In each country, the road traffic law has its specificities, its particularities. As for us, we motorists or motorcyclists, we frequently cross borders, whether to discover new places or for professional reasons. For administrative reasons, we have better time to drive especially carefully when we are in a foreign country. But who knows what bad surprises the road may hold? Bad luck, bad weather, another road user’s mistake, and then something happens to us, one of those accidents that we thought could only happen to others
Know how to behave in an emergency
In general, everyone who drives (as well as their passengers) should know the rules of the road, of course, but also the basics of traffic law. Also very useful: having a clear idea of how to react when an unexpected event occurs on the road and you are involved. Why? Simply because it is important to know that the most appropriate reaction is not necessarily the one that seems most logical at the time. Also because in a hurry or under stress, one can be incited to adopt a behavior that one might regret later. This is why the Swiss website SOS Permis offers an emergency advice section that goes exactly in this direction. A lawyer specializing in the LCR (federal law on road traffic) tells you what to do if you are stopped or interviewed by the police following a fault on the road, following an accident, if you are caught by a radar, etc.
Offences committed abroad
Of course, these tips are for Switzerland. But motorists and motorcyclists in France can venture out on these roads. Similarly, many Swiss people travel to France. And in both cases, problems can arise. A motorist whose license was issued in France can commit an offence in Switzerland and return home hoping to avoid any consequences. The same goes for the other way around, without forgetting an essential data, the country of residence. This is why it is important to know the procedures of the country concerned in case of problems. Indeed, justice is not the same everywhere, the sanctions are different, the functioning of justice also. For example, in the field of road traffic, it will be possible to obtain a dismissal because of a procedural defect, which is extremely rare in Switzerland. In the case of a case involving two countries, it is necessary to know the peculiarities of both countries and to solve the problem, because it could drag on if one does not react because one hopes, wrongly, that things will settle down by themselves. The best thing to do, then, is to seek the advice of a traffic lawyer.
