 | Home > Expedition & Overland > Off to Switzerland - Winter Requirements & Mountain Road |
 
|
|
|
| Lishlandy Member Since: 26 Oct 2011 Location: High Wycombe Posts: 941   
|
Hi All,
Apologies for the delayed reply to this post. Thank you all for the amazing responses and advises for my trip to the great EUish country of Switzerland. To surmise from my digestion of the information on this thread: Carry all the standard Frenchy required stuff, Hi Vis, triangle, first aid kit, alco-test (just in case some police didn't get the memo). A full set of 4 x snow chains, already sourced. Buy a Swiss Motorway pass. Check my insurance for parking insurance and ensure travel insurance includes winter sports. Slow and steady on the mountain roads, diff lock in on ice and keep to my side of the road, don't venture to the middle as it wont be any better. Have fun and wave at NoDosh and possibly bump into Ken while he is playing in ABC Wagons. Many thanks for the support and now just to get the boot and split charge sorted as it is exposed exposed dynamat and the split charge is in the garage  ===================================
Steve 90 xs sw in Stonoway Grey - Sold 110 USW X-TECH |
||
20th Jan 2014 2:34pm |
|
| ericvv Member Since: 02 Jun 2011 Location: Near the Jet d'Eau Posts: 5816  
|
Lish, that is what I call preparation.
I have one more tip for driving in France: What to do in case you do have a road accident and the other (French) driver would be at fault. Read my post in the below thread. I learned this the hard way. 
http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic14025....=french+pv I guess if we go on like this, you may decide to cancel your skiing holidays. 
Eric You never actually own a Defender. You merely look after it for the next generation. http://youtu.be/yVRlSsJwD0o https://youtu.be/vmPr3oTHndg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GtzTT9Pdl0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABqKPz28e6A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLZ49Jce_n0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvAsz_ilQYU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8tMHiX9lSw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dxwjPuHIV7I https://vimeo.com/201482507 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSixqL0iyHw |
||
|
20th Jan 2014 5:04pm |
|
| Lishlandy Member Since: 26 Oct 2011 Location: High Wycombe Posts: 941
|
About 10 years ago I was snowboarding with a group of school friends with a French instructor when one of the lads fell and slid into a mature gentleman on ski's. The skier was quite jovial about it an said no problem and powered off.
2 days later we are accosted by the same gentleman on skis and after a very heated shouting match, the skier quickly left with his tail between his legs. My instructor turns to us and said the guy was demanding our insurance details as the clash had injured his back and he could barely ski anymore. Our instructor told us he was also a PT at a local resort and had seen that same gentleman the day before playing Tennis with a friend and that he should 'go away' before he takes the gentleman's ski pass and bans him from the slopes. Thanks for the advise Eric, maybe i should buy a blackvue for the trip also.  ===================================
Steve 90 xs sw in Stonoway Grey - Sold 110 USW X-TECH |
||
|
20th Jan 2014 8:12pm |
|
| ppad Member Since: 16 Nov 2012 Location: now, UK S Coast Posts: 223  
|
Lish,
Like Eric, I also live here - on the other side, in Chur. Now... I drove my 90 TD5 here after Christmas then drove it to Grindelwald for New Year and around the Mountains.and I can confirm the facts from Eric and dispel the fears. The vignette (motorway pass), costs 40 CHF and customs sell it and stick it on as you pass through .. but I have a spare !! They are not linked to a vehicle and I got one in a Christmas card from a supplier wrt my work. Happy to dispose of it to a good cause (Land Rover). Remember that thousands of UK cars pass through the customs on a busy day - they ain't that excited..They assume you have Ausländer insurance and recovery options. The 'tool kit' of bits and bobs is very rarely checked, buy an EU AA one and you'll be right. Speeding - yeah, never speed. Watch for Motorway 120k dropping to 100k for obscure reasons, out of town road will be 80k, close to town 60k, inside small town is 50k and inside v small village and around stations and shops can be 30k. Watch the signs. PS - speeding fines are based on your salary! (Switzerland is not a capitalist country, it is .. different) Tyres! Look if I was a visitor and my tyres had a snowflake symbol I wouldn't think twice about doing anything. As others have said, the police (if they ever bother) look for the snowflake symbol, if you don't have a tyre notionally 'winter' and have a prang, the insurance companies might make you pay till you bleed. I drive on BFG AT 235/85R16 because that's what was on the car in the UK when I bought it and apart from sheet ice (which I did have in Grindelwald), they are fine. Drive slower (not hard in a Defender) if stressed. Chains will not be needed where you are driving, trust me. But - again in Grindelwald, maybe 10% had one set of chains and always on the front, incl. 4WDs. If I was on a one trip trip, I'd buy for the front axle only just to feel good. But you won't use them. Don't stress about Switzerland. They have a shed load of rules - but then expect you to take responsibility for yourself if you are within the rules. So, thousands of them smoke, including at stations, in pubs still (complex rules, don't ask) - but they don't have a H&S officer at every street corner warning you of the risks. If you - or anyone else - wants the 40 buck motorway pass, let me know. it'll cost you a beer if you are ever in Chur. Sold the much modified 110 2.8, in Oz Brought the 90 home from Switzerland ... |
||
|
22nd Jan 2014 3:18pm |
|
| Lishlandy Member Since: 26 Oct 2011 Location: High Wycombe Posts: 941
|
Hi PPad,
It is great to hear your experiences and I really appreciate the advise. Hahaha! I had to look up the meaning of Auslander! I have on;y recently had a trip in France in the defender so I know that my insurance and breakdown cover is sound. I need to look into this parking cover as I have a NAS kind of step and very fragile corners that I dont want to be dented by the pimpled Renault 5's i see zooming around the mountain roads by snowboard instructors so high that Bob Marley would tell them to slow down. If you would send me the motorway pass thingy then I would be very grateful. Ill PM you my address and am happy to chuck a bit of money into your paypal if you let me know your paypal email address. Only if it isn't too much trouble as buy the sounds of it the Swiss will welcome me with one in exchange for swiss frank-incense and Mur polish. Many Thanks =================================== Steve 90 xs sw in Stonoway Grey - Sold 110 USW X-TECH |
||
|
22nd Jan 2014 8:57pm |
|
|
|
| All times are GMT |
< Previous Topic | Next Topic > |
Posting Rules
|
Site Copyright © 2006-2024 Futuranet Ltd & Martin Lewis
