Minimum jail term of one year for speeding offenders remains

There was great outrage when both the States and the National Council wanted to soften the so-called Raser article in the spring.

But now it is clear: speeders must stay in jail for at least a year. After the National Council, the States Council also rowed back on Monday to take the wind out of the sails of the approaching referendum. However, exceptions should be possible.

Exceptions possible

For example, the minimum sentence of one year in prison should be possible if a motorist has acted “from respectable motives” or if he or she is not innocent. In the case of speeding offences, it should therefore be possible to shorten the minimum term for withdrawal of the driving license from two years by a maximum of one year to twelve months.

The small chamber approved the corresponding amendments to the revision of the Road Traffic Act by 29 votes to 14 with one abstention and rejected a renewed motion to return from the Valais central councilor Beat Rieder (59). The Council of States thus followed the compromise proposals of its preparatory advisory committee, which hopes that the new wording will provide more clarity about the interpretation of the Raser article.

The National Council has already rowed back

In the autumn session, the National Council had already reversed the planned relaxation of fines for speeders. Only if the speed is exceeded for “reasonable reasons” or if the person does not yet have a criminal record for breaking the traffic rules, judges could impose a fine or a prison sentence of less than a year instead of a prison sentence.

With the compromise proposed by his committee and approved by the Council of States, the threat of a referendum on the Roadcross Foundation is probably off the table. The latter has assured that it will not hold a referendum against the revision of the law if the compromise is reached, as Transport Minister Simonetta Sommaruga said in the Council of States.

The chance of acceptance is good

The bill now goes back to the National Council because the Council of States, after hearing the Swiss Public Prosecutors Conference (SSK), has reformulated the relevant articles of law to clarify their interpretation. There is also a good chance that the compromise will be adopted in the Grand Chamber, because otherwise all the other goals of the revision will be lost.

With the revision of the Road Traffic Act, the Federal Council is pursuing three goals: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to increase road safety and to enable automated driving. For example, vehicles with environmentally friendly techniques may deviate from the legal maximum lengths and maximum weights. These main points were undisputed in both Councils. (SDA/bgs)