Assistance systems for trucks: the Federal Council's initiative goal already achieved
The popular initiative "Safer roads now!" calls for assistance systems for heavy goods vehicles on Alpine transit routes. Due to the results of the consultation process and the advanced state of vehicle modernization, the Federal Council decided at its meeting on 2 April 2025 not to implement the initiative.
Heavy motor vehicles transporting goods or passengers should only be allowed to travel on Alpine transit routes if they are equipped with certain assistance systems. Parliament decided this in October 2021 on the basis of the initiative of the canton of Ticino ("Safe roads now") and amended the Road Traffic Act (SVG) accordingly (Art. 45a). On 14 February 2024, the Federal Council opened the consultation on amendments to the Signalling Ordinance (SSV) and the Road Traffic Control Ordinance (SKV) for implementation.
Modernization of vehicles advanced
The majority of participants in the consultation, particularly the cantons directly affected, were critical of the proposed implementation. The assistance systems demanded by the initiative are already present in almost all trucks on the road as a result of fleet renewal. The use of older vehicles without assistance systems is constantly decreasing. The objective of the status initiative can therefore already be considered to have been achieved overall. For these reasons, the Federal Council considers the implementation of Article 45a SVG as no longer appropriate and therefore refrains from bringing the partial revision of the SVG into force until the parliamentary reassessment.
