Every year Switzerland’s motorway vignette is a different colour. Next year it’s purple. Valid from 1 December 2021 until 31 January 2023, the new stickers must be displayed by anyone using Switzerland’s motorway network. The price remains the same. The motorway stickers have cost CHF 40 for 27 years. Introduced after a referendum in 1985, […]
What are Swiss rules on winter tyres?
New laws in France require drivers to fit winter tyres or carry chains from 1 November until 31 March in certain mountainous regions of the country. However, Switzerland has different laws on the subject. In Switzerland, there is no legal requirement to fit winter tyres. However, the Swiss Road Traffic Act (Art. 29) requires all […]
Work started this week on second Gotthard road tunnel
On 29 September 2021, work began on the tunnel with a symbolic blast after being delayed since last spring because of the pandemic, reported RTS. The Gotthard road tunnel, which passes through the Alps between Göschenen (UR) et Airolo (TI), is one the most important and congested in Europe. The decision to build a second […]
Swiss government considering new 60 km/h motorway limits
Swiss roads are clogged and the government is looking for new ways to make traffic run more smoothly. One idea is to cut the speed on certain stretches during periods of peak traffic, potentially to as low as 60 km/h. Currently, speeds are temporarily reduced from 120 km/h to 100 km/h and 80 km/h when […]
Nearly three quarters of Swiss against buying an electric car
A survey in Switzerland found that 73% of the population does not plan to buy an electric car. Governments around the world are pushing for the electrification of road transport and many car manufacturers have made public commitments to stop making fossil fuel powered cars in the near future. However, these plans rest on the […]
How important is the “CH” sticker on Swiss cars abroad?
The “CH” sticker that Swiss drivers must legally put on their vehicles before entering another country is required under the 1968 international convention on road traffic. Under the convention, any vehicle driven outside its home territory must display country initials made up of one to three latin characters. Most European plates incorporate the required identifying […]
Queues reach 14 kilometres at Gotthard tunnel
Those living in north eastern Switzerland planning to head south for a summer break live in fear of the Gotthard road tunnel, which is probably Switzerland’s most infamous traffic choke point. The summer of 2021 is proving to be no exception. On Monday, 26 July 2021, the queue of traffic on the northern side of […]
All new Swiss cars to have black box recorders
When an aircraft crashes, one the first actions is searching for the black box, which is typically bright orange, in order to understand what went wrong. Switzerland’s road authority would like to see similar technology added to all new cars from 7 July 2024, according to RTS. These black boxes would record information such as […]
Question of the week: why do so many Swiss rental cars have AI plates?
In Switzerland, cars are registered in the canton where the car owner resides, so most cars in a given canton bear the plates of that canton. However, there is a notable exception. Cars with plates from Appenzell-Innerrhoden (AI), Switzerland’s least populated canton, seem to pop up in large numbers everywhere. Why? Most car owners are […]
Swiss government to take aim at drivers of noisy vehicles
This week, Switzerland’s upper house followed parliament in voting in favour more severe sanctions for drivers of noisy vehicles. On 1 June 2021, the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house voted 37 to 7 in support of stiffer penalties for driving a noisy vehicle or motorcycle. The text demands measures against driving illegally modified vehicles. […]
