Cell phone legislation in Switzerland

By: Drivers.com staff
Date: 2000-04-09

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Using a telephone when driving

From information provided by Dominique Steiner of the Schweizerische Beratungsstelle für Unfallverhütung bfu (Swiss Council for Accident Prevention)

The Swiss Code of Traffic Regulations prescribes that car drivers ought to abstain from every activity which is likely to influence the control and the handling of the vehicle. One of these actions is the use of a mobile telephone when driving.

The Swiss Supreme Court has decided, in several cases, that using a telephone when driving is a factor which interferes with driving, so that the driver is more likely to be involved in an accident.

In contrast to the prescriptions about construction and equipment in the car, the traffic regulations concerning the behaviour of the driver (which also include foreign drivers traveling in Switzerland) prescribe that drivers must devote their undivided attention to the road and the traffic. They have to maintain continuous control over the steering wheel with at least one hand, and be able to activate the other hand appropriately for changing the gears (most people drive manual shift cars), using the direction indicator or other devices in the car.

The conclusion is that using a hand-held phone does not allow drivers to execute these obligations correctly and seriously in a safe way.

The punishment when acting contrary to the regulation is a fine of 100 Swiss francs.

The Swiss Council for Accident Prevention took also part in treating this problem in Switzerland. For a long time we recommended, and still do, that if a driver wants to phone he or she has to stop and go off-road while talking on the phone. But finally it was the legislator which created the legal base and the courts realised the application appropriate to everybody's understanding.

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