Controversial driving ban Drivers fight back against scanner fines in Birsfelden BL - now the case is going to court
There is resistance to the new camera system in Birsfelden BL: eight drivers are contesting their fines and are now taking the case to court.
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- Since the introduction of a camera system to combat slow-moving traffic in Birsfelden, the municipality has received over 1,000 fines per day and generated high revenues.
- Several drivers are now contesting the fines, as the legality of the car scanners is disputed.
- The courts must clarify whether the system complies with the law, while traffic in the neighborhoods has already decreased significantly.
Birsfelden came into the spotlight overnight: a strict regime against slow-moving traffic has been in place there since September. Cameras record all license plates, and anyone who crosses the village in less than 15 minutes without a permit is fined. Over 1000 drivers are caught every day, which has already cost the municipality hundreds of thousands of francs.
The consequences are tangible: the police station is reaching its limits and the administration has had to set up an online form for complaints. According to theNZZ, additional staff are now being sought.
Now there is resistance: at least eight drivers do not accept the fines and want to take the case to court, asStreetlifereports.
"We are aware of eight cases that have explicitly requested a referral to the criminal prosecution authority, i.e. the public prosecutor's office," Martin Schürmann, head of the Birsfelden municipal administration, told the auto news portal. The cases are still with the municipality, but they are to be handed over to the public prosecutor's office by November 14.
Traffic on the neighborhood road has decreased significantly
The courts will now have to clarify whether the traffic order complies with the law. The main point of contention is whether the car scanners may be used at all - unlike radar devices, they have not been tested by a federal authority. The Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) also suspects that Birsfelden is using the system for indirect road pricing.
For the municipality itself, the effort has paid off so far: traffic on the local roads has decreased significantly. As things stand, 52 percent of the fines have been paid. With 1,000 buses per day in September, this amounts to at least one million francs for four working weeks of five days each.
According to municipal councillor Désirée Jaun (SP), the situation has calmed down since then: "In October, the number of daily fines fell from 460 to 185," she told Streetlife.