That canton does have its fair share of Luzers.
Most normal people, at least in Easten Switzerland, drive pretty well on the limit according to their speedo. If I fix at 125 (which is a GPS 120 Kmh in my car) I pass many others and get passed by very few.
Sun in face and not seeing radar = visabliity impaired = probably too fast for the conditions.
If i get caught, I’m genuinely only annoyed with myself. I lost my license once for a month (the minimum) - my fault.
One thing I noticed over here compared to the UK then, was that a lot of people adhered to speed limits, particularly in built up areas.
That can only be a good thing. So, again, if I get caught on an empty straight road in the middle of nowhere going a few km over? All part of the game.
Plus, in the UK they put points on your license. That’s a pain.
I have to start by telling I love Switzerland, at least once. Government transparency is king (or queen?) for everyday stuff. Opacity is only left for issues of utmost importance, like that weekend when THEY decided CS will be acquired by UBS and not pesky forriners. Sorry, I disgress.
I took a stroll in town after getting home from office. At some point, there’s noise from sirens. A VW T5 from the police comes. Then, an ambulance. Half a minute later, more sirens noise but a car you’d never link to the police. First, no colors or decals, and then it’s not a model you’d link to the polizei. I get home, I check the plates…and transparency!
First, it’s really curious that the plates can be mounted on anything but farm machinery.
Then, remember there are no radars on motorways in the Freedom and Hubraum Lovers Canton (AG). The police either operates handheld radar devices or drives in unmarked cars in the motorway fishing for people not respecting road laws. Just wondering how many unmarked cars out there.
I had no idea tailgating was prosecutable in Switzerland until a few days ago. AG police caught someone quite probably in one of those unmarked cars. I also had no idea about AG applying progressive fines by income.
@Tom1234 , yes it was a BMW driver, no info about the car color but I’d bet it was black.The only thing out of character was the d in 540d…diesel? ![]()
So, chill out, stay calm while driving, and remember canton Aargau is literally surprising! Don’t tailgate!
I got caught in Germany a few weeks ago. The speed camera was actually hidden inside a column behind black glass so you couldn’t see it. Very sneaky!
It‘s not that expensive in Germany.
In other words, you didn’t realise that it was an offence. Perhaps there are other offences of which you are not aware?
I look in bewilderment here when a car is driving, at the speed limit, on an otherwise empty country road and there is a car 2m from it’s rear bumper the whole way.
They won’t get to their destination any faster.
What are these people thinking? Perhaps one of you on here that does that can explain it to me?
I have no incertitude over my ignorance. I’m sure certain there is at least 1 offense I’m not aware of. Maybe 2…or 3? It’s an statistical issue. On average, everything’s all right.
Back to tailgating, i do it for 10-15 seconds. If the driver does not move to the right lane after that short period, it is evident that I’m dealing with someone special. Humans are not perfect. There is people with weak sight, people that have not changed prescription glasses for several years, drunk people, people with more than 5 pills in their blood every day, or even some intellectual disability…you never know. If the driver does not move to the right, I do it and let someone more anxious than me do the tailgating. So, no worries at all, there is always someone more anxious than me that fights the good fight.
I did not mention motorways and specifically stated country roads.
If you moved to the right, you’d be in a ditch.
Ahhhh, dumb me. No, country roads are different. This year I’ve seen 10+ foxes crossing the road and 2 deer at a distance too close for comfort. On top of that, farm machines, sunny day cyclists and other stuff. Being an idiot is reserved for the motorway. I do not understand tailgating in 2 lane roads.
But as you did mention motorways…
Tailgating is illegal - but you do it anyway - in order to try and force someone to get out of your way and if they don’t - they are retarded (or whatever ‘special’) means.
Can’t you see that you part of the problem?
Maybe leave home a minute or so early so you can drive in a more calm, less aggressive manner?
I had a colleague who lost his licence for three months for tailgating on the Zürich/Basel autobahn fifteen years ago.
Edit: He was caught with a camera set up on a bridge to catch tailgaters.
There was a story, maybe an urban myth, that they had to abandon such cameras because they found such a high percentage of tailgaters.
Myth I think. There was such a camera set-up on a bridge over a motorway not far from me much of the summer. For all I know it might be still there - haven’t been that way for a few weeks.
That’s 10-15 seconds too long. At least.
The problem with tailgating is that both camps are right and wrong at the same time and for different reasons. On the one hand are the people with no lane discipline, that think they can police everyone else (“why would you go faster”) because they’re driving the speed limit, and on the other hand there are people that are OK with speeding but understand the left lane is supposed to be used for overtaking.
My personal assessment is that doing 5-10kph over the limit is not necessarily disruptive to traffic and on the highway definitely not dangerous. However camping on the left lane can be very annoying, causes people to swerve and get aggressive and all that good stuff. So if we can just get along, people use the left lane occassionally, and then whoever wants to speed it’s their problem.
And of course you also have serial tailgaters that don’t understand that sometimes there is just a lot of traffic and both lanes are fully utilised. These people flash and honk and get aggressive for no reason and are a scourge ![]()
Depends on the driver, too. My SIL doesn’t drive very often but is convinced that she is being tailgaited by whatever she can vaguely see in her rearview mirror. Also, people are apparently constantly pulling out on her, and if her bat-hearing picks up the faintest of horns anywhere in the canton, it must be most definitely aimed at her. ![]()
You just have to take account of nervous or infrequent motorists who easily get spooked in busy or fast traffic.
I think you and @Axa are misunderstanding tailgaters.
Once again I write - they do it on single carriage way roads - with, or without a white dashed line separating traffic coming the other way.
They often do it even if no traffic is coming the other way and it’s safe to overtake.
Again, if someone can’t see it being problem, then maybe they are the problem.
Ohhhh, I’m just an idiot with poor command of English. Such misunderstanding…sometimes I get too close to the car in front because someone slows down ahead. Within 10-15 seconds I’m back to the proper distance ![]()
Slow reaction times then?
Anyway, what do you think the proper distance is?
Yeah there is not really an excuse there for someone to stick on the back of a car in these situations. However, I’ll admit that from time to time, and when I have reasonable visibility in front of the car ahead, I will allow the distance to fluctuate and come closer to make the trip more comfortable to my occupants. Riding bumpers is obviously not what I’m talking about here ![]()
I guess I first have to define tailgating, it’s subjective. Drive on the right lane because it’s empty and then steer to the left at 1 car length already without gas, just rolling with momentum and the foot already on the brake without braking. The distance quickly increases to 2 car lengths (10m) or more because no gas. Anyway, the cue or stimulus for the driver ahead is seeing car mandatory daylights moving in the mirrors. If nothing happens after 10-15 seconds, let other more anxious driver behind me continue with the job. It’s team work.
But, no flashing lights or following with the separation of stop&go traffic. I tend to self-destruction, but not this way. Before learning it is prosecutable, I already knew there’s crazy people out there and there’s no need to trigger them.
Distances? In low traffic conditions meaning in the night with good visibility, the distance of 2 marking middle lines. In normal traffic conditions, 1 line. Stop & go traffic, much much less, just do what others do. In fog where lines are not visible, that distance where I can still the fog light of the car ahead, but not too close where the fog light is too bright. I guess it’s like 3 or 4 lines, but not sure. In rain, 2 lines, and brakes every 2-3 mins to remove excess water from the brakes. In snow conditions, where also lines are covered, 40-50m? Other drivers slow down to 60-70 kmh, me too and it’s seems to be enough distance.
