Penalties and peculiarities of the Swiss Highway Code

The Swiss Highway Code is one of the most detailed and strict on the continent. Updated annually, it reflects some of the magnificent obsessions typical of the Swiss mentality and customs. Driving on a Swiss road will probably soon strike you as being "very Swiss": liberal, rational and fussy. Traffic lights, for example, show orange before red, and also before green. With orange, however, it is forbidden to go through the lights, unless braking would endanger someone else. Rather, it serves as a warning, and to ease traffic flow. Unlike in other countries on the continent, where information is mostly at the side of the road and on signs, in Switzerland the stripes on the asphalt play an essential role. It is on the road surface that the division of a carriageway into cycle lanes, reserved for public transport and preselection art, is visible. The laws can be found on the website of the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) and the subject is regulated by the Federal Road Traffic Act.