Hiring a car in Switzerland - Licence? Winter Tyres? etc
Discussion
No need for anything other than photo licence. International Permit is usually recommended, but in practice its never asked for even with a police stop.
The law is that your vehicle must be fit for the driving conditions. So if you crash into another car on an icy road with summer tyres fitted, for example, its automatically your fault and may attract an additional fine.
But by Swiss law Avis must supply a fully legal car. If in winter this means winters fitted, but i think they change to summers March 1st. It will also have the Peage tag. I wouldn't worry about the car tbh.
Usual tips - don't speed [use waze], be aware of variable limits in cities, be aware that road markings in cities are deliberately confusing, and pedestrians have right of way at any crossing not fitted with traffic lights. Otherwise roads are lightly trafficked outside of rush hour and the pace is easy.
The law is that your vehicle must be fit for the driving conditions. So if you crash into another car on an icy road with summer tyres fitted, for example, its automatically your fault and may attract an additional fine.
But by Swiss law Avis must supply a fully legal car. If in winter this means winters fitted, but i think they change to summers March 1st. It will also have the Peage tag. I wouldn't worry about the car tbh.
Usual tips - don't speed [use waze], be aware of variable limits in cities, be aware that road markings in cities are deliberately confusing, and pedestrians have right of way at any crossing not fitted with traffic lights. Otherwise roads are lightly trafficked outside of rush hour and the pace is easy.
Also take photo's of the car. Ours had quite some damage to the front bumper which we didn't notice, nor did the person signing it off. As I took a nice photo of the car by the lake which was date stamped on my phone they waved off the damage - phew. Problem in Zurich Airport is they give you the car in a dark airport carpark so hard to see damage on a black car.
We used Avis, excellent service. I ordered the cheapest car possible as only needed for a couple of days. They gave me a brand new full loaded Skoda VRS for no cost extra. Was a lovely thing to drive. And yes they will come with Winter Tyres.
However if flying into Basel there is a French and Swiss side. The French side they don't always come with Winter Tyres (but cheaper to hire), the Swiss ones always do.
We used Avis, excellent service. I ordered the cheapest car possible as only needed for a couple of days. They gave me a brand new full loaded Skoda VRS for no cost extra. Was a lovely thing to drive. And yes they will come with Winter Tyres.
However if flying into Basel there is a French and Swiss side. The French side they don't always come with Winter Tyres (but cheaper to hire), the Swiss ones always do.
Photo licence only. If it's winter the cars will all be on winter tyres.
Many cars will be on winter tyres all year as it's easier and cheaper than switching. We hired a BMW Z4 out of Stuttgart last year (I know it's not Switzerland) to drive into Switzerland and it had winter tyres on in August! This was slightly disappointing, as it made the car a bit less precise when driving the mountain passes.
Many cars will be on winter tyres all year as it's easier and cheaper than switching. We hired a BMW Z4 out of Stuttgart last year (I know it's not Switzerland) to drive into Switzerland and it had winter tyres on in August! This was slightly disappointing, as it made the car a bit less precise when driving the mountain passes.
If you intend to cross the border into France, several regions require winter tyres, snow chains, or tyre socks until 31 March. No fines for this year, just ´education’ about the rules.
If you use Waze, don’t get caught using the functionality that alerts you to the presence of speed cameras. In Switzerland, this is not permitted. Waze gets around this by alerting you that ´police are reported ahead’.
If you use Waze, don’t get caught using the functionality that alerts you to the presence of speed cameras. In Switzerland, this is not permitted. Waze gets around this by alerting you that ´police are reported ahead’.
If you are hiring from the Swiss side of Geneva airport then all the cars will have winter tyres. The UK license is fine.
They will probably try to stuff you for an extra cost if taking it to France as they state they charge an excess if you break down over there rather than Switzerland. It sounded like rubbish to me but I didn't know enough to argue with them.
They will probably try to stuff you for an extra cost if taking it to France as they state they charge an excess if you break down over there rather than Switzerland. It sounded like rubbish to me but I didn't know enough to argue with them.
Worth a read before you go / whilst traveling.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alps-Human-History-Hannib...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alps-Human-History-Hannib...
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