Last week the Swiss parliament voted on a proposal to allow cars to overtake not just on the left, but also the right. Proponents claimed that such a radical measure would speed up the flow of traffic on the nation’s busy motorways. Anyone who has driven between Geneva and Vevey will recall, however, that the autoroute bizarrely has junctions that flow into the fast lane.
The new law would mean that at one of these junctions, drivers joining the autoroute could legally – and dangerously – cut across three lanes of traffic, then speed through any gap in the slow lane to overtake cars on the outside causing chaos and confusion. Thankfully common sense prevailed and the motion was convincingly defeated.
That it was proposed and actually reached the point of a parliamentary vote is telling about Switzerland’s attitude towards driving. The country is well run and organised in almost every other respect. Indeed, it has dozens of regulations that often bemuse foreigners including: prohibiting the flushing toilets after 22h00 or mowing the lawn on Sundays. Yet it does not take long to see what the laws aim to do, notably to institutionalize consideration for others.
The proposed amendment to traffic law was the antithesis of encouraging consideration for others. Many foreigners are surprised by the poor standard of driving in Switzerland. Drivers happily block road junctions, tailgate, rarely allow people to change lane, and never merge from two lanes into a single lane in a turn-and-turn-about manner (or as the Belgians eloquently put it “do a zipper”). Such provocative practices seem at odds with the orderliness of everything else in this country.
Parking spaces are menacingly positioned next to pedestrian crossings and the tallest, bushiest, and most obscuring plants or trees possible are positioned in the centre of roundabouts making entry into them something akin to Russian roulette. And then there’s the big one. Signalling. If drivers actually indicated their intentions rather than causing other drivers to dither in anticipation, it would be a fair wager that traffic flows would become positively liquid.
If you’ve got thoughts and ideas on how traffic management could be improved, then please tell us, preferably by text when driving the kids to school.
Lionel says says
I was born and live in Switzerland and have also lived 20 years in the US. I think the main problem on Swiss autoroutes like Ludovic said above is the lack of a 3rd lane. When you have a 3rd lane, people who follow the speed limit of 120 km/h can stay in the middle lane and remain happy while the slow pokes stay in the right lane and the Formula 1 drivers stay in the left lane. Three lanes also allow the transit drivers who are exiting and entering the highway to occupy the right lane and not slow down the traffic in the two other lanes. This basic and fundamental rule is apparently not yet understood by the federal authorities who should more strongly encourage the financing of 3 lanes autoroutes wherever possible. As for city driving, the reason Swiss drivers are so aggressive is that in certain cities like Geneva, for example, instead of developing separate lanes for the different modes of transportation, the cantonal authorities try to fit all the different modes on the same lanes. Since the traffic laws are not rigorously enforced, it tends to become organized grab-ass… In the Netherlands, cyclists have their own lanes and every goes smoothly. Here, everyone tries to “own” the road for his/her preferred mode of transport… :-/ Plus, here transportation mode is so politicized that nothing ever evolves pragmatically… :-/
Ludovic says
Also a Swiss citizen, but I’d say the main problem in Switzerland is that the state of mind is WAY too conservative. We don’t think ahead. In towns the roads are becoming more and more screwed up with bus lanes zigzagging through the car lanes and I honestly don’t think anybody considered the fact that during winter, noone will see these snow-filled lanes and panic will occur.
For the highway issue, the main problem is the lack of a third lane in the major part of the country and the rare places that actually have a 3rd or 4th lane are limited to 80km/h or 100km/h thus resolving NONE of the issues of slow traffic.
One good news is that a law has been passed and is progressively being put in place region by region making it illegal for trucks to overtake on the highway and THAT is the major problem when driving in Switzerland. There is nothing worst than driving 130km/h and having a truck cut in front of you at 95km/h just to overtake a 90km/h truck…
A law might be voted to up the speed limit though in the near future. That might be interesting during night hours when the trucks aren’t as present.
Jeremy McTeague says
Great point, Ludovic about the law making it illegal for trucks to overtake. In fact when I wrote the article I should have mentioned that the Swiss have got it right regardingthe restrictions of trucks on the autoroutes.
NotASwissDriver says
I live in Switzerland…. Drivers are inconsiderate, traffic laws are ridiculous and speed cameras are a method of adding even more tax for us to pay! Swiss drivers believe it’s simply their right to drive as they please…..and when everyone thinks like this of course traffic is never going to flow!!!
Jeremy McTeague says
I agree about the tax raising powers of traffic radar. Le News did an article on this a while back about one radar that netted something like CHF 250,000 in a week!. I also totally agree about your second point. If people don’t cooperate on the road then things will only get far worse. It is becoming a unvirtuous circle.
Bobby Bob BIll says
I live in Switzerland and I totally disagree with this entire article. Toilets are flushed after 22:00 and driving is way more organized and flowing than in the U.S.
You can’t generalize all of Switzerland just like that.
Jeremy McTeague says
Bobby Bob — You are right about the article over generalising, however , it is still very much the case in large parts oof the country that people living in appartment blocks have quite a few restrictions. That said, the point is that this can be a good thing as it makes people think about being considerate.