Swiss motorways are the fastest roads in the country. There are over 1.700 kilometres of motorways in Switzerland, with most connecting east to west, with some mountain routes to Italy. There are 26 motorway routes, connecting the major cities of Switzerland.
Swiss motorways are a national highway system, characterised by their slip roads and lack of controlled intersections. The majority of motorways in Switzerland are three lanes, although this does fall to two on occasion (particularly through tunnels or at the end of routes).
The first motorway to open in Switzerland was in 1955. It connected the city of Lucerne with its suburbs. The route today forms part of the A2 motorway that uses the famous Gotthard Tunnel to get to Italy. The Sonnenberg Tunnel on the A2 served an additional purpose of being the largest nuclear bunker in the world until being reduced in size in 2005. Previously, it could have held 17.000 people in times of nuclear war.
The longest motorway in Switzerland is the A1 route, which connects the French-speaking cities of Geneva and Lausanne with the border of Austria in the east where the Rhine meets Lake Constance. The motorway was opened in 1964 to celebrate the inauguration of the Swiss National Exhibition.
If you are about to use the motorway for the first time, do take care to make sure that you have all the necessary safety equipment and have up-to-date car insurance. You'll also need to have a valid vignette (either a sticker vignette or an e-vignette).
Swiss motorways are extremely well maintained and orderly. Many Swiss politicians have referred to the motorway system as running on the same clockwork as a Swiss watch.
The rules for motorway travel in Switzerland are similar to in other European nations:
Switzerland operates a style of smart motorway in which the traffic authority can increase and reduce the speed limit on motorways. If unobstructed, the speed limit in Switzerland is 120 kilometres per hour (km/h), with a minimum speed of 80 km/h. Do look for overhead gantries or road work signs that may say otherwise.
It is advised to take a break every two hours or 200 kilometres while driving on a motorway in Switzerland. Alongside other road signs, the motorway will inform you where your nearest rest area is, as well as what services they provide. Rest stops can range from simple toilet facilities to alpine spas and restaurant halls.
Many observers have described Swiss motorways as being on rails, with every car doing 120 km/h from Geneva all the way to Zurich. Switzerland strictly adheres to speed limit regulations and has several rules that govern the highway. For example, lorries are not allowed to drive in Switzerland on Sundays, unless they are carrying food.
If there is complete gridlock on a Swiss motorway, it is mandatory to form an emergency lane (Rettungsgasse) between two lanes so that the emergency services can get through to possible casualties. Typically, you always steer away from where the emergency vehicle is coming from to create a coherent lane with other road users.
One of the unique aspects of Swiss driving is the concept of a “Swiss zip”. These zips are to make sure that equal amounts of cars from each lane get merged into a single lane, regardless of who has right of way. This means that cars will take it in turns to merge from two lanes into one. The system is unenforced but do expect malice should you not follow this rule.