Speed LimitsSwiss Motorways in 2026: 120 km/h, CHF 260 at 21-25 Over
120 km/h on Swiss motorways, 100 on expressways, 80 outside towns, 50 inside. Fixed fines stop at 25 km/h over (CHF 260); 80 km/h over means 1 to 4 years in prison.
Swiss motorways are limited to 120 km/h, and the fixed-fine system ends at 25 km/h over. Up to that point a motorway ticket costs CHF 20 to 260; beyond it, a prosecutor sets the penalty, and at 80 km/h over the law prescribes prison.
Four general limits, plus vehicle limits
Article 4a of the Traffic Rules Ordinance sets the limits that apply in good road, traffic and visibility conditions:
| Road | General limit |
|---|---|
| Motorway (Autobahn, autoroute) | 120 km/h |
| Expressway (Autostrasse, semi-autoroute) | 100 km/h |
| Outside built-up areas | 80 km/h |
| Built-up areas | 50 km/h |
Article 5 adds lower caps for some vehicles. On motorways and expressways, coaches, heavy motorhomes and light vehicles towing a trailer of up to 3.5 tonnes are limited to 100 km/h. Heavy goods vehicles, articulated vehicles, trailer combinations and any vehicle on studded tyres are limited to 80 km/h everywhere. A signed limit always takes priority over the general one.
The motorway fine ladder
Fixed fines (Ordnungsbussen) are calculated after the device and measurement margin set by the Federal Roads Office has been deducted from the reading:
| Over the limit on a motorway | Fixed fine |
|---|---|
| 1-5 km/h | CHF 20 |
| 6-10 km/h | CHF 60 |
| 11-15 km/h | CHF 120 |
| 16-20 km/h | CHF 180 |
| 21-25 km/h | CHF 260 |
| More than 25 km/h | No fixed fine: reported to the prosecutor |
The same offence costs more on other roads. Outside built-up areas and on expressways the ladder is CHF 40, 100, 160 and 240 up to 20 km/h over; in town it is CHF 40, 120 and 250 up to 15 km/h over. Past those points the fine is set in criminal proceedings, where Swiss penalties take the offender’s finances into account.
200 km/h on a motorway is a prison case
Article 90 of the Road Traffic Act treats a particularly gross speed violation as a crime with a sentence of one to four years. On roads limited above 80 km/h the threshold is 80 km/h over, which on a motorway means 200 km/h. Lower thresholds apply on slower roads: 60 km/h over where the limit is 80, 50 over where it is 50, and 40 over where it is 30. Since the law was amended, a court may go below the one-year minimum only if there are mitigating circumstances.
Check exact speed limits for your route
Open Speed Limit MapTwo things visitors get fined for before they speed
- Radar detectors and warning apps. Carrying or using a device designed to detect or disrupt speed checks is fined, and the device is seized and destroyed. Publicly warning of controls, or offering a paid warning service, is also an offence.
- No vignette. Using a national road that requires the motorway vignette without one is a CHF 200 fixed fine.
Sources
- Verkehrsregelnverordnung (VRV, SR 741.11), articles 4a and 5 — Fedlex
- Ordnungsbussenverordnung (OBV, SR 314.11), annex 1, no. 303 and vignette fine — Fedlex
- Strassenverkehrsgesetz (SVG, SR 741.01), articles 90 and 98a — Fedlex
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Related Questions
120 km/h on motorways (Autobahn, autoroute) and 100 km/h on expressways (Autostrasse). Coaches, heavy motorhomes and cars towing a trailer up to 3.5 tonnes are limited to 100 km/h on both, and heavy goods vehicles to 80 km/h.
After the measurement margin is deducted, the fixed fines on a motorway are CHF 20 for 1-5 km/h over, CHF 60 for 6-10, CHF 120 for 11-15, CHF 180 for 16-20 and CHF 260 for 21-25. Above 25 km/h over there is no fixed fine; the case goes to the prosecutor.
Exceeding the limit by 80 km/h or more where the limit is above 80 km/h, so 200 km/h on a motorway, counts as a particularly gross violation. The law sets a prison sentence of one to four years, which a court can reduce only where there are mitigating grounds.
No. Carrying or using a device designed to detect or disrupt speed checks is fined and the device is seized and destroyed. Publicly warning of traffic controls, or selling a paid service that does so, is also an offence.