The weather must be nicer. Saw my first mobile control of the season in Basel yesterday.

From the train today I saw heaps in Ticino...they are particularly thick on nice days / warm weekends.

Just wondering what colour the permanent "blitzers" are in Switzerland.
We think we may have been photographed yesterday driving home from Zürich however we were in the middle lane and my husband is quite certain the camera was only reflecting the sunlight. The flash was white and only flashed once. The ones I know in Germany are usually red or orange and flash twice. Is it possible for the cameras in city Zurich to flash once and white? Thanks

Most of the newer laser cameras are grey, have a detector at the bottom and a trapezoidal camera /flash housing at the top. The flash on these units are generally white.
The older shorter radar / road-sensor boxes are greyish concrete or steel, and have either a white or red-filter flash.

Then their are specialized Autobahn units, which are mounted on anywhere..like the one half-way between Zürich and Bern..you may not even notice it.

If you happened to be going home on the A1 from Zürich to St.Margrethen, there is a revenue-raising laser camera on the St.Gallen / Thurgau border at Wil. This one gets a lot of unsuspecting D-A-CH traffic.

As far as the mobile traps go -- is there also a visible flash for those that are caught? I drove past a control the other day, didn't notice my speed, but also didn't see a flash. I was moving with the general flow of traffic, presumably under the limit, but would like the reassurance in any case.

I guess I'll know soon enough!

Hello,

I was following actively the threads from the past. Very interesting and helpful. Thanks a lot for sharing them.

I have a few questions.

I am a student, living in Germany with a non EU citizenship. I hired a car using my friend's ID, from Europcar 4 months back and was on a road trip to Italy with a few of my friends and returned via Switzerland to Germany. My friend (the registered Driver) received a letter from the local German police (sent by the swiss police) this week. It was mentioned in the letter that we were over speeding on autobahn 4 in Switzerland. Speed limit was 100KMPH and we were doing 159 KMPH with an excess speed of 59 KMPH.

After meeting up with the local german police my friend was shown fotos taken during the incident and they show clearly that I was the one driving and not my friend to whom the letter was sent. Hence the local German police are trying to locate me to inform me that I have made a traffic violation in Switzerland.

I possess an international driving license since August 2009 (8 months now).

I wish to know a few things at this juncture

1. Do I have to surrender to the local German police and admit that, I was the one driving, since they are trying to locate me now or should I wait till they locate me ?

2. Is my international driving license valid in Switzerland (I don have a German driver's license) ?

3. What would be the fine I would have to pay? Imprisonment?

4. Should the fine be paid at the swiss court or can I make a bank transfer ?

I am really looking forward to your help.
Thank you guys for your time.
Awaiting reply.

I would take the letter and go and talk with the German police.

You would be looking at a large fine. , prison would be very unlikely as it is your first offence and there are no other circumstances involved.

You will probably be banned from driving in Switzerland for about 1 year.

You could probably have the matter dealt with "in absentia" or you could choose to go to Switzerland and explain it to the court.

I fully endorse litespeed's recommendations, above.

A quick note on "international driving licences": these are not driving licences and have no legal validity as such, anywhere. Effectively, they are simply approved translations of locally-issued driving licences.

@ shnkarganapathy, presumably you have an in-date, valid driving licence from your home country. This is your legally valid driving licence. I don't know the law with respect to driving on a foreign licence in Germany, but as a visitor to Switzerland you are permitted to drive for up to one year on a foreign licence. If your driving licence is not currently valid, I strongly suggest that you get a new licence issued urgently from your home country, if possible, or obtain a German licence, before you go and chat to the police there.

I can't stress strongly enough that an international driving licence, without a valid driving licence issued by your home (or another) country, is NOT acceptable proof of the right to drive.

There are also likely to be consequences about your false declaration to the car hire company. It is very likely that you were not insured because of this...

Last week I was driving on a nice sunny day through a little village in Kanton Zürich. There was a 30km limit & the road had a steep slope so I had to keep braking to keep my speed down. I saw a an odd shape on the right at the bottom of the slope & when I got closer I could see it was a camera on a tripod & in a sort of alcove off the road there was a sleepy looking policeman. He had some sort of gadget in his hand which I guess was a remote speed dispaly.
I was lucky but they must have earned a lot that day because it was hard to keep your speed legal.

Screw the insurance (unless of course, you have an accident), if it comes out during a routine traffic stop that you used your friends license as your own or the company realises this fact whilst you are on tour you could be arrested and the vehicle impounded/confiscated. After all you wouldn't be the "legal driver" of the vehicle.

Of course it is getting harder and harder to make this "mistake" as most people now know that all drivers must show a valid license and be signed on the rental agreement as authorised drivers.

Also, that international drivers license malarky is from decades ago before there were uniform Driver's License standards. Almost all licenses from most countries are acceptable to law enforcement officers. If you are worried about it then get a notarised translation of your license. I have never had a problem using my US license or my current Swiss license for ID anywhere I have been.

Good Luck on the ticket front. I hope that you weren't driving on an expired license.
Brian.

Marton, I would imagine they always make a lot as there are an awful lot of steep hills in towns with a 30km limit. I have problems braking on foot never mind in my car. One of the disadvantages of automatic feet, no engine braking, but no fines either!

Looking back, it doesn't really matter if there was no accident, does it?

My mentioning insurance was a bit of an aside, although it is illegal to drive without insurance accident or not.

The nub is that a false declaration was made on hiring the vehicle and shnkarganapathy knowingly impersonated another person to obtain a hire car by deception. That could have worse consequences than the speeding fine...

Actually I don't think it is an aside. The lack of insurance is a big deal; accident or no accident is (I agree) the aside.

The fact that the shnkarganapathy obtained a car by deception and was (therfore most likely) uninsured, it something that could get him into serious do do if the cops put two and two together...

Otherwise the car hire companies wouldn't be fussed about naming drivers.

Quite simply, provided your native licence was valid at the time, this case is still pretty straight forward, so long as you or your friend make no drama over the use of the ID.

So far things have followed the correct chain of events:

• Police have contacted registered owner (hire car company)
• hire car company nominate registered hirer (your mate)
• hirer nominated known driver (you)

Once again, if you throw your hands up and face the music over the speeding fine, your looking at a 4-figure fine and probably be banned from driving in Switzerland for 1 lap of the Sun.

I have'nt read through all the posts on this subject but thought I'd warn you about an ordeal my Husband had at Zurich airport on Tuesday of this week.
Dashing through the terminal to catch his flight to London after a busy day at the office. He was taken from passport control into a room where they hold deportees etc. a speeding fine was produced (which he has never received, from last year! unpaid) he was then marched to a cashpoint, ordered to withdraw the amount stated before being allowed to go on his way. The bus had already left to the aircraft, but he was saved when a passenger in a wheelchair was being taken afterwards, so he was able to go along with them.

Nor did he receive the reminders either??

Very lucky man. They just wanted their money.
Your husband was very fortunate to be so lightly inconvenienced by this mistake. If he'd have missed his flight I am sure that it would have just been too bad.

I am glad it worked out so painlessly.

Brian.

Hi,

I have read a few threads in this forum but I have a specific question and would appreciate it if someone could answer this for me

1. Rented a car from AVIS, Frankfurt... Currently in Switzerland for a holiday.
2. Am from India
3. Pretty sure that I was caught on camera today on the A5 (near BERN) for driving at 120 Km/h (speed limit was 100)
4. Pretty sure that I was caught on camera in Neuchatel (1st day in Switzerland) for lane crossing (I was trying to locate my address).
5. I am in Switzerland for a couple of days more and then driving to Italy and Austria before returning the car back to AVIS in Munich
6. No intention to return back to Switzerland for the next 5 years

Query - Will AVIS charge the fine directly to my Credit Card? or will they track me down in India? What are my options to pay this fine (If I ever get it) and how much would it be?

Thanks in advance and appreciate any replies