Drunk driving in Switzerland

• On Swiss roads, the maximum permissible alcohol level for drivers is 0.50 ‰ (blood alcohol) or 0.25 mg/l (exhaled alcohol).
• For a certain category of drivers (professional passenger transporters; truck, bus and cab drivers; student drivers as well as their accompanying persons; driving instructors; holders of probationary licenses), a total ban on driving under the influence of alcohol (0.1 ‰) is imposed.
• For other drivers, those with a full license, the limit is 0.5 ‰.

Yes to a breathalyzer test, but then a blood test must be required, because otherwise it is a crime. Refusal to submit to a blood alcohol test is also an offence (art. 16c para. 1 lit. d SVG).

Yes to a breathalyzer test, but then a blood test must be required, because otherwise it is a crime. Refusal to submit to a blood alcohol test is also an offence (art. 16c para. 1 lit. d SVG).

Penalties vary depending on the level of alcohol in the driver’s blood, previous convictions and the category of driver in which you are. A distinction must also be made between criminal and administrative sanctions.

The penal procedure, directed by the penal authorities (public prosecutor’s office, court), is the one that pronounces fines, contraventions, pecuniary penalties, and even custodial sentences.

The administrative procedure, directed by the administrative authorities (e.g. Service des Automobiles et de la Navigation) is the one that pronounces warnings and withdrawals of licenses.

The two procedures are independent of each other. The administrative authority that pronounces the withdrawal of license on the basis of the considerations of the criminal authority is free to judge the fault of the driver in a different way. However, the administrative authority which pronounces the withdrawal of license, cannot deviate from the facts as retained by the penal authority.

Thus, as a driver, if you do not agree with the state of affairs as retained by the criminal authority, you are advised to suspend the administrative procedure until the criminal procedure is known. Therefore, the driver may not have his or her licence revoked if the driver successfully challenges the offence before the criminal authorities.

Schematically, the practice of the prosecuting authorities is as follows:

• if the blood alcohol level is between 0.50 and 0.79 ‰, the drunk driver risks a fine ranging from CHF 600.- to CHF 800.-. There will be no entry in his criminal record.
• If the blood alcohol level is between 0.80 ‰ and 1.99 ‰, the “qualified” drunk driver faces a criminal order and will be punished with a monetary penalty ranging from 20 to 90 days fine, respectively to a custodial sentence between 20 and 90 days. The amount of the day fine is based on the driver’s personal circumstances. In this case, an entry will be made in his criminal record.
• In the canton of Vaud, when the blood alcohol level exceeds 2 ‰, it will be up to the public prosecutor to assess the situation and to pronounce either a pecuniary penalty or a custodial sentence, or to refer the driver to a Court of First Instance for trial, it being specified that in the case of a level exceeding 3‰ the public prosecutor will necessarily have to refer the perpetrator to a Court of First Instance, whose competent to pronounce a custodial sentence of up to three years. In these cases as well, an entry will be made in his criminal record.

• If the blood alcohol level is between 0.50 and 0.79 ‰, the driver risks a simple warning, if he or she has no previous record (Art. 16a para. 3 LCR). The offence is qualified as minor in the sense of administrative law (art. 16a para. 1 lit. b and c SVG). However, if the driver also commits a minor violation of the HTA, the violation is considered to be moderately serious under administrative law (Art. 16b para. 1 lit. b and bbis LCR)
• If the BAC is between 0.80 ‰ and 1.59 ‰, a minimum one-month admonishment withdrawal will be imposed. The offence is automatically qualified as serious in the sense of administrative law (art. 16c para. 1 lit. b SVG).
• If the blood alcohol level exceeds 1.60 ‰, a minimum three-month admonishment withdrawal will be imposed. In addition, a precautionary withdrawal will also be issued. It can be lifted only in the case of a favorable psychological assessment of fitness to drive. If the conclusions of the expertise are unfavorable, the preventive withdrawal will be qualified as a safety withdrawal, until a new favorable expertise is pronounced.
• Note that as soon as a blood alcohol level of 0.80 ‰ is found, the administrative authority can order a fitness to drive test. If the driver is considered fit to drive, no action will be ordered and the preventive withdrawal lifted. On the other hand, if the driver is considered unfit to drive, the administrative authority will pronounce a safety withdrawal, which will be lifted only in case of a favorable expertise.

The table below is for people who hold a full driver’s license. A similar table for the trial license can be found on our page dedicated to young and new drivers.

• For young drivers, once a blood alcohol level is found (> 0.1 ‰), the offense is considered serious. A minimum of three months’ licence suspension is imposed and the probationary licence is automatically extended for one year.
• For other drivers, a tolerance level is applied if there is alcohol in the blood and the driver has no prior record. In principle, from 0.80 ‰, the driver will get a license withdrawal of at least three months.

For more information on this subject, please read our page dedicated to license withdrawal.

The financial consequences can be severe for the driver. Indeed, In addition to the fines, which can be substantial, the financial penalties expressed in terms of day fines, as well as the costs of the procedure, which are charged to the client, the amounts can reach several thousand or even ten thousand francs. Note that in case of psychological expertise, it is charged to the driver.

In addition, since 2014, vehicle liability insurance is obligated to recover from the person responsible for an accident committed by a drunk driver.

• Damages resulting from a drunk driving accident are only partially reimbursed, if at all.
• If the driver has been injured, the pensions to which he or she would be entitled, as well as any daily allowances, may be reduced.
• Generally, motor vehicle liability insurance will require reimbursement of a percentage of the benefits paid to third parties from the drunk driver.
• If the driver re-offends, the insurer may require the insured driver to pay the full amount.

Passengers may be complicit in the crime if they know the driver is intoxicated. By agreeing to get into a vehicle driven by a drunk person, the passenger is encouraging drunk driving.