Revision of the Road Traffic Act

On March 8, the National Council will deal with the Federal Council's proposals on the Revision of the Road Traffic Act. According to the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention (BFU), there are also two points that would make Swiss roads more unsafe.

On the one hand, he said, there was still a lack of draft legislation for the introduction of mandatory follow-up training courses for people who had their driver's license revoked for at least eight months. Compulsory follow-up training was already decided in 2012. However, according to the AAIB, the Federal Council has not enacted the measure to date. On the other hand, the insurance companies' duty of recourse in motor vehicle accidents involving alcohol or excessive speed is to be restored to a much more benign right of recourse.

The BFU argues against this: "Anyone who does not have to reckon with financial consequences in the event of a traffic accident caused by gross negligence resulting in personal injury or property damage - because she or he can even co-insure such behavior - may be behaving even more riskily and indifferently in road traffic," the BFU statement reads.

Course costs would not burden road traffic offices

From the point of view of the BFU, there are important reasons to introduce the mandatory follow-up training now with the SVG revision. It has been scientifically proven that the recidivism rate decreases after a follow-up training course, provided that the courses meet certain quality requirements, according to a statement.

According to the BFU, there are enough course instructors in Switzerland and the courses would have the desired effect even with a short withdrawal period. Since the course costs would be borne by the course participants, it would also be possible for the road traffic authorities to provide the necessary resources, the AAIB added.

Source: AAIB