Just how bad are the Swiss?
Discussion
comfortably numb said:
Believe the horror stories, the Swiss are a nightmare. However,
the Grimsel, Furka and Susten passes are heavenly, and worth a trip. I've never seen anything like it.
You need to get out more ;->the Grimsel, Furka and Susten passes are heavenly, and worth a trip. I've never seen anything like it.
Most of the Austrian Tirol alpine passes are like that.
The Italian passes are like that, except with no guard rail (ok maybe a white
painted pebble every 100 meters) and mostly unmaintained tarmac.
Make sure you pack your brave tablets when the local bikers are getting
a bit keen on the bends.
Further east, the Slovenian passes were like that, since last time I did
them, they were cobbled, not tarmacced. Which made it "interesting" in the rain
on the blind bends.
I think the only UK road that comes close AFAIK is Hard Knott pass, which is a bit
tricky when pulling a boat trailer, I can tell you.
dcb said:
You need to get out more ;->
Surely you've just confirmed what he said. Italian passes have terrible surfaces and Slovenian ones are cobbled. Austriam Tyrol does indeed have some nice roads however unlike Switzerland and other Alpine countries the majority of them are major transport routes hence traffic is heavier than ideal.plenty said:
Austriam Tyrol does indeed have some nice roads however unlike Switzerland and other Alpine countries the majority of them are major transport routes hence traffic is heavier than ideal.
Nope. Based on over 25 years visiting Austria, the only major transport route I can think of that's also an Alpine pass is the Brenner.
Stay away from that and you are fine. Dozens of other Alpine passes to choose from,
all with customary Austrian quality.
Austrian Vignette only a fiver or a tenner for a week or so helps, too.
And the Austrian coppers don't get upset about 150 kmh down the Inntal autobahn,
unlike the Swiss who would fine you until your pockets are empty, then ask for more later
(see previous posters).
kelvink said:
How are they with 'loud' cars? Would I get stopped at the border and refused entry?
Factory loud is ok, aftermarket loud they will look for TÜV stamps and a catalytic converter.If you don't have a TÜV approved aftermarket exhaust, or you've remove the cat then they may turn you away at the border.
But some of the border crossings are often unmanned ;-)
VerySideways said:
Factory loud is ok, aftermarket loud they will look for TÜV stamps and a catalytic converter.
If you don't have a TÜV approved aftermarket exhaust, or you've remove the cat then they may turn you away at the border.
But some of the border crossings are often unmanned ;-)
Yeah, that's the sort of crap I'm trying to avoid. My car is loud though it is a proper aftermarket exhaust (not some home made jobbie) with I believe, 100 cell cats but I have nothing to say its TUV approved.If you don't have a TÜV approved aftermarket exhaust, or you've remove the cat then they may turn you away at the border.
But some of the border crossings are often unmanned ;-)
Spending time chatting to troublesome police or border crossing peeps is not on my holiday agenda, neither is worrying about the possibility so I guess I may well reconsider my route and head for Austria instead.
plenty said:
dcb said:
You need to get out more ;->
Surely you've just confirmed what he said. Italian passes have terrible surfaces and Slovenian ones are cobbled. Austriam Tyrol does indeed have some nice roads however unlike Switzerland and other Alpine countries the majority of them are major transport routes hence traffic is heavier than ideal.Though I agree with Italian passes. Problem is, you can be batting down a nice road surface into a corner, totally unaware that because of the trucks, the hairpins are worn to a glassily smooth finish with bugger all grip.
Its horrifying to feel the ABS actuate under light braking as you approach a fresh air corner.
kelvink said:
How are they with 'loud' cars? Would I get stopped at the border and refused entry?
They had no issues at all with the complete non-standardness of our cars when we had our 'incident'. FYI that was an MX5 with rollbar and obviously no standard exhaust and wheels. A Golf GTI on air ride and horribly loud exhaust and a Teg Type-R with an equally antisocial exhaust and a brake light not working.As the OP and now back from our trip I thought I'd just report how it went.
Basically no problems what so ever. Went into Switzerland via the Spluga Pass which was not manned at the time. Just took it easy and kept within speed limits through all the villages/ towns. Apparently my car at just over tickover sounds not unlike a Harley and as there is plenty of those milling around the passes, I'm guessing that is what most people / police assumed was approaching until we were visible.
Funnily enough I was pulled by a Gendarme on Route Napoleon. They were all set up with a technician and ramps etc to do vehicle checks but he just wanted to see my licence and then sent me on my way.
I'm sure had we been in any sort of convoy with other loud cars then we would have attracted far more police attention so my advice is be sensible, drive steady through the urban areas and only give it the full beans when out in the sticks.
Now planning my next trip :-)
Basically no problems what so ever. Went into Switzerland via the Spluga Pass which was not manned at the time. Just took it easy and kept within speed limits through all the villages/ towns. Apparently my car at just over tickover sounds not unlike a Harley and as there is plenty of those milling around the passes, I'm guessing that is what most people / police assumed was approaching until we were visible.
Funnily enough I was pulled by a Gendarme on Route Napoleon. They were all set up with a technician and ramps etc to do vehicle checks but he just wanted to see my licence and then sent me on my way.
I'm sure had we been in any sort of convoy with other loud cars then we would have attracted far more police attention so my advice is be sensible, drive steady through the urban areas and only give it the full beans when out in the sticks.
Now planning my next trip :-)
We got back at the weekend from our third euro trip, all three times including Switzerland. We did 7 nights in Italy this time, and discovered wayyyy more cameras in Italy than Switzerland. This comes as no surprise, as solid lines/speed limits seemed to be of no concern in Italy!
Provided you kept to limits in Swiss towns/m'ways, we had no (never have) issues. Did see one sneakyily positioned camera in the village at the eastern end of the Susten pass (Wassen off the top of my head?), but the rest of the passes are fine.
Provided you kept to limits in Swiss towns/m'ways, we had no (never have) issues. Did see one sneakyily positioned camera in the village at the eastern end of the Susten pass (Wassen off the top of my head?), but the rest of the passes are fine.
Just incase this thread has not been seen by readers of this other one..
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
this is how bad the Swiss are.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
this is how bad the Swiss are.
V8junkie said:
Yep, saw plenty of these little buggers in just about every Italian village
That is a very unusual sight! Can't have been in situ long.The local Italians (at least in my bit of Piedmont/Lombardy) tend to be quite public spirited
and decorate the lenses with paint aerosols within about five minutes of the cameras being installed. Many are also shells with no camera inside.
Peter
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