 | Home > Off Topic > 2014 - new traffic laws |
 
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| ericvv Member Since: 02 Jun 2011 Location: Near the Jet d'Eau Posts: 5816   
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Maybe not a bad thing to start a thread about. With the new year approaching several countries are implementing new rules.
Here are two major ones which will become law as of 01.01.2014 in Switzerland... 1. All cars, commercial vans, trucks, motorcycles, scooters, etc. will be required at all times, so also during the daytime, to drive with their headlamps on, alternatively with DRL on. Failure to do so may result in a fine of CHF 40.00 as of that date. This applies to all drivers, Swiss and foreign registered cars alike. 2. This will not concern most of you gents, but also as of 01.01.2014, the permitted alcohol limit for drivers with a starters drivers license is becoming 0.1 pro mille (was 0.8 pro mille) , so effectively the same as 0.00 pro mille. (in Switzerland when you get your first drivers license, you get one for 3 years in which you still have to follow a mandatory responsible drivers class during a week, and only after those three years you get a permanent drivers license). For all other drivers the existing limit of 0.8 pro mille remains in force. When I sent the weblink about this change to my son, he promptly answered that in his case it will only mean anything until Sep 2014 when he will get his permanent license. 
Would be interested to hear of coming changes in other countries. 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 |
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4th Dec 2013 6:21pm |
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| Eduardo Member Since: 28 Aug 2008 Location: Región Metropolitana Posts: 2109  
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Quite thaft...
In Chile Headligths are mandatory outside urban limits and the alcohol limit since 2012 is 0.3 g/l. Cheers Eduardo MY 2007 110 SW PUMA 2.4: Big Fog of 64' MY 1994 Jayco 1207 Folding camper: "El Tremendo"  Click image to enlarge |
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4th Dec 2013 7:05pm |
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| ericvv Member Since: 02 Jun 2011 Location: Near the Jet d'Eau Posts: 5816
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Jim, it is up to the driver to either have his existing car rewired, or tzo install E marked after market DRLs, or to manually switch on his headlights. The law is just to have your headlights or DRLs on when you are on a public road, how they come on is not of interest. To be in the clear the new law applies to all the mentioned vehicles, no exceptions for vehicles which were built or were first registered prior to a certain date. I think it is a good thing, honestly from 1994 until 2009 I have been driving numerous Volvo's and they already had headlights coming on with the engine contact. I have never been driving without headlights ever since, including the Defender, that is until I installed the Alive Tuning bumper with DRLs. 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 |
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4th Dec 2013 7:21pm |
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| Lou Sparts Member Since: 15 Apr 2012 Location: Kent Posts: 1501  
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What will they think of next, perhaps a man with a red flag walking in front of the car ! 2005 Td5 90 XS
Steve |
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4th Dec 2013 8:47pm |
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| Timo K Member Since: 23 Aug 2012 Location: Helsinki Posts: 171 
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I think a worldwide zero tolerance to drinking and driving would be brilliant. There's just no reason why anyone should do it.
As for the headlights, again, I think an improvement. In Finland it's already been like that for years, you have to drive with headlights or DRL's on all the time. Going to a country where it's not mandatory (like the UK) requires a lot more concentration (in a bad way). A car with it's headlights on is much more visible even during daytime, and you can expect that vehicle to move. When everyone runs around with no headlights you can't really be sure who's parked or stopped and about to pull in front of you and what's just an empty car... |
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4th Dec 2013 8:51pm |
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| Cuthbert Member Since: 26 Oct 2013 Location: Up North Posts: 1535 |
You beat me to it! In GB it's all about compliance with political correctness and penalties (making money). We don't do common sense or use your initiative anymore. All 4X4's are driven by selfish people who hate the planet etc etc. By 2018 everyone will have to wear a high-viz vest upon leaving their bed in the morning. Driving a Defender is a sign that you don't believe global warming will end the world in 2023. If the councils in the North East of England were at all interested in road safety they would trim back the roadside verges so that the signage currently buried in the undergrowth was visible to all road users. |
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4th Dec 2013 11:33pm |
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| bpman Member Since: 21 May 2008 Location: Oslo Posts: 8069
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here are some existing that are odd
Switzerland: no washing cars on a Sunday What we would consider the archetypal Sunday afternoon in Britain will land you in hot water with the Swiss plod. Switzerland is notoriously car hating and the illegality of cleaning your wheels on your day of rest pales into comparison to speeding or modifying your car to increase its power – both of which can leave you behind bars if you’re particularly unlucky. Harsh, yes, but then what do you expect from a country that voted for increased petrol prices. Denmark: check for dead bodies Rather morbidly, drivers in Denmark are legally required to check there isn’t a dead body wedged underneath their vehicle before they set off. Unless sudden death syndrome is a particularly common occurrence in the country, you have to wonder what the point of the law is – save preventing drivers making a mess of their driveways by failing to spot that errant corpse. Cyprus: no drinking water at the wheel A particularly sadistic law in a country with the warmest climate in the Mediterranean. With temperatures regularly soaring higher than 25 Celsius, the ban on sipping a refreshing beverage at the wheel is utter madness. There are those that would argue it distracts the driver from the job at hand, but what about heatstroke and chronic dehydration? If you’re ever hiring a car on the holiday isle, just ensure it has air-conditioning... and a built-in drinks dispenser with straw. California: no jumping from cars travelling over 65mph Yes, that’s right, it seems it is perfectly legal to leap from a moving vehicle in the sunshine state, provided you don’t go above the national speed limit. Quite how the authorities decided that this arbitrary speed was the safe limit at which people could hurl themselves onto the highway is anybody’s guess, but any budding George Micheals out there, consider yourselves warned. UK: pee only on your back wheel Public urination is something that – quite rightly – the police frown upon in Britain, with offenders liable for an instant fine of £80. It seems however, that motorists caught short in the middle of nowhere can get some relief (pun intended) as long as they take aim squarely at their back wheel, specifically on the right hand side of the vehicle. It’s an antiquated piece of legislation, which is unlikely to hold much water (sorry) with plod, but could provide a handy argument if you're ever caught relieving yourself all over your pride and joy. |
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5th Dec 2013 7:19am |
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| diesel_jim Member Since: 13 Oct 2008 Location: hiding Posts: 6090 
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We all manage! I see it the other way.... if you just look for headlights then you become lazy in awareness around you. A bit like people who just indicate at every junction/roundabout regardless of whether there's anyone else there to indicate to... they just flash and go without bothering to look and see if anyone else is there. |
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5th Dec 2013 7:45am |
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| ericvv Member Since: 02 Jun 2011 Location: Near the Jet d'Eau Posts: 5816
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Steve, But we never wash cars here in Switzerland  ......
Car washes wash cars,  ,................. and, they are open all sunday long. 
Click image to enlarge 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 |
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5th Dec 2013 12:18pm |
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| udderlyoffroad Member Since: 18 Jul 2011 Location: Bristol Posts: 124
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The UK rarely has statutory instruments/laws come into force on the 1st of January - they happen all the time...mostly EU directives implemented with Swiss-like levels of tenacity!
Bit of an urban myth. Whilst it is illegal to wash your car in some Cantons on a Sunday (notably Zurich), in most of Switzerland you can. You must however, ensure the run off goes in to a sewer not a rain water drain. Which is pretty sensible. However, the culture in some of the German speaking parts (speaking as someone who spent many years in rural Canton Berne) is that one does not do things on a Sunday that most Brits would think nothing of. Power tools, lawn mowers, and yes washing cars will lead to cries of “Es isch Sunntig” (It’s Sunday) from irate residents. As for the Swiss voting for things, yes that did vote for an increase in petrol tax, AND to introduce VAT, but against joining the EU. 4 times. Those protesting against headlights on all the time: Remember, it was because of peoples’ inability to use them when necessary that our masters in Brussels decided that all new type-approvals for cars must have DRLs fitted for our own safety. That battle has already been lost. Legislating for headlights to be on all the time is really just to cover the older vehicles. Real trucks don't have spark plugs |
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5th Dec 2013 12:51pm |
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| 22900013A Member Since: 23 Dec 2010 Location: Oxfordshire Posts: 3149 
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I must say that usually when driving I do have at least the sidelights on. If I am in the IIA, the Defender, or one of works lorries, I always seem to be totally invisible to someone - even our massive white 18 Tonne Mercs apparently take some effort to see. So having lights on (especially the red ones at the back which would seem more important than fronts, especially on a motorway) seems to be a good idea. 2011 110 USW
1973 Series III 1-Ton 1972 Series III 1-Ton Cherrypicker 1969 IIA 1-Ton 1966 IIA 88" |
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6th Dec 2013 9:17am |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17340 
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I've just noticed the manufacturer of that car wash! 
Is it being washed or baptised? Holy water? |
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6th Dec 2013 9:56am |
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