But he gets back in the car - and now has to dig deep into his pockets.
A priest from the canton of Schwyz has been severely punished for driving without a license, which had recently been revoked indefinitely by the police.
The driver was caught drunk during the Advent season last year.
However, the man got behind the wheel again - and was caught. During a traffic check on 16 May on a main road in the inner part of the canton, he was unable to produce a ticket.
This less than pious act is now costing the man dearly, as the "Bote der Urschweiz" reports.
According to the report, the public prosecutor's office has revoked the conditional sentence he received earlier in the year for drunk driving.
The offending pastor must pay a fine for both incidents and must also pay the costs of the proceedings - a total of CHF 15,000, otherwise he faces a substitute prison sentence of 120 days.
"I have already paid the fine"
The public prosecutor's office is therefore taking a tough line. The reasoning can be found in the now published penalty order: "Based on his behavior, it must be assumed that he will commit further crimes."
He has learned his lesson, he tells the newspaper. Now he only uses public transport. "I've already paid the fine," he assures the newspaper.