My husband and I are new to the forum. We have lost a ticket that arrived in the U.S.
four months after visiting Zurich and Zug. Can anyone direct me where we can find
a "English-translated" page that gives the address of the correct department in order to pay
the fine.

Love Zug!!!

in Atlanta

You do not state your circumstances, but if you are permanently in the USA, I'd forget about it - unless it was a rental vehicle, in which case the hire company will eventually deduct it from for credit card.

Otherwise you're most likely going to have to wait for the reminder as not only will you need where to pay the fine, but you will need to include your reference number in order for the payment to be credited to your fine.

well done on "losing" the ticket

So you've got a letter with an account number already? With an orange strip on the bottom?

They lost it .

My reading comprehension is lacking today... Anyway, traffic offense fines are made by both municipal and cantonal police forces to my knowledge, so I don't know what you could do if you don't remember where the fine came from. Maybe randomly contacting a police force. I could give you the account number of the police of the city of Zürich if you don't ask how I learned about it.

Ron and I live permanently in the U.S. but travel to Europe yearly.

We "misplaced" the ticket and although we aren't traveling to Switzerland in August, we would like to pay the fine-

The ticket came in the mail 3 months after we returned to the states. We were over the speed limit by less than five miles an hour. Funny though, I did remark to Ron at the time, how wonderful the Swiss drove! Now I understand!

I installed a translator on my computer to see if I could translate more of the German into English. Based what I read here I thought I would contact our car rental agency and see if they could help.

Hi posted this in wrong area before.
think have been caught on camera about 50kmph over the limit on motorway at night. travelling through to germany? Have now heard Swiss penalties are severe, will i lose license, or just fine?

have you got anything from the authorities? If not, sit tight and relax

What was the speed limit? If you were 50 over in a 50 zone then they might be quite keen to catch up with you....

50 on a motorway? It would have to be roadworks or similar . But 50 on a stupid 80 limit (ooer, the road curves a bit, reduce speed to 80 or you might get hurt) would also be exceedingly painful.

Driver, search the forum - the limits fines etc are posted more than once.

I think 50 over in any zone goes down like a cold cup of sick

Hi Ron (or are you Ron and I?), I know this thread is a bit old, but I just wanted to make sure you got the correct advice on this issue.

I would NOT recommend simply forgetting about this, as eventually the costs will mount and mount, and should you return to Switzerland (which you plan to do), you might find yourself in an unpleasant situation when you land.

I fully appreciate the fact you are ready and willing to pay the fine, and that you might find it rather strange that you receive a letter, addressed to the USA, written in German. Other European countries will send such letters in English, realising the fact that visitors may occasionally not speak the official language.

As a first step I would suggest sending back a politely worded letter thanking them for their letter, but you are unable to understand German, since you live in America and not Zug. Going from previous experience with my friends and family members you'll probably just receive a second copy of the letter, also in German, with no further explanation.

Now here comes the really great part. That orange slip at the bottom is pretty much the ONLY way to pay the fine. While you might have paid traffic fines in other parts of the world online or with credit cards, you can forget about that in this case!

The last time this happened to my brother I actually phoned the department in question and asked them how on earth they expected him to pay a fine with a domestic payment slip, from a foreign country. I was told that they usually find someone in Switzerland to do this task for them. They were right, I paid it for him. The truth is that they don't really care if they make life difficult for you, because at the end of the day it will just get passed further up the chain, and eventually onto a register.

Not all Swiss cantons are this retarded when it comes to giving ways for foreigners to pay fines. I've had fines from the French-speaking part where they also supply the full bank account number to allow a transfer to be made.

Anyway, back to your issue - your best course of action is to get someone in Switzerland to pay this fine for you. If you make a donation to the forum via paypal for the amount of the fine, and add something extra on top for my time and paypal processing fees I'll be happy to pay this for you (just scan the payment slip and email or PM to me).

Hi Mark,

This is all nice but...
There are no fine agreements between Switzerland and the USA. Parking and road traffic offences are not escalated as long as the offence is not of an arrestable nature ie speeding only.
The first two letters are automatically produced and the third, effectively the final, letter is actually seen by a human who will drop the case given the circumstances. Furthermore, if you write to them at any stage then this letter is added to your file and they will then threaten legal action in your home country which they can only bring to bear in the EU.

Note to the above. If you have rented the car then the car rental company will automatically charge you when they are billed IF you had a single rental agreement ie it was rented to an individual and not a couple or group.

Further note to those who want to avoid a ban and enormous fine. If you want to push the blame to someone else for a crime you committed you are taking a risk that could backfire. Although it is possible to blame a non-EU resident for your crime the only thing that will be avoided is the ban - the fine will also reduce as this will then come from a standard table and not from the salary dependent table - you will need to ensure that the fine is paid really quickly otherwise they might pay you a visit and see your face. IF you are caught then you can expect to get a real kicking.

Speed limit was 120 ans i was travelling at 160-170 i think when i got flashed.

did you receive an invitation to pay/explain yet?
Otherwise sit tight.

40 to 50 speed excess will give you a very high fine and a permit retrait if you have a swiss one.

the code establishes penalties up to 25Km/h speed excess on the highway, over than that your case will be heared by a Judge who will give you the penalty.

I had once 25 Km/h excess on a 60 road I was running at 85 because I was sure the road was limited to 80... there the code establishes penalties up to 20, over 20 you get to the judge, I got a penalty applied by the judge of 475 CHF ... that hurts I tell you

You were lucky. I once had a date with a friend; no doubt thrilled at the idea of seeing me she drove a little bit faster than the usual. She got flashed at 20 over in town. The fine was about 900 something francs plus one month permit suspension.

Sure, in town the fines are even higher.

I think it was because it was a rural road in the middle of nowhere and it was my first offense... But anyhow 475 CHF for speeding on an empty road is way to much..

And as far as I know if it was 5km/h more I'd had to pay 1000 and have a driver's license hold for 1 month or so.

I have also been informed that having fines from 500 or more go on a record that affect your car insurance costs.

Got caught 41KM over on the motorway last year, 121 KPH in an 80 zone, on a motorway bend, 3 months ban, CH700 court costs and a fine of CHF 2400. Would have been 3 points and a GBP60 fine in the UK.They have let me off the fine on good behaviour, but I must not break any rules for two years. Be warned.