2023 Balance of Heavy Traffic Controls in Switzerland

Last year, a total of 124,783 trucks, articulated lorries, vans, and buses were inspected. This resulted in 24,240 complaints. In 4,775 cases, the vehicles were immobilized or the drivers were denied further travel. This is evident from the statistics of heavy traffic controls by the Federal Offices for Roads (ASTRA) and for Customs and Border Security (BAZG).

(Bern) Heavy traffic controls enhance road safety, ensure better compliance with regulations, and thus contribute to fair competition among market participants. For over 20 years, the cantons have intensified mobile heavy traffic controls on the roads and at heavy traffic control centers along the national roads on behalf of the federal government. In addition to the police, the BAZG also checks vehicles and drivers entering or leaving Switzerland as part of customs controls.

In the eight federal heavy traffic control centers, 41,471 trucks, articulated lorries, vans, and buses were inspected. This is almost 30 percent more than the previous year. There were complaints against 2,145 Swiss (+13.7%) and 10,946 foreign vehicles and/or drivers (+14.3%). Of these, 320 Swiss (+0.3%) and 2,113 foreign vehicles (+2.4%) had to be immobilized and/or the drivers were denied further travel. These increases are attributed to the new heavy traffic control center in Giornico TI, which began operations at the end of 2022.

In addition to the inspections at the heavy traffic control centers, the police also conduct mobile controls. Last year, a total of 49,667 trucks, articulated lorries, vans, and buses were inspected (-15.7% compared to 2022). Of these, 5,002 Swiss (-12.4%) and 2,965 foreign vehicles and/or drivers (-20.7%) were complained about. 1,482 Swiss (-0.5%) and 860 foreign vehicles (+3.9%) had to be immobilized and/or the drivers were denied further travel.

Complaints and immobilizations also occurred in 2023, mainly due to issues with weights and dimensions (10,620 cases, +0.3% compared to 2022), due to technical deficiencies (6,967 cases, +1.6%), and due to violations of working and rest times (4,251 cases, +6.0%). Manipulations of the exhaust system (including AdBlue manipulations) were detected 132 times (+71.4%). Multiple mentions are possible in these numbers, as several deficiencies can be identified per inspected vehicle.

Heavy Traffic Controls by the BAZG

The BAZG inspected 33,645 trucks, articulated lorries, vans, and buses at border crossings last year (-11.4% compared to 2022). Of these, 3,182 vehicles and/or drivers were complained about in terms of heavy traffic statistics (+10.6%). Most cases also involved issues with weights and dimensions and technical deficiencies.

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