"Offenders accept accidents" Switzerland should ban PS monsters for young drivers
Speeding accidents involving young drivers are on the rise in Switzerland. RoadCross is now calling for a legal horsepower limit. At the request of blue News, the foundation sets out its arguments.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- In Glattbrugg ZH, a 19-year-old young driver with a 450 hp BMW fatally hit two people.
- The RoadCross Switzerland foundation is now calling for a legal power limit for young drivers.
- Despite earlier resistance in parliament, RoadCross says there has now been a political rethink.
In Glattbrugg ZH in September, a 19-year-old lost control of his car and hit two people with his 450 hp BMW. The 29-year-old man and the 70-year-old woman were dragged several meters and subsequently succumbed to their injuries.
The Roadcross Switzerland road safety foundation is calling for consequences: A legal performance restriction for young drivers should be introduced in Switzerland. Young drivers should no longer be allowed to drive high-powered cars in future.
"Since the coronavirus pandemic, the number of speeding accidents has increased significantly," says a RoadCross spokesperson at the request of blue News. "In the canton of Zurich, there is now an accident like this every six days - often resulting in serious injuries or death."
"Often young men at the wheel"
The same trend can be observed throughout Switzerland: "Speeding offenses are on the rise and young, inexperienced men are particularly often involved at the wheel of very powerful vehicles," said the spokesperson. Young men between the ages of 20 and 24 are particularly frequently involved.
The foundation therefore proposes linking the permitted power to the vehicle weight. "A heavy vehicle would be allowed to drive with more kilowatts, a lighter vehicle with less. This would make it possible to exclude overpowered vehicles for young drivers without restricting their everyday life," says RoadCross. Only high-performance cars would be affected - but not family or work vehicles.
Movement in parliament
In 2022, a horsepower restriction already failed once in parliament. At that time, the National Council clearly defeated a proposal by Gabriela Suter (SP). The Federal Council had also spoken out against it.
"The restriction based on horsepower was possibly one reason why earlier approaches failed," explains RoadCross. At the time, it was feared that the restrictions for young drivers in everyday life and at work might go too far. However, the situation has since changed: "A restriction based on power-to-weight ratio would have significantly less impact on everyday working life." In addition, the increasing number of speeding offenses is leading to a rethink in politics.
RoadCross has been in contact with various members of parliament for some time to make its concerns heard in politics. "This had an effect in the last fall session." Several political initiatives aimed at further reducing the number of road accidents and victims were submitted.
"Offenders accept accidents"
A possible restriction on performance was also discussed on the SRF political programme "FORUM" on 25 September. Benedikt Schmid, President of Junge Mitte, spoke out in favour of adjustments to driver training. The problem is never the vehicle, but always the driver.
«Freedom ends where the lives of others are endangered»
RoadCross responds to this criticism: "Precisely because the drivers are the problem, our opinion is that a legal restriction is necessary. The offenders know their cars and accept the accidents in search of their own fun." This is why safety systems, which often prevent accidents, are deliberately switched off.
"We support additional adjustments in training," says RoadCross. "But for us, the greatest leverage lies in a law that prevents access to such cars."
Italy already has a regulation
The foundation emphasizes that it is not about deprivation of liberty, but about protection. "Freedom ends where the lives of others are endangered. An inexperienced young driver in a 500 hp car is not an expression of freedom, but a risk," says RoadCross.
Other countries such as Italy have long known performance limits for new drivers. RoadCross also points to the success of the zero alcohol tolerance for novice drivers, which was introduced in 2014 - since then, the number of alcohol-related accidents in this age group has halved.
