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The new road traffic law stands: No automatism for speeding offences, no bicycle helmet obligation for young people.
Speeders should no longer necessarily go to jail, according to the National Council and the Council of States. The minimum prison sentence of one year thus expires. The small bracket approved the revision of the road traffic law on Tuesday with 39 votes to 0.
Anyone who intentionally violates elementary traffic rules no longer has to hand in their car ticket for at least two years. The Council of States lowered the minimum withdrawal period to 12 months by 30 votes to 14. This should give the judges more discretion. The Council clearly rejected a reduction in the minimum withdrawal period to six months, as demanded by Hansjörg Knecht (SVP/AG).
“General discount” of the dishes for speeders?
The sometimes draconian penalties for incidents without victims are incomprehensible to him, said Knecht and referred to the existence-threatening consequences of a driver’s license withdrawal. Reckless speeders would have to face heavy penalties, that’s clear, six months is just the absolute minimum.
On the other hand, Mathias Zopfi (SP/GL) even feared a “general discount” from the courts for speeders if the minimum withdrawal period was reduced to 12 months. The rule should be higher than a year. However, the council rejected Zopfi’s request, which demanded that the authorities should not impose the minimum sentence in blatant cases.
Fines instead of imprisonment possible
Without discussion, the Council of States followed the National Council on the question of whether speeders must go to prison or not. In March, the National Council decided to remove the minimum prison sentence of one year from the revised Road Traffic Act (SVG), which was abolished in autumn 2021 during the consultation on the harmonization of the penal framework. Fines can also be imposed.
Parents are obligated to wear bicycle helmets
Furthermore, the obligation to wear a bicycle helmet for 12 to 16 year olds, as proposed by the Federal Council, is now definitely off the table, despite renewed support from Transport Minister Simonetta Sommaruga.
In this age group, the majority of the council saw the primary responsibility of parents and legal guardians. In addition, it would be difficult for the police to apply the provision, Marianne Maret (Mitte/VS) pointed out. High speeds can also be reached when skiing without young people having to wear a helmet.
Circuit races possible again
With 27 votes to 15, the Council of States also voted in favor of allowing circuit races in Switzerland again in the future, including for vehicles with combustion engines.
Splitting the approval regime into two is no longer up-to-date, said Commission spokesman Thierry Burkart (FDP/AG). The cantons are responsible for hill climbs and the federal government for Formula E races. Nobody assumes that Formula 1 races with combustion engines will take place in Switzerland in the future. Sommaruga warned in vain of the “signal” that is now “quite across the landscape”.
Because of two remaining differences in detailed questions, the bill goes back to the National Council. The Council of States insisted that two-wheelers should not be parked on sidewalks. The National Council wanted to allow this with at least 1.5 meters of space. In addition, anyone who publicly warns of traffic controls should continue to be punished.