[Removed user]

3 August 2017 at 11:15:49 #812839

Dear

Respected sir

i reside in dubai (united arab emirates) i have obtained the international driving permit from dubai authorities and i have booked a car on rent which i will get at zurich airport as per terms and conditions i need to give my DVLA code what is that code please let me know and do i need any type of permit to drive in switzerland please let me know waiting for your reply

thank you

regards

mahesh

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[Removed user]

3 August 2017 at 13:59:27 #867872

Hi Mahesh,

I’m sorry, I don’t know what a DVLA code is. You should contact the rental car company you are using for that answer.

You don’t need any special permit to drive in Switzerland other than what you already have.

Lucas

[Slowpoke]

3 August 2017 at 17:41:39 #867873

Hi mahesh-

Lucas has provided the correct answer, as he always does. 😉

One more piece of information may be useful.

To drive on any of the Swiss Expressways/Motorways/Autoroutes, but not ordinary roads and highways, a prepaid windshield sticker (“carnet”) is required. It costs several CHF….maybe 25 CHF? Don’t remember exactly how much. I only mention it because you may read about it somewhere.

All rental cars rented in Switzerland have this as part of the rental agreement and cost.

Slowpoke

[Peterli]

3 August 2017 at 17:41:59 #867874

Hi Mahesh,

If you a good driver you will never even have to show your driver’s license in Switzerland, other than at the car rental agency at Kloten. But if you get flashed by a radar for speeding be assured that sometime after you get home a ticket will arrive in your mail.

[Slowpoke]

3 August 2017 at 18:13:03 #867875

Bonsoir, Peterli-

<<“But if you get flashed by a radar for speeding be assured that sometime after you get home a ticket will arrive in your mail.?>>

Yes indeed, and it will be expensive.

The radar is especially active on the Autoroute to the northeaset of Luzern….Emmenbrücke….Rotkreuz. There are frequent speed limit changes, and cameras are very alert. ;-(

You will get billed for a fee from your rental car company plus a couple of hundred CHF from the canton.

However, they can get you anywhere. I got caught once in a slow zone back behind the Mythen, near a youth camp. Countryside. No traffic.

And, near Tüscherz or Vingelz.

Slowpoke

[Peterli]

3 August 2017 at 18:47:48 #867876

Hi Slowpoke,

That sticker is called a “vignette” (in French and German) and the price is now CHF 40.00 ! However, I am pretty sure I read that a valid vignette is always in a rental car in Switzerland. Not always the case if you rent a car elsewhere. I always rent in France at the Euroairport and have been lucky five the last six years. With those tickets you seem to have received I am wondering if your handle is appropriate. Peterli

[Slowpoke]

3 August 2017 at 21:34:59 #867877

Hi Peterli –

Thanks- ” vignette” is the word I was looking for.

40.00 CHF does not surprise me. I never bought one, because, as you note, they are already on rental cars, so I did not remember the exact price.

I understand that you can buy one when you cross the border if you come in from another country without one.

“Slowpoke” has to do with how fast I hike, especially on Switzerland’s hilly terrain. Even worse, since I now have 2 bad knees …not bad enough for surgery, but bad enough to limit me if I start to walk on irregular surfaces.

On the stretch of highway mention near Luzern, the speed limit seems to be adjusted for various fairly short sections of the road as a function of traffic density. At least, the signs are remotely controlled and adjustable. A sudden change from 100 kph to 80 kph can be hard to spot, especially when all the cars with Luzern and Zug license plates are passing me. Appenzell Innerhoden plates ( on all Avis cars, at least) are a magnet for radar cameras.

The one near Tuscherz was in a 30 kph zone that was not in a village…My USA trained mind sees “30” and my foot says go 30 Mph….about 50 kph. ;-(

In any case, there a re a lot of radar cameras.

Slowpoke

[Peterli]

4 August 2017 at 4:17:31 #867878

Bon soir, Slowpoke –

If you come into Switzerland on an autoroute (like at Bâle) they are waiting for you and you buy the vignette right there, on the spot. If you come into Switzerland on a secondary road nobody will be waiting at the border to see if you have your valid vignette. In fact, it you stick to roads other than the autoroutes you are fine without the vignette. But there are so many places where the time to do a trip would greatly increase if you were avoiding the autoroutes. I would never counsel anybody to do this to avoid paying the CHF 40.00. It’s actually a deal, especially when you look at the tolls you get dinged for in France and Italy, and it can be valid for up to 14 months.

I’ve been flashed twice in Switzerland, both times by the same radar just south-west of Neuchâtel. The second fine was only CHF 10.00 but they still require payment. I got flashed once in Germany but never received a ticket. My nose is still clean in France and Italy.

[Removed user]

4 August 2017 at 7:09:03 #867879

It’s amazing how quickly people slow to 30kph in Zurich. The road in front of my apartment goes from 50-30 about 100 meters past my building and there is always a traffic jam there as everyone goes 27kph! Amazing. In Canada a 30kph sign means like try to do 40kph. If you get much over 40 you may get stopped!

B.C. actually banned photo radar 10 or so years ago…so things are more relaxed now in regards to being careful about going right at the exact speed limit like here.

Interesting, I got blitzed in Germany as well in a rental car but never got a fine either!

Lucas

[Peterli]

4 August 2017 at 23:30:11 #867880

In the province of Québec, the speed limit is usually 100 km/h on the autoroutes, but it you keep your speed at 118, the police don’t seem to care. But don’t think for a second that this 18 km/h “marge de manœuvre” would also apply in a 30 km/h zone. Radars have not been banned in Québec, and some of them, mainly on the island of Montréal, generate piles of money for the province. You not only have a fine to pay, but for two years you have demerit points which also add to your driver’s license fees. It is just too expensive to speed, and I can think of better ways to spend my money, so now I am a very sedate driver.

The police in Neuchâtel also have a “marge de manœuvre” with their tickets, so the speed they use to calculate the fine with is always less than the speed at which their radar photographed you.

[Removed user]

6 August 2017 at 7:47:34 #867881

Yes, Quebec usually does its own thing compared the rest of the country :).

It is a given that 10-15% higher speed will not get you a ticket (or very rarely) at least in BC. Now in Switzerland I’m very careful! Friends here get a ticket going 32km/h in a 30 zone!

Thankfully, however, the speed limits here are quite reasonable on major highways (100 or 120kph). In BC it’s often 80 or 90; which honestly is artificially slow; hence most of the population travels around 100-110 and the police mostly let it go- until they need to meet their monthly quota ;).

I have read recently that there is a push now to raise the limits on some major highways up to 120kph or even 130…I hope it starts happening.

Lucas