Tom
I know someone who survived several avalanches, he did not survive the last.
So, first Friday of October.
I'm installing winter wheels next week, will drive the Gotthard car tunnel. If I remember well, both tunnel mouths are above 1000 m above sea level, so not that crazy to have low temps during the night (lower traffic).
If weather is nice, maybe drive the Gotthard pass. Is it worth to live home by 5AM and arrive at sunrise to the pass? Less traffic or not worth waking up early?
So, when are you installing winter tires?
The Gotthardpass is fully at winter tire conditions for the coming 14 days: https://www.wetteronline.ch/wettertrend/gotthard
Gotthard (above the pass) may get snow by Monday night
https://www.srf.ch/meteo/wetter/Gotthard/46.6732,7.9740
But the tunnel, even at night, I doubt will be below 7C for a while
I commuted for work between Netherlands to London on 1000cc sport bike in January via La Manche. No issues whatsoever.
Agree, snowflakes.
But depends how you push the car. I would rather have winter tires and enjoy extra grip on small windy roads in the mountains.
not used my own car much this year, for all sorts of reasons- so never changed them over! So I am ready- OH will change his before we go to an Alpine Spa end of the month. If we get caught out by bad weather- we can just use mine
Not Covid related, but Swiss rules on winter tyres are just so so so stupid! Make them compulsory FGS!
What why anyone object to this- when you see all the idiots skidding around, leaving their cars at side of road or Motorway, etc. Even if you leave your house without snow and ice, there is no garantee there won't be plenty on your return. At least make them compulsory, as in France, for driving in all 'snow' regions.
Why waste money on a vote? Almost everyone changes their tyres to winter ones in the Autumn anyway.
What data do you have which shows the rules need to be changed?
Never been to Zürich in a snow storm?
No need for 'data' - got eyes!
Or MWay between Geneva and Vevey (and onwards!).
My understanding was that although not explicitly legally required, your car must remain under control and be suited to the current conditions.
Insurance companies will quickly point at your summer tyres after you've skid into a tram and punctuate the end of the conversation with a snapping close of their chequebook.
You can see what marking someone's car tyres have got on them from your car?
You've got better eye sight than...well everyone.
Have you considered perhaps that some people are just crap drivers - especially in the snow and ice?
If your theory is correct (with no data to back it up), can you explain what tyres people have affects their ability to see the road conditions and perhaps slow down a bit or leave a bigger gap between themselves and the car in front to allow for a greater stopping distance.
Yes, a lot of crap drivers- and many without snow tyres on snow and ice.
When you follow a car driving at 30km all the was down to the valley, and they are all over the place- I don't even need to look at the tyres. And when we find them all along the side of the road and stop to help- they invariably say 'oh, it was good weather when we left, and we didn't realise how twisty the road is, without barriers- and we don't have snow tyres!'.
It is much better to be a crap driver with snow tyres, than a crap driver without- I can assure you. Almost 52 years ago, I shared a car with a crap driver, without snow tyres- returning up the mountain. We wrapped the car around a tree with me in the middle- and had all my right side crushed. 7.5 months in hospital with 4.5 in traction, and 2 years to learn to walk again and disablement for life. She was a crap driver- but she would not have been such a crap driver had she had snow tyres!
I once hired a car at Geneva airport which didnt' have snow tyres. Only noticed as I was coming up the hill to St Croix, and then down t'other side in a snow blizzard, at night- had I not known the road by heart and not had a lot of experience on snow- I don't think I'd be here to tell the tale!
They are compulsory, dependent on conditions.
I might sound flippant here but I would guess that the vast majority of forum users do not have a Swiss passport and cannot vote or organise an initiative to get a referendum.
You've had 52 years to do this but still haven't but are complaining to a forum, made up of many people who can't do anything about it.
Once drove the NJ turnpike in a rental during a freak snowstorm in mid-October. Straightest flattest highway in the world that I know of. Snowed from NYC to PA and every other mile there was some SUV stuck off the road if not hanging off a guardrail. But that's Allseason territory.
Be as flippant as you wish- for the vast majority of those 52 years, I lived in the UK. Lots of people have a good moan on EF about all sorts of things, so why not. It's a discussion like many others.
Evidence too from local friends who are policemen, border guards, work for the region or Canton road services and garage owners who have to go and dig them out and tell us about it.
So yes, you will find cases where people drive on summer tires in winter. You will find cases where people drive on run down winter tires which is not much better. You will find cases where people have worn our brakes or any other imaginable preventable fault on their car causing an accident.
No specific law with cut off dates for winter tires will fix it, a more general law as today that people have to keep their cars in shape that meets the driving condition makes just much more sense. That case you describe where the weather was fine on the way to work but suddenly turned into a snow storm? Legally really simple already today: Take the train home or risk a fine.
You wind yourself up about one specific piece of equipment... and pretty obviously is the much bigger problem the lack of distance drivers keep. Can anyone explain to me why there is a speed camera every 100 Meters but for some reason no distance measurements?
True. But you can actually do something about it.
When we complain about something, we get told if we don't like it, we can leave.
Yet none of them will do anything about it either (though I expect the garages are quite happy with the extra work in towing and fixing).