Driving in Switzerland: speed limits, vignette, on-the-spot fines and camera warnings

In Switzerland the general speed limits are 50 km/h in built-up areas, 80 km/h outside them, 100 km/h on an Autostrasse and 120 km/h on a motorway, under Article 4a of the Verkehrsregelnverordnung (VRV), and any sign with another figure goes first. Motorways also need a vignette, lights are on in daytime, and the law bans warning of traffic controls, which includes camera warning apps. This guide takes each of these from the Swiss federal texts and the UK government's travel advice, as read on 17 October 2026. It is a summary, not legal advice.

Documents and equipment

GOV.UK says a UK photocard licence can be used in Switzerland. If you still have a paper licence you may need to update it to a photocard or carry the 1968 version of the international driving permit as well; the international driving permit guide explains the types. You may also need a UK sticker on your car. For winter and mountain roads, the advice tells you to equip the car with winter tyres and snow chains, and warns that roads outside towns are narrow and winding and can change fast in heavy rain or snow, even in summer.

The vignette

GOV.UK says you must buy and display a vignette to travel on Swiss motorways and that driving without one can mean a large fine. It names border crossings, petrol stations, post offices, a phone line and an online shop as places to buy one. The price, the e-vignette and the sticker are covered in the Switzerland vignette guide, and if the road continues south, driving to Italy from the UK covers the Italian side.

Speed limits for driving in Switzerland

Article 4a says these apply in good road, traffic and visibility conditions. The 50 applies across the whole densely built area of a town and, for a driver joining from a minor side road, even without a sign once dense building begins. Signed limits and lower limits for vehicle types come first.

Article 5 sets lower figures for some vehicles. It gives 80 km/h for heavy motor vehicles (other than heavy passenger cars), vehicles towing a trailer ("Anhängerzüge"), articulated vehicles and vehicles with studded tyres. On motorways and Autostrassen it gives 100 km/h for coaches, heavy motorhomes and light motor vehicles pulling a trailer whose total weight is no more than 3.5 tonnes. These caps also hold where a higher figure is signed.

What speeding costs

The Ordnungsbussenverordnung lists fixed on-the-spot fines in francs, charged on the speed left after deducting the device and measurement tolerance set by the Federal Roads Office (ASTRA). Anhang 1, item 303 gives these amounts:

The schedule stops at 15 km/h in built-up areas, 20 outside and 25 on motorways. Speeds beyond those steps are outside this table, and this guide gives no figure for them. The text is the version of 1 August 2026.

Lights, alcohol and the road

Article 30 VRV: motor vehicles use daytime running lights or dipped headlights while driving, with listed exceptions such as vehicles that go no faster than 10 km/h. Dipped headlights are required from the start of dusk until full daylight, in poor visibility and in tunnels. Main beam may be used when needed, though built-up areas are to be spared where possible.

Under the alcohol limits ordinance, Article 1, impaired driving ability counts as proven at a blood alcohol concentration of 0.5 per mille or more, or a breath alcohol concentration of 0.25 mg per litre or more. Article 2 sets the qualified levels at 0.8 per mille or 0.4 mg per litre. GOV.UK adds that traffic police strictly enforce the rules and that a serious breach can mean heavy fines or imprisonment.

Warning of traffic controls is banned

Article 98a of the Road Traffic Act (SVG) punishes with a fine anyone who publicly warns of official traffic controls, who offers a paid service that warns of them, or who uses for that purpose a device or installation not primarily meant for it. Paragraph 1 covers carrying or using devices designed to hinder or disturb official road controls, which the authorities seize. In serious cases the penalty is a monetary penalty. Paragraph 3(c) is not limited to dedicated warners: it covers any device used to warn of controls, so the ban also applies to warnings by app. The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) adds that radar warning devices are banned in Switzerland, that it secures any it finds and hands them to the cantonal authority, which as a rule orders their destruction and imposes a fine. The driver carries the responsibility, and this is a summary of the text, not advice on a case. Where each country stands is in the law on speed camera apps.

What BlitzBuddy does in Switzerland

Because Article 98a bans warnings of traffic controls, also by app, BlitzBuddy switches off everything that could warn of one in Switzerland: no speed camera warnings, no average speed checks, no camera reports. What stays on is your own speed and your trip log, with distance and time, while the trips setting is on. Camera warnings switch on by themselves when you arrive in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France or Türkiye. BlitzBuddy is free, with no ads and no subscription. It is available for iPhone; the Android version is coming soon. More guides on tolls and rules abroad are under driving abroad.

Sources

• Switzerland travel advice: Safety and security, GOV.UK
• Verkehrsregelnverordnung (VRV), SR 741.11, Fedlex (in German)
• Strassenverkehrsgesetz (SVG), SR 741.01, Fedlex (in German)
• Radarwarngeräte, Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS, in German)
• Ordnungsbussenverordnung (OBV), SR 314.11, Fedlex (in German)
• Verordnung der Bundesversammlung über Alkoholgrenzwerte im Strassenverkehr, SR 741.13, Fedlex (in German)

Sources read on 17 October 2026 and checked again the same day.

Frequently asked questions

Written by BlitzBuddyWe write about driving in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France and Türkiye.