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For ten years there have been harsh penalties for the so-called speeding offense. Still, the convictions are not going away. What are the reasons – and what measures would help?
Why is? At 206 kilometers per hour in the 80 zone, a 19-year-old driver was caught by the Lucerne cantonal police on Sunday night. She lost her ID.
Such massive speeding violations are always in the headlines. Is there more racing in Switzerland?
Who is considered a rascal? Switzerland has had a strict speeder law for ten years. Since January 2013, the so-called speeding offense has been enshrined in law (SVG Art. 90 Para. 3 and 4). In the case of a speeding offense, you will receive a mandatory prison sentence. In addition, you lose your driver’s license for at least two years, and if you do it again, it’s gone for up to 10 years. A driving aptitude test is also carried out and the vehicle can be confiscated.
How is the development? The first look at the statistics is sobering: while there were 51 convicts in the year it was introduced, in 2021 there were 501 cases.
“We are currently analyzing why there was an increase in cases in 2021,” says Willi Wismer, President of Crossroads. Possible reasons are the corona pandemic or that young people had more money available for highly potent vehicles.
The prosecuting authorities are also unable to clearly determine why the crimes are increasing. The police are more active with controls, but the number of speeding cases has probably also increased, the responsible Zurich public prosecutor Michael Huwiler told SRF in 2021 when the cantonal police managed a coup against a speeding network.
Legend:
Racing down the freeway as a feeling of freedom: Young drivers in particular celebrate racing, including on social media.
Gaetan Bally / Keystone
What about the deterrent effect? Despite the increase in 2021, Willi Wismer from Crossroads is convinced that the Raser-Gesetz is having an effect: “We would have many more accidents if the Raser-Gesetz didn’t exist. It has a deterrent effect and will keep people off the lawn,” says Wismer.
It is sad that such persons do not go to a race track.
But of course there are also people who cannot be dissuaded from the lawn even by the harshest penalties. “It’s sad that these people don’t go to a race track to live this out,” regrets Wismer.
Who are the Rascals? Lawn is particularly popular with young people: most convicts are found in the 20 to 24 age group, followed by the 25 to 30 year olds.
The majority are men. For the retired traffic psychologist Urs Gerhard, testosterone is one of the reasons for the unbalanced gender ratio. “The testosterone promotes aggression across the board.” Lawn can be seen as an aspect of aggression. In addition, it is mostly people from rather uneducated classes who rarely have a good education or are successful in their jobs. “The racers try to find a field in which they can stand out.”
What else could help against frenzy? “One would have to think about a political initiative to increase the level,” says Wismer. «Why is it so easy for a young new driver to get hold of a vehicle that has 500 to 1000 hp?» In such a staged model, which is known at Töffs, a new driver should initially only drive a normally powerful car for a few years.
And according to traffic psychologist Gerhard, the imminent withdrawal of a driver’s license is not enough: “There would need to be tighter controls or, for young drivers, even built-in tachographs that record exactly how fast they drive in and out of town.”