Hi Richard,

You are right about Aagau, as much as we like to think what a bunch of Nazis they are at least by advertising the fact that they've taken away so many licences they are actually trying to prevent you from doing anything that they could fine you for. In other words, maybe they care about road safety rather than just filling their own coffers... Mind you, with all those AG number plates around, something must be done...

Now this 3km/h "tolerance" business is based on a law from the Bund, not the canton. The new limit applies to the new laser cameras, and these units do both lanes in both directions. So no matter which side you approach from it will check you approaching and leaving the camera. They are also much smaller, so easier to miss. I don't know if they are still film based, but if they have switched to digital then you no longer get the added bonus of the chance that the film might have run out.

When these cameras were introduced in Zurich (causing quite a stir!) the police in Zurich said - "We aren't happy with the lower tolerance, but this rule comes from the Bund". Yeah - I'm sure they weren't happy at all, think of all the extra money. Take your 59 which is reduced to 54. If that were a laser unti it would be 57 and bingo - no more 40 francs but 120. Most of my fines are also 59, so I'm in for a big rise in my car related expenses...

Apparently some "experts" reckon that car spedometers are not accurate enough, so you might think you are doing the limit and still get done with this lower tolerance.

It's a shame that you only get a breath test if you stink. A breath test (if done efficently) takes less time than it does to ask for the license, and the main point here is that it is quite easy for the driver to be over 0.05 without the copper smelling it on their breath.

You say random checking is a regular event? When were you last checked, and how often? Because they do seem to pick up so many guilty drivers that means something has to be done - i.e. more checks, public education, training for people in the alcohol industry, labeling of drink products with the number of standard units in the contents etc. Maybe Aargau focuses more on alcohol than other cantons (the checking drivers part, rather than the consumption of it but...)