The other day I couln't find a parking place in the two car-parks at a local hospital. After driving round and making myself late for an appointment, I eventually found a space in what seemed to be the hospital grounds. A sign showed it was for "klinik".

I rushed into the hospital and when I came out found a parking ticket on the windscreen for CHF 140.00!!!!!! I think this is obsene! CHF 50.00 or even CHF 80.00 would have been acceptable. Does anyone know of a website where one can check the various fine amounts in canton Zurich? Surely they can't justify such a hefty fine, especially as it was not in a city centre or similar location.

Thanks

http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/741_031/app1.html

What's printed on the ticket, how long have you been in the hospital, could it have been a space for ambulances?

What entity made the fine, the police/municipality or the hospital/property owner?

Apparently, you parked in an area reserved for hospital staff. You were on private ground and the owner of the ground is claiming compensation. They are entitled to do that based on a judge's general ruling. The usual penalties, for over-parking on public roads, are not relevant in the described situation.

cheaper to take a taxi or public transport!

Hospitals are notorious for having aggressive parking police - too many people coming and going who are tempted to park anywhere because they are stressed out or in a hurry...

The police are not involved. These are over zealous hospital "security" staff.

But the enforcers do have a point. OP may have taken the parking slot of a surgeon called in to treat an emergency. Hospital surgeons and physicians work long and irregular hours, day and night. They need their cars and parking spaces.

Thank you all for your useful feedback.

I had actually parked in the visitors car park (next to the Schulthess Klinik) which was reserved for the Psychiatric Hospital over the road. The ticket was issued by one of the hospital employees, but has Kantonspolizei as the beneficiary. I suppose I will just have to pay it and either leave a lot earlier or take public transport. I would have at least liked to let them know what I think about the amount before paying.

Do the police send parking fines by post?

It was raining & I stopped at the side of the road to drop off a passenger and then noticed that there was a faded no parking sign by the side. At that same time, a police car drove by, but didn't stop. A friend said that I would be expecting a fine. I probably stopped there for one minute.

No, police don't send parking fine by post. You get a fine by post if you have crossed a red-light or you are driving at more than accepted speed.

Never say never, but if they were passing and were going to make a point of it, I would have expected them to stop, give you a ticking off and give you a hand written ticket for something like that. Happened to me once when I was putting some rubbish in the dumpster. I got the ticking off but no ticket.

Was it a no parking zone or a no stopping zone?

No parking




No stopping




So far as I understand the rules, you are permitted to stop in a no parking zone for a short period of time, you just aren't allowed to leave your car there. If it truly was a case of you stopping in a 'no parking' zone, and you were obviously not parking and just letting out a passenger, you should be fine.

It can and does happen. I was parked outside my building waiting on my husband to bring some stuff down and I saw a police car pass me twice while I waited. I received a call that evening from the cop in that car, telling me he was sending me a ticket for it. Perhaps that's an unusual case, but the ticket did come in the mail a few days later (and wasn't cheap!)

Thanks for the feedback. Let's see how it goes and will update this thread if I hear or receive anything from the cops.

Heather, thanks for the signs... have to look at it again later. It was in pretty bad shape.

There is no law suggesting that a ticket has to be issued on the spot by the officer. Tickets can be and are sent by post in some cases. Sometimes officers may be on a call and cant deal with "your" parking offence straight away. If they find that you have been parking or stopping in a "no stopping" (see pic below) area for example, then they can take a note of it and send you the ticket afterwards. "No stopping" is treated as one of the higher traffic violations, which is why it costs CHF 120.00. U park your car longer than an hour in the "no stopping" area, then you will be fined by the court (Verzeigung) and not receive a direct ticket.

I doubt that they would send you a ticket if it was just a simple parking offence like "no parking", unless your vehicle was causing an obstruction. But like I said, they can send you tickets by post for any traffic offence.

No stopping:

Unbelievable - that's Switzerland's finest.

Was Ray Liotta starring as the cop in this terrible thriller?

It's all so rediculous.

Some of the best advice I ever got on English Forum was reading posts about Switzerland's passive-aggressive speed cameras and the tickets you get in the mail.... to the point, something like "Sure, taxes are low, but you must factor in speeding tickets as an accepted part of your annual costs/taxation, in addition to the other-worldly food costs, etc." I'm not in support of speeding, but a 5km/hr buffer = a 3mph buffer? Anybody that says it's easy to stay within that range with your foot on the gas navigating through traffic and switzerland's zig-zagging city streets that never lay straight... doesn't drive. For reference, the buffer in the US is 16km/hr or 10mph over the limit, there are no speed cameras and a cop has to see, chase and catch you in order to take your hard earned money from your pocket. Cowboys? Sure some of us, but more a rule based on reason vs precision.

Sorry about your ticket. I feel your pain. FYI: the meter maids were out in force around Bellevue & Munsterhof this morning. Noted 3 of them within 10 minutes. They're coming for you...

Sorry, but I had to laugh at this one, a real "only in Switzerland"

You should be grateful the Police Officer is so dedicated to his job - what a professional