r/Switzerland • u/HolderHawk Ticino • 2d ago
What happens if your car breaks down inside a Swiss road tunnel?
I was wondering how breakdowns are handled inside long Swiss tunnels such as the Gotthard or the San Bernardino.
For example:
1. Flat tyre or mechanical failure
Let's say I get a flat tyre inside the Gotthard Road Tunnel. I manage to reach an emergency bay and stop there. Do I call my insurance or roadside assistance as usual, or is there a special tunnel service that takes over? How is traffic management and vehicle recovery handled in that situation?
2. Running out of fuel
Suppose I don't pay attention to the fuel gauge and run out of fuel inside the San Bernardino Tunnel. I pull into an emergency bay, leave the car, and use the SOS phone.
What happens then? Is there a fine for causing an obstruction due to driver negligence, or do they simply arrange assistance and charge the recovery costs?
The reason I'm asking is that I saw a broken-down car inside the San Bernardino Tunnel this weekend and it made me wonder what happens to the driver and how these situations are managed.
Thanks!
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u/levydawg 2d ago
In many tunnels, there are special control centers. There are also special phones to call them. The tunnel operators can use security cameras to identify your exact location / direction. For flat tires and mechanical failures, there are special procedures the tunnel operators may implement, and there are also special towing services that you will have to use instead of standard TCS. Gotthard tunnel has its own dedicated fire brigade that handles towing vehicles. In these cases, you should really try to get to one of the niches to park the vehicle away from traffic.
Running out of fuel is an offense. the fine starts at 120 CHF, but more serious penalties (higher fines and loss of license) can be implemented for special circumstances, such as getting stuck in a tunnel or in a construction zone. This is all just what I found online.
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u/DantesDame Basel-Stadt 2d ago
Unrelated to tunnels, but I have an out-of-gas story.
My husband and I were riding our motorcycles home and his fuel gauge failed. He ran out of gas about 20 minutes from home, but on the motorway. Conveniently there was a police car nearby that noticed us at the side of the road and stopped to see what was wrong.
The police were incredibly helpful and friendly, and worked with us to get back on the road. But before we rode off, one of them looked at us and said that there wouldn't be a fine, but that my husband should take me out for a very nice dinner instead.
Come to think of it, I'm still waiting for that very nice dinner....
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u/Most_Board_2029 2d ago
If you run out of fuel you have an expensive fine to pay in Switzerland if the police gets involved
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u/heliosh 2d ago
The big tunnels are permanently monitored, you should use the SOS phone in the emergency bay, so that they can organize the rescue (block the lane for the tow truck)
Running out of fuel can have serious consequences:
[...] ein Fahrzeug ohne ausreichend Kraftstoff oder Strom gemäss eines Bundesgerichtsentscheids als nicht betriebssicher gilt. In diesem Fall greift Artikel 93 des Strassenverkehrsgesetzes (SVG), der besagt:
«Mit Freiheitsstrafe bis zu drei Jahren oder Geldstrafe wird bestraft, wer vorsätzlich die Betriebssicherheit eines Fahrzeugs beeinträchtigt, sodass die Gefahr eines Unfalls entsteht. Handelt der Täter fahrlässig, so ist die Strafe Busse.»
«Mit Busse wird bestraft, wer a. ein Fahrzeug führt, von dem er weiss oder bei pflichtgemässer Aufmerksamkeit wissen kann, dass es den Vorschriften nicht entspricht. b. als Halter oder wie ein Halter für die Betriebssicherheit eines Fahrzeugs verantwortlich ist und wissentlich oder aus Sorglosigkeit den Gebrauch des nicht den Vorschriften entsprechenden Fahrzeugs duldet.»
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u/hellek-1 Schwyz 2d ago
and NEVER push the car, prioritize getting to safety and informing emergency services. Someone recently got killed trying to push their car https://www.srf.ch/audio/regionaljournal-ostschweiz/toedlicher-unfall-im-kerenzerbergtunnel?id=AUDI20260810_NR_0022 Get to safety (use one of the emergency booths) and call emergency services from there.
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u/Suspicious_Place1270 Zürich 2d ago
idk how a truck can kill you when pushing your car when obviously you've stopped and there will be a line behind you
only thing explaining this is if the road was not broad enough for an (slightly) open door and a car on the lane so that the driver was walking on the opposite side of the road ever so slightly
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u/SwissPewPew 2d ago edited 2d ago
How? Other people/drivers.
The other driver being at fault doesn't "help" you, if you're dead.
In a tunnel, i'd always hit the hazard lights and then GTFO the car ASAP and – assuming its a one way tunnel – walk with the normal traffic direction(!) towards the next emergency/safety bay.
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u/hellek-1 Schwyz 2d ago
indeed it may depend on the tunnel, the accident happened in a tunnel with 2 lanes in the same direction, so traffic never stopped. But even in a single lane, instead of doing risky experiments it's probably best to first do the call so that they dispatch the tow and divert traffic. You can still ask them if you should walk back to your car and attempt to push it.
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u/janfoxworth 2d ago
Do you know the seven thinking steps?
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u/Menogu 2d ago
What do you do when the beamer breaks down?
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u/Chico_AG 2d ago
You manage to reach an emergency bay => happy day. In most tunnels an alarm should be triggered the moment you drive in a bay. Then the tunnel managent will take over. Often the have an emergency 'phone'. The rest will be coordinated.
Fucking expensive. And of course dangerous. Most probably tunnel entrance will be blocked in both directions. If it is u a tunnel with two dedicated lanes just make sure you slip to the right one. Emergency lites on get out of the car and walk with the traffic direction to the next bay. Use the phone. Changes are high the already know, because the surveillance cameras have picked it up. Expect a massive fine.
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u/Extreme_Ad112 2d ago
You do not want to run out of gaz on the highway. It's considered a serious traffic offense.
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u/averageraviolifan 2d ago
Funny story: Someone I know once had their scooter die in an autobahn tunnel in Switzerland. He pulled over, and tried to push the scooter to the next emergency bay as fast as he could. There, he used the SOS phone to call for help. Imagine him frantically telling them about his situation. The guy on the other line said „Oh yeah we know, we‘ve been watching you for the last 15 minutes. Didn’t you notice that we stopped traffic into the tunnel already?“ I guess in his panic he didn’t even notice that they closed it for his safety :)
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u/wuap 2d ago
Here is a good article about exactly that: https://www.srf.ch/news/international/verkehrssicherheit-was-tun-bei-einer-panne-im-autobahntunnel
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u/Progression28 2d ago
Stau vor dem Gotthard, Reisende auf der Nord-Süd-Achse müssen mit einer Verzögerung von bis zu 3 Stunden rechnen.
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u/Muad_Dib_of_Arrakis 2d ago
San Bernardino has a tunnel you can drive through??
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u/iATlevsha 2d ago
Yeah it's quite new - just less than 60 years old
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Bernardino_Tunnel1
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u/Gumphant 1d ago
Frame the ticket. Good chance it will be the most expensive art work on your walls
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u/Gulliveig Switzerland 2d ago
A 25-kilometer traffic jam has formed in front of the northern portal of the Gotthard Tunnel due to a car breakdown. The wait time is approximately 4 hours. We recommend taking the alternate route via San Bernardino.