Bassersdorf ZH – employees of the road traffic office are said to have manipulated driving tests

The allegations made by the Tamedia newspapers make one sit up and take notice: Because of officially organized manipulation, there may be various people on the Swiss roads who received internal support during their driving test at the Bassersdorf Road Traffic Office. The impetus for the research was a letter from department head Carlo Gsell to individual people who had completed their driving test in Bassersdorf in the past year and a half.

Specifically, the letter calls for a “control drive”, since the practical driving test is “most likely not carried out in accordance with the regulations”. Because the responsible traffic expert did not carry out the test correctly, there would be considerable doubts about the driving skills of the respective people, as Gsell further writes in the letter. According to the media spokesman for the Road Traffic Office, a complaint has now been made against the suspects that proceedings are ongoing with the Zurich public prosecutor.

According to research by the Tamedia newspapers, the research focuses on three men, including the head of admission, who leads a team of around six employees and is responsible for vehicle controls, one of his employees, and also a traffic expert who provides the graduates with knowledge assess the practical driving test. All three people had access to the computer system with which the car controls and driving tests were planned and could theoretically help acquaintances, family members and other protégés to get through the test.

The Zurich Road Traffic Office employs a total of around 20 people in a vehicle hall with an attached office wing in Bassersdorf. Here, learner drivers not only complete their car tests, the employees also check up to 130 trucks and cars for their driving ability every day.

The legal situation states that all vehicles imported into Switzerland must first go through a control at the Road Traffic Office. Here, too, there were opportunities for the head of department to gain an advantage. The former employee is also the managing director of a car company in Kloten. This sells new and used vehicles, including vehicles from abroad. As head of approval, it would have been easy for the suspect to help his company’s vehicles through the controls.

At the road traffic office, they keep a low profile on allegations of manipulation. As the media spokesman Severin Toberer wrote to the “Tages-Anzeiger”, the employees concerned were separated from the affected employees on November 15, 2021 and criminal charges were filed. The office does not want to comment on the number of allegedly involved, the period of fraud or any bribes and refers to the ongoing proceedings of the public prosecutor’s office. The head of approval rejects any involvement.