Over the years, there has been much political debate on how to limit the noise from vehicles. At the beginning of 2025 new noise rules passed by parliament in 2021 came into force. According to the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) any avoidable vehicle noise is now banned. This includes additional noise from vehicle modifications and unnecessary engine revving or exhaust back-firing.
Anyone now caught making avoidable vehicle noise risks fines as high as CHF 10,000. In addition, small infractions, such as leaving the motor running unnecessarily, can result in fines of CHF 80. These existed before 1 January 2025 but were CHF 60.
The aim of the new law is to improve health. Across Switzerland, around 1 million people are exposed to unhealthy levels of noise, which is linked to around 450 premature deaths a year, reported RTS.
However, catching and fining rule breakers is not straight forward. The cantons of Basel-Landschaft and Geneva have tested noise radars, which record noise when it goes above 82 decibels, the point where noise has a negative effect on health. Most unmodified cars emit between 50 and 65 decibels, so 82 decibels is significantly above this. Based on these experiments around 1% of vehicles triggered the radars. Motorcycles were well represented among noise triggering vehicles.
Without noise radars, the job of catching noisy road users falls on the police. In the canton of Vaud the police stopped 800 vehicles in 2024. 290 (36%) of them were excessively noisy. This percentage is not an average. The police were targeting noisy vehicles and patrolling areas where they expected to find them.
It is illegal to drive a modified vehicle, something the police were quick to clarify. Cars or motorcycles that do not meet their original noise level at the point of first registration cannot be legally driven on Swiss roads.
More on this:
RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
New laws on FEDRO website (in French)
For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Aline says
Switzerland is following Austria in this aspect!