New Traffic Laws in Zurich
Just in case you are planning on renting a car in Switzerland, I thought you should know about the new law that’ goes into effect today.
It’s caused a bit of fuss, as most motorists are not happy about it.
The Zurich council, ever mindful of environmental issues, have for ages been recommending that drivers turn off their engines while stationary at red traffic lights.
Now they’ve gone one step further, because they feel that not enough people are complying.
So, from today you are now required to remove the key from the ignition while stopped, and hold it out of the window.
Apparently, if it’s raining there may be some leniency and you only have to hold it visibly inside the car.
The council are also suggesting that pedestrians take photos of drivers that do not comply with the edict, and send it via MMS to the following free number: 2008 04 01.
The police will then follow up with a CHF 40 fine.
Well, if it helps the environment…
By the way, my other favourite story of the day is here.
Photo: Flickr – ancawonka
2 Comments
Now that it’s the day after, I will admit that you just about had me with this one. It wasn’t until the “phone number” that I remembered what day it was. *blush*
It seemed quite plausible to me. It’s actually an old joke here, but in the traditional version drivers were supposed to stand outside the car. I thought that was stretching credibility a bit much! Glad you liked the phone number