket of all time came to the tune of $1 million and was issued by Sweden. The driver cracked 180 mph in his Mercedes. The Scandi nations tend to take speeding quite seriously.

Tickets are not created equally. These pesky pieces of paper can range wildly depending on the country or even region of the country you are in. Hell, you’d be hard-pressed to catch a parking ticket in upstate New York, but in NYC, they grow wild like weeds. 

Tickets are the bane of many drivers’ existence. These things don’t only come with a fine; some come with real consequences like suspended or canceled licenses. Whether your ticket is $65 or $6 million, no one enjoys a ticket.