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Drunk on an electric scooter in Switzerland? You could lose your driving licence

A man attempting to have his blood alcohol results struck out as evidence after an e-scooter crash has lost his appeal, with the court likely to uphold a decision to strip the man of his driving licence and convict him for drunk driving.

Published: 10 January 2020 09:47 CET
Drunk on an electric scooter in Switzerland? You could lose your driving licence
Photo: PHILIPPE LOPEZ / AFP

They’re marketed as a fun way to get around, particularly in urban areas – but for one man in the western Swiss canton of Vaud, a drunken scooter escapade looks like resulteing in him losing his drivers licence and a potential criminal conviction. 

In October of 2019, the man crashed an e-scooter after falling over the handlebars in the middle of the night, injuring his jaw and losing several teeth in the process. 

When approached by police after the incident, he said he had consumed four of five glasses of wine and took full responsibility for the accident. 

READ: Mobility wars: Lime e-scooters return to streets of Zurich 

The incident took place in Nyon, around 25 kilometres from the Geneva city centre. 

While police declined to breathalyse the man at the scene, he was later blood tested in the hospital. 

The current court case was hearing an appeal from the man, who sought to have the results of the blood test struck from the record.

The court ruled that the evidence of the blood test was admissible as there was an interest in taking the blood test and determining the results.

The man is likely to uphold both the loss of licence as well as the conviction for drink driving. 

Switzerland changed its way of measuring alcohol limits in 2016, with 0.25 mg/l in exhaled air now the relevant limit. More information on determining this level – and the consequences for driving drunk – are available here. 

In Switzerland as well as neighbouring Germany, e-scooter riders and cyclists risk losing points or their drivers licence completely for irresponsible driving – even though a drivers licence is not a requirement to ride. 

E-scooters have grown in popularity across Switzerland among locals and tourists alike, although there have been a range of safety issues – including a software glitch which required a recall of Lime scooters from Basel and Zurich. 

E-scooter users are restricted from using footpaths or roads and are required to travel no faster than 20km/h. 

For an extensive breakdown of the rules for using e-scooters, please click here. 

 

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DRIVING

Where you can save most on petrol if you drive from Switzerland abroad

If you are travelling out of Switzerland for a holiday this summer, you probably want to be able to refuel your vehicle in a foreign country at the lowest possible price. You can do so — provided you plan in advance.

Published: 22 July 2024 13:58 CEST
Where you can save most on petrol if you drive from Switzerland abroad

It may not be the most environmentally-friendly way to travel, but sometimes going on vacation by car is more convenient than by other modes of transport — especially if you travel with children and have a lot of luggage too.

Under these circumstances (that is, children and luggage), a car may prove less expensive in the long run than a train or airplane.

The only cost is that of petrol — which is often less expensive abroad than in Switzerland, depending on where you travel and which countries you transit through on the way to your final destination.

Swiss newspaper Blick compiled a guide — much of which is based on information from the TCS motoring organisation’s website — of the best fuel ‘deals’ in countries most visited by Swiss tourists.

This is what you should know

Ideally, you should plan in advance where along your route you will stop to refuel.

In foreign countries, as in Switzerland, you can save money by looking for petrol stations where gasoline is cheaper, rather than filling up at the first one you come across.

According to TCS, a litre of unleaded 95-grade gasoline in Switzerland currently costs 1.87 francs, while diesel is slightly more expensive, at 1.93 francs per litre.

Therefore, depending on your destination, leaving Switzerland with a half-empty tank and refueling after crossing the border may save you some money.

Let’s look at neighbouring countries first (and prices converted from euros to francs).

As is the case for most products, fuel too is typically cheaper across the border.

In this respect, Austria trumps other neighbour nations with a national average of 1.58 francs per litre of unleaded 95, and 1.60 per litre of diesel.

If you are heading to (or via) Austria you should therefore not fuel up in Switzerland.

Among other neighbours, the difference is less significant.

 In Italy, France, and Germany, for instance, gasoline is only slightly cheaper, but the potential savings are greater for diesel —  about 20 cents cheaper per litre than in Switzerland.

What if you driving farther?

If you are going to Spain, you are in luck.

That’s because at 1.63 francs per litre for gasoline, and 1.52 francs per litre for diesel, fuel is much cheaper there  than in France.

This means you should avoid fuelling up in the south of France and do so once you cross the border to Spain.

It also holds true if you are driving on to Portugal, where petrol is more expensive than in Spain.

What else should you keep in mind when driving abroad?

You should not leave Switzerland without a CH sticker affixed to the back of your vehicle, as you could be fined for not having one.

READ ALSO: Do I need a ‘CH sticker’ on my car when I leave Switzerland?

Another ‘must’ which should be obvious (but sometimes isn’t) is following all the traffic and parking rules in the countries you visit, which includes complying with posted speed limits.

If you receive a speeding ticket in another country, don’t just ignore it.

If you think you can toss your foreign ticket away once you are safely back home in neutral Switzerland, and stay under the radar — figuratively speaking — you may be in for a rude awakening.

That’s because, according to the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol), “traffic fines issued abroad should always be paid, otherwise the issuing authority may take measures against the vehicle owner, even if they live in Switzerland.”

READ ALSO: What Swiss drivers should know if they commit driving offences abroad 

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