“Violations of the Road Traffic Act remain without financial consequences for many tourists,” MP Ursula Zybach noted in a motion she submitted to the parliament on February 13th.
Losses of revenue are particularly significant in tourist destinations.
One example she cited in her motion is Interlaken in canton Bern. This community cannot recover 400,000 francs in traffic fees incurred by foreign tourists,
Zybach is therefore asking the Federal Council to investigate possible options for collecting fines abroad, especially from law breakers in non-Schengen countries, where enforcing collection procedures is “extremely difficult,” she said.
There is no word about when the Federal Council will decide in this matter.
How are the fines usually collected from foreign nationals?
If you got caught on a speed camera in Switzerland, parked illegally, or haven’t paid for parking, and live in the European Union, expect your Swiss fine to arrive in the mail eventually.
That’s because Switzerland and the EU share details of drivers who are caught committing traffic infractions on their respective territories.
This data is shared via the European Car and Driving Licence Information System (Eucaris), which holds records of all vehicle owners in Europe.
Therefore, when your fine arrives, resist the urge to just toss it into a bin and forget all about it: you will receive follow-up reminders and, in case of continued refusal to pay, Swiss authorities could even launch legal proceedings against you and try to collect the original debt, plus the administrative fee and costs.
That’s the situation concerning the EU and Schengen countries in general.
Switzerland has no such exchange of information agreements with other countries — except the UK.
As it is no longer in the EU, the fine-recovery process is a little different, but you are not quite off the hook.
In theory at least, the Swiss follow the same rules as their EU counterparts: they will send to local authorities a request for the payment of the violation, which will then be delivered to the offender by post.
READ ALSO: Do I have to pay a fine if I get caught speeding in Switzerland in a foreign car?
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Speeding Brits
Of course, enforcing penalties on UK drivers is much easier when they are caught red-handed (or hot-footed, in this case) while speeding on Swiss roads and can therefore be sanctioned immediately.
In June and July 2024, for instance, six British drivers were caught speeding on Swiss roads in just a few weeks, with all of them having their sports car and driving licenses confiscated by police until they appeared in a (Swiss) court for sentencing.
In the end, they all had to pay hefty fines before exiting the country.
