DRIVING IN SWITZERLAND

T ii b n me n , c mp n i o a tet f rl yul e dt k o w e yudi h s y o a s a o e d m f lh r f u s o n e o n w h n o r e s , u l ai e c l v in our country. We've just chosen those that we feel are essential, both for your safety and for passing the practical test, if you have to. We wish you safe and pleasant driving on the small roads of tiny Switzerland

A FEW IMPORTANT RULES

ROAD SIGNS AND MARKINGS
As in all European countries, the shape of the sign shows its function: triangles are warning signs, i.e. danger. Their normal position: in built-up areas at max. 50 m before the danger spot; outside built-up areas between 150 and 250 m (If the distance differs, a complementary sign will qualify the message) Ex: Danger, elephants circles, red with a white centre, and generally black symbols, are prohibition signs. They are placed where the prohibition takes place. Ex: Road prohibited for elephants circles, blue with a white symbol and a thin white border, tell you what is compulsory. They are also normally placed where the rule applies. Ex: Path (compulsory) for elephants circles, white with an oblique grey stripe and black symbols are information signs and indicate the end of a prohibition (speed limit, no overtaking, etc.). Ex: End of prohibition for elephants Complementary signs alter or complete the message shown by the sign placed above them. They are just as important as the sign itself, as they show distances, hours, categories of road users or other exceptions. Ex: No right turn (applies only to) elephants

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squares, rectangles, arrows, diamonds, etc. belong to information signs. Their position can vary according to their function. priority signs come in various shapes: triangles, circles, squares, rectangles, diamonds, St. Andrews crosses, etc. They show what priority rules have to be applied at intersections, narrow places or on particular roads. road markings are quite numerous and have various functions. A few important examples: - never cross a continuous line, or a double line if the continuous line is on your side. - make the difference between a stopping line with the letters "STOP" and accompanying a "Stop" sign and the same line wt n tp s no l tr g I tisu t n i o So i re ei . n h i ai h g t n s t o you must stop, whatever the conditions might be even if nothing is approaching.

a stopping line alone, for instance at the end of a traffic lane. Here stop only if necessary to give way to another vehicle.

- never stop for setting down or pick up passengers or to load goods on a pedestrian crossing, 5 m before it or on the yellow line before it. Driving in bus lanes is strictly prohibited unless if they have white arrows showing a direction. You may cross them if there is a single broken line, e.g. as an access to a parking space or to another lane. Driving on the zig-zag lines at a bus stop is allowed. Stopping there is only allowed for picking up passengers, provided this does not hinder the bus.

SPEED LIMITS
Provided no signs show a different speed limit, on

Freeways / highways 120 Km/h

Road for motor vehicles, 100 Km/h

Joseph Claivaz Driving instructor / Mobile : 79 449 45 55 Home : 021 652 32 33 e-mail: j.claivaz@bluewin.ch

DRIVING IN SWITZERLAND / Joseph Claivaz, 1012 LAUSANNE / Aug 2007 /

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Outside built-up areas: 80 Km/h Inside built-up areas: 50 Km/h S e dl t saig"i t g n rl" e eela pynte p e i s tt Lmi ae,G n rl p li h mi n e
whole locality, until a different speed limit or an end of speed limit is indicated

"Zone" restrictions apply to the whole area

In the case of 0 z n s b s e tes e dl tte 3 o e , e i s h p e i ,h d mi following rules apply: they want, but have priority only on zebra crossings.

Pedestrians are allowed to cross the carriageway wherever Right hand priority generally applies Speed on "Exchange zones" may not exceed 20 Km/h
Other rules:

Pedestrians have the priority Games allowed on the traffic area Parking allowed only where indicated
When reversing: max 5 Km/h (walking speed)

PRIORITY
Traffic signs and road markings indicating right of way at intersections are:

STOP

Give way

End of main road

Main road

Intersection with a road having no priority

Intersection with right hand priority

Entrance from the right (can be from the left too) on main roads

Joseph Claivaz Driving instructor / Mobile : 79 449 45 55 Home : 021 652 32 33 e-mail: j.claivaz@bluewin.ch

DRIVING IN SWITZERLAND / Joseph Claivaz, 1012 LAUSANNE / Aug 2007 /

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at intersections
There are basically three possibilities for the right of way at intersections:

I let the driver on my right go first I let drivers on my left and right sides go first I go first
In all other cases when you turn off left, you must give the priority to oncoming traffic. Let the driver on my right go first: right hand priority The basic rule for the right of way is "right hand priority". This is the general rule on all secondary roads, which you'll recognise by white locality signs with black lettering. Apply right hand priority each time you get to an intersection with neither priority signs nor priority markings (except centreline discontinuous lines) - as shown on picture (In this situation, the driver of the green car on the right will pass first, as his own right side is free) With an "Intersection with right hand priority" sign (See previous page) With an "End of main road" sign Where two roads with "Stop" or "Give way" signs enter a junction side by side, you must also apply right hand priority between them, no matter if the "Stop" sign is left or right of the other. However, behave carefully, as drivers exiting "Give way" roads tend to estimate the priority is theirs... Let drivers from left and right go first You must give way to vehicles approaching from left and right when you come to a

"Stop" sign "Give way" sign

Going first You go first when you come to a "Main road" sign. You then have the right of way until your priority is cancelled by an "End of main road" sign. You then apply the right hand priority rule again. an "Intersection with a road having no priority". This applies only to the next intersection At further intersections you apply right hand priority rule again.

Where isn r w t ar o
Sometimes an obstruction (road works, trucks unloading, etc.) can make passing difficult. In this case the driver with the obstruction on his side must give way to the driver coming from the opposite directions. Sometimes there is no road sign.

Joseph Claivaz Driving instructor / Mobile : 79 449 45 55 Home : 021 652 32 33 e-mail: j.claivaz@bluewin.ch

DRIVING IN SWITZERLAND / Joseph Claivaz, 1012 LAUSANNE / Aug 2007 / in narrow places the passing order is First, vehicles pulling trailers (Truck + trailer, car+ caravan, etc) Second, coaches Third, lorries last, cars and others

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On mountain roads among vehicles of the same category descending vehicles must stop first, or even reverse, unless the ascending vehicle is close to a crossing area. However, a smaller vehicle must give way to a larger vehicle, i.e. a car to a truck. Where you see the sign "Postal Mountain Road" the driver of the post bus decides who goes first, on which side, and so on.

FINDING YOUR WAY

is a two step job 1 - find your position, or, when indicated, your lane. Here are some signs and markings for this purpose:

2 - find your direction, i.e. where to turn You find your direction from one of the signs below:

To highway

To main road

To secondary road

Detour

Sometimes these are combined. Tip No. 1: The preselection panel shows which lane you must follow to reach your destination. Each section of the panel corresponds to a lane;

upper section with an arrow pointing left: left lane centre section (if any) with an upturned arrow: centre lane lower section with an arrow pointing right: right lane

Joseph Claivaz Driving instructor / Mobile : 79 449 45 55 Home : 021 652 32 33 e-mail: j.claivaz@bluewin.ch

DRIVING IN SWITZERLAND / Joseph Claivaz, 1012 LAUSANNE / Aug 2007 /

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Best apply the following reading system: The arrows can be confusing and you could choose the wrong lane. Rather ignore them. To find your direction, you'll have direction signs for this purpose.

T ie a l wl e yut u d rtn tei h x mp ih l o o n es d h tc : s e l p a rk This sign exists. Imagine you want to go to Berne. Looking at the arrows would probably lead you to follow the left lane. Read ii ti:B reii tec nr s co tk h en sn h e t e t n le s e i so ignore the arrow and you will know that en ii tec nr l e B re sn h e t a e n

Tip No. 2: About the "Direction sign showing lane division" placed before the intersection: If you look at the points of the arrows only, you'll probably get confused.

Remember that to reach your destination you must start from the correct place, i.e. at the bottom of the arrows. For best results, find your destination, see which arrow matches and follow that arrow to the bottom of the sign. This way you'll know which lane to follow.

Example:

On this sign, to follow "Bern" you might be tempted to follow

the right lane as the arrow points to that direction.

However, if you look at the source of the arrow (bottom of

tes n yule ta yumust follow the left lane h i ) o s e h to g l

Joseph Claivaz Driving instructor / Mobile : 79 449 45 55 Home : 021 652 32 33 e-mail: j.claivaz@bluewin.ch

DRIVING IN SWITZERLAND / Joseph Claivaz, 1012 LAUSANNE / Aug 2007 /

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FREEWAY/HIGHWAY/MOTORWAY
Remember max. speed is 120 Km/h. You must also basically drive on the right unless you are overtaking or if traffic signs indicate the use of a specific lane for your destination. Overtake only on the left. However, in dense traffic moving in queues, vehicles in the right line may pass those in the left line only if the driver intends to stay in the right line and not move out. When entering the motorway accelerate to cruising speed, check carefully the traffic already on the motorway, indicate left only when you have found a safe gap to enter and never when another vehicle is approaching fast; Your indicator means that you are going to enter right away and could frighten someone coming up quickly behind you. To exit maintain a high speed until you've left the motorway itself. Check behind and right. Signal between 150 and 250 meters before the exit so that drivers behind you know your intentions in time.

Indicate early before leaving

MOVING TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT

When doing this (filtering, overtaking, avoiding an obstruction, etc), be careful not to hinder or endanger other road users behind or beside you.

m2 m1

c2 c1

Rear view mirror Left mirror Right mirror

As motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and bicycles are quite numerous in our country and as they are not always models of discipline, we very strongly recommend that prior to your move you (see next page):

Joseph Claivaz Driving instructor / Mobile : 79 449 45 55 Home : 021 652 32 33 e-mail: j.claivaz@bluewin.ch

DRIVING IN SWITZERLAND / Joseph Claivaz, 1012 LAUSANNE / Aug 2007 /

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1- check your side mirror 2- c e k h ld a g (v nteb s mios a n t h wa a-round view) h c te bn n l e e h e t r r c n o s o n l i e r l 3- turn on your indicator. Do not indicate first, as you can't yet know whether somebody is beside you. This somebody might panic as your indicator means "I am going to move right away".

ROUNDABOUTS
Follow the correct procedure at roundabouts. Priority At roundabouts with the combined signs "Give way"+"Roundabout", drivers coming from your left have priority, no matter whether they are already on the roundabout itself or on the approach road to your left. A few roundabout-type intersections have neither signs nor priority markings. There you apply the right hand priority rule. These are rare, but you still might come across a few of them. Watch out for motorcyclists and cyclists. Give them plenty of room. Watch out for traffic crossing in front of you on the roundabout, especially vehicles intending to leave y the next exit. Show them consideration. Position As on any road, basically you drive on the right. On roundabouts with two or more lanes, use the right hand lane except for overtaking unless road markings indicate otherwise Signals You must indicate your intention to change lanes and sign right before leaving the roundabout. If you turn for or a full circle it is advisable to indicate left, mainly on very small or funny-shaped roundabouts. Do not signal right when you enter a roundabout unless you're leaving by the first exit on your right. If you indicate right too soon you could confuse other drivers.

In this situation, if the car on the roundabout was not indicating, you would have to wait to be sure of its path. B s n l gm l v g te y i ai I e i h g l an n driver shows you that the way is free for you. If the other driver continued on the roundabout, no indication would legally be required.

About giving signs (blinking)

Y uln o f dpeople in Switzerland awfully lazy using their indicators. This is not the right thing li to do: you must indicate whenever you change position on the carriageway, for whatever reeason, turn off etc There is no exception to that rule. Road safety requires good communication

Joseph Claivaz Driving instructor / Mobile : 79 449 45 55 Home : 021 652 32 33 e-mail: j.claivaz@bluewin.ch

DRIVING IN SWITZERLAND / Joseph Claivaz, 1012 LAUSANNE / Aug 2007 /

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TRAFFIC LIGHTS
RED means stop even for turning off right. Wait behind the stop line on the
carriageway.

Note that at certain intersections, there is not always a light for turning right.
There will be a separate, often short lane for right turns and a traffic island.

GREEN of course means "go" if the way is clear. But there are three
different types: ROUND GREEN LIGHT: you move off, but must give way to oncoming vehicles Take special care if you intend to turn left or right and give way to pedestrians who are crossing and to those on a road into which you are turning.

GREEN ARROW ALONE: your way is clear, but only in the direction shown by the arrow.

GREEN ARROW + FLASHING ORANGE: Same as for the round green light (i.e. give way to oncoming traffic and pedestrians)

ORANGE after green means that you have to stop if you still can safely do so. Otherwise: carry on. When combined with red, green will come next and it means "get ready". Do NOT move off before green shows! BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU: Don't go through the red unless you want a nice snapshot of your car together with a fine and possibly a licence suspension. Several intersections have camera equipped robots shooting cars passing through the red!

A FEW SIGNS BY THE POLICE/AUTHORISED PERSONS

One hand held up: One arm stretched sideways horizontally: Both arms stretched sideways horizontally: STOP for everybody STOP for vehicles from behind STOP for vehicles approaching from both front and behind

Joseph Claivaz Driving instructor / Mobile : 79 449 45 55 Home : 021 652 32 33 e-mail: j.claivaz@bluewin.ch

DRIVING IN SWITZERLAND / Joseph Claivaz, 1012 LAUSANNE / Aug 2007 /

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PEDESTRIANS
always have precedence on the yellow zebra striped crossings. The d n h v t g e y o ae o i t v ah n s n l r tpo tec ra e a t o ti te r h o w yIte aeb i s a d i ao s g e n h ar g w yo ba h i i t f a.fh y r o v u l i n rg o y w i gt co s yumu t tp A p rc l ld n eo s rsi s h r ma b a a i o rs o t n s s . t atu r a g ru co s g tee y e o i ay n pedestrian crossing sign or even a yellow flashing light. Do not overtake a vehicle which has stopped for pedestrians Visual contact between pedestrian and driver is very effective and highly recommended.

STOPPING / PARKING
"Voluntary stopping", means stopping to pick up or set down a passenger or to load or unload goods. "Parking" is stopping your vehicle for any other purpose. What makes the difference is "what for" and not the duration: halting for 30 seconds to buy a newspaper is parking, loading your grandmother's grand piano is voluntary stopping even if it lasts over one hour. No voluntary stopping/waiting 5m before and after intersections 5m before and on pedestrian crossings. Stopping is also prohibited on the yellow line where visibility would be impeded (brow of a hill, bends or where you could hide a road sign) next to an obstruction on the carriageway less that 3m from a continuous line on preselection lanes at less than 1.5m from the nearest tram rail No parking where stopping is prohibited on main roads outside of localities on main road inside localities if two vehicles could not pass side by side on and next to bicycle lanes 50 m before railroad crossings outside localities, 20 m inside localities on bridges in front of entrances to private property or where the kerb has been altered for wheelchair users where signs or markings prohibit

This sign prohibits voluntary stopping

This sign prohibits parking. Voluntary stopping is allowed

MISCELLANEOUS
Everybody wears a seatbelt, in both front and back seats and kids must be conveniently stra p di s as p rpi et tec iw i t p e n e t a po r t o h hd e h. a ls g No phone calls without a hands-free. Fine is CHF 100.00 + possible administrative consequences if caught scribbling or doing something to take your mind off the road. L I G H T S O N D AY A N D N I G H T. N O T M A N D AT O R Y, B U T V E R Y S T R O N G LY R E C O M M E N D E D COMMON SENSE IS DEFINITELY NOT PROHIBITED

Joseph Claivaz Driving instructor / Mobile : 79 449 45 55 Home : 021 652 32 33 e-mail: j.claivaz@bluewin.ch