Question regarding Drivers License being taken away

Transportation, Travel and Trips
1
So normally I am able to squirm my way out of speeding tickets and fines but I have recently found that the Swiss radar boxes are very unfriendly and unwilling to budge .

So now I will have to hand over my Swiss drivers license, but they have also asked that I send in any other foreign drivers license as well.

I understand that I am not allowed to drive in Switzerland with any license, however, am I still allowed to drive in the EU or US if I have a proper drivers license??

2
In the EU not for sure.

Driving whilst banned is quite serious in Europe

3
I would like to think that the granting of driving privileges is a sovereign matter and as such, the US for one (and each State, who delivers driving privileges recognized by the other) is not bound by Swiss sovereign (cantonal) decisions. Like in other matters and reciprocally.

For the EU it may be a question of bilateral agreements. Check the web, sorry.

Not legal advice, just plain common sense. Also think about mutual information, which I am certain does not exist for driving privileges because of data privacy, between CH and the US.

Drive safely and carefully.

4
When you say not for sure do you mean no way you are allowed to drive in the EU or do you mean you are not sure if you can drive or not.

I figured that as long as I have a drivers license from a country in the EU or a US drivers license then I should be allowed to drive there. I havent violated any of their laws, or am I wrong?

5
your banned from driving in switzerland . You can drive in France as I understand it, or UK, or belgium or wherever you want just not here.

6
Do you have an official link where this is clearly stated ?

If you get caught driving in the EU, it will be no good saying 'oh but I knew for sure that it was legal, because I read it on EF'!

And what about Insurance if you have an accident, injur or kill somebody. Do you think that as a banned driver your Swiss Insurance (or any for that matter) will cover you, and more importantly, the victim/s? (:

7
Not true, you are banned from driving, if caught anywhere in the EU expect a major problem, prision is a possibility.......

8
When I got my Swiss drivers license I had to hand in my UK license. The reason is to stop be getting banned with my Swiss license and continue driving with my UK one here. Which I think is fair enough.

So I think it would be a very bad idea to drive anywhere in the European Union if you are banned in Switzerland (due to bilateral agreements). The US might be a different thing though, no idea.

9
From the official European website www.europa.eu

Je vis en Espagne, où je fais l'objet d'une interdiction de conduire. J'ai un permis belge. Suis-je encore autorisé à l'utiliser en Belgique?

NON — Si vous faites l'objet d'une interdiction de conduire dans le pays dans lequel vous résidez habituellement, cette interdiction vaut pour tous les pays, dans le monde entier. Translation:

I live in Spain, where I have been banned from driving. I have a Belgian driving licence. Am I still allowed to use it in Belgium?

NO - if you have been banned from driving in the country where you are currently resident, this ban is valid for all countries, in the whole world.

The site states that if you are on holiday, and your permit is taken away- the authorities have to give it back to you on leaving the country.

And it also states that nobody should have more than one driver's licence, as you should have handed your US licence when you exchanged it for a Swiss one.

My main issue is the one with Insurance - do you have Insurance which is not dependent on having a valid Swiss Licence, as resident in Switzerland?

10
A global law can not exist. So we have to look at the relevant law in each country for ex Germany. Verordnung über die Zulassung von Personen zum Straßenverkehr (Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung - FeV) § 28 and § 29 that you are not allowed to drive in Germany with a driving license from an other country when you are banned to drive in your country of residence. on the other hand I could not find what would happen if you have a German driving license. Maybe it is still valid in Germany.

In Switzerland the Verordnung über die Zulassung von Personen und Fahrzeugen zum Strassenverkehr has NOT a similar wording. A US driver residing in Germany who has lost his German driving license, may still drive with his US license in Switzerland.

Please observe that I used 'may' and 'maybe' as I could be completely wrong.

11
Do you mind giving brief information about the circumstances of the ban? I've had a couple of tickets myself recently, and am curious about the cumulative effect. Was yours a one-off serious breach, or a build up of smaller offences? How long is the ban for? Did you have to go to court?

Sorry if this seems intrusive. Please don't answer if you think it's none of my business.

12
From the EU web site

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_s...licence_en.htm

Driving licence: QUESTIONS – ANSWERS

Withdrawal, cancellation and suspension of driving licences

30.

Your driving licence is withdrawn in the country of residence

If the country of normal residence is different from the issuing state, the effects of the sanction

are identical. The administrative and criminal laws of the country of residence are fully

applicable. The document remains withdrawn (or, respectively, a restriction is recorded on it).

31.

Your driving licence is withdrawn in a state other than the state of residence.

In this case, the decision of the Member State applies only with effect for its own territory.

When the citizen leaves the country which imposed the sanction the authorities are bound to return the document to him.

13
So to summarise, are these 2 statements correct?

A: If you are registered as living in Switzerland (Resident in Switzerland) and you loose your license here, you cannot drive anywhere in the EU.

B: If you are resident here and you lose your license in France you can still drive in Switzerland and in the rest of the EU.

But, I know that if I commit a serious motoring offense in the EU, I will be punished by my Cantonal driving authority, as though I had committed the offence here. But neither the Bern nor the Zurich websites indicate that this is possible!

14
It was a one-off. I was driving at 6.00 am on a Sunday on my way to Germany and no one was on the road. I was just outside of Schaffhausen and was in the tunnel where the speed limit was 80. I was going between 90 and 100 and then all of a sudden the speed limit dropped to 60 which I, of course, did not see. If there were other cars on the road I would have noticed everyone else slowing down and would have done so myself, however I did not and that was that. I was caught going 97 in a 60.

I had a court hearing and was fined but what I found interesting was that the court documents did not mention anything about having my drivers license being taken away. Now almost a year later, I received a letter from the strassenverkehrs office saying that I am banned for driving for 3 months and had to submit my swiss drivers license and any other foreign drivers license. I thought to myself if I did the same thing in any of the other EU nations or in the US my drivers license would not be taken away so, no Switzerland, you cannot have my foreign drivers licenses . Or should I say until I can figure out what the law is regarding the issue.

I have heard references to the laws of the EU but Switzerland is not a member of the EU and so far I have not been able to find any bilateral agreements related to the subject.

15
The EU site is very clear.

However, you have not answered about your Insurance. I do not care if you or your car are no longer protected by Insurance due to the ban - but I DO CARE if you are no longer covered in case you cause a serious accident or injury. Have you checked your Insurance?

16
It would be if you were a resident.

Tom

17
In CH, insurance is on the vehicle, not the driver.

Tom

18
First off, thanks for the information -- and pretty frightening too. To a non-driver, 97 in a 60 might sound reckless, but I feel for you. I think all drivers here will be familiar with those sudden, unexpected drops in speed limit. It's easy to be taken by surprise, and can be hard to slow down quickly enough without stamping on the brakes (which is likely to create other problems of course).

Pretty extraordinary that the ban is notified a year later. I can understand the frustration/anger about the universal ban. I think this is even more difficult for an American to accept as you are accustomed to more autonomy. In Europe, being more 'joined up' with our neighbours has many advantages but some negatives too. Rightly or wrongly, we are probably a bit more accepting of this kind of blanket ban as it goes with the political territory.

That said, while I can see some logic in the ban being effective across Europe, it does seem unfair that a one-off speeding offence should be transferable between Europe and the US. Repeated drunk-driving, perhaps. But speeding?

Good luck. If the cost is worth it to you, I guess a lawyer might be your next step.

19
Even so - are you absolutely sure a ban would not invalidate it?

20
Gee whiz, lets not get hostile. And dont worry Odile, no serious accident or injury by me, I am a great driver . Joking aside, I would never drive a car if I knew I was not insured.