Intercepted by customs Speed camera warning device ordered online - 1000 franc fine

Two men and a woman were sentenced to a hefty fine by summary penalty order for ordering a radar detector from Amazon. The same happened to a man who was caught at the border with an active speed camera app.

Radar detectors, which alert drivers to speed cameras and speed checks in good time, are a practical thing, you might think. But there is a catch: their use is banned in most European countries, including Switzerland. The ban also applies to speed camera apps on cell phones.

It also applies to the introduction, sale and carrying of such devices or devices that are "intended to interfere with or circumvent traffic controls", as the Road Traffic Act (SVG) states.

And since ignorance is no excuse for punishment, a woman and two men from the Baden region have now been fined CHF 1,000 each, as reported by theBadener Tagblattnewspaper. They had ordered radar detectors from Amazon, which customs had intercepted on their way to their recipients.

Although they claimed not to have known about the legal situation, this was of no use to them in this case.

Using a navigation app can be a criminal offense

Another man was caught by officers at the Koblenz border crossing with an active speed camera app on his smartphone. He was fined 500 francs for using a device that "is not primarily intended to warn of official road traffic controls, but was used for precisely this purpose."

It is not clear from the penalty order which app the man used. But beware: even the use of navigation apps that provide route information as well as warnings of speed cameras and traffic controls is punishable by law - although this is not their main purpose.