Proper use of the stop strip

Proper use of the stop strip

"I was trying to get onto the motorway when, in a traffic jam, I ended up on the hard shoulder and overtook a few cars. The police then arrested me for serious misconduct.

What about it?"

The hard shoulder is not a traffic lane and may only be used under certain conditions laid down by federal law, in particular Article 36 of the Federal Ordinance on Road Traffic Regulations. According to case law, the hard shoulder may only be used if absolutely necessary, i.e. following an engine, light or petrol failure, a puncture, a broken windscreen, or if the driver or a passenger is taken ill, or even if an obstacle prevents passage. However, if you are unable to reach the right speed in the acceleration lane when you enter the motorway, you may use the hard shoulder only until you reach the right speed, but under no circumstances may you overtake other vehicles already on the motorway, as overtaking on the right is prohibited by Article 35 of the Federal Road Traffic Act. Therefore, if there is a traffic jam on the motorway, you must stop at the end of the acceleration lane and wait for someone to give you the right of way.

By your behaviour, you have therefore used the hard shoulder inappropriately and overtaken in a manner prohibited by law.

Road traffic rules are designed to ensure safety on the roads. By contravening them, you endanger or risk endangering other road users. Depending on your behaviour and the degree to which it endangers others, your act will be classified according to its seriousness. For example, driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.8 grams per thousand or more is considered serious. On the other hand, driving up the right-hand side of the hard shoulder in a traffic jam in order to get to the next motorway exit more quickly has been judged on several occasions to be a moderately serious offence.

Therefore, if the Office cantonal de l'automobile et de la navigation notifies you of a decision to withdraw your driving licence, citing serious misconduct on your part, you may appeal to the Administrative Court of First Instance within 30 days. Please note, however, that if you have had your licence withdrawn or been subject to another administrative measure in the previous two years, your driving licence may be withdrawn even in the case of a minor offence.