A new report from the police has found that, on one stretch of Swiss motorway, 158 drivers were caught speeding in just 51 minutes. The mobile speed checks were carried out near the city of Basel, and were designed to see how fast people drive when they think the road is clear of cameras.
In a statement given to 20 minuten, the municipal police for the town of Aesch, Canton Basel-Land, revealed its speed check data for August 2022. To collect the data and administer fines, police set up mobile speed checkers in discreet spots on the motorway and in town.
The results were quite dramatic. On the stretch of the A18 near the city, the emergency services recorded 158 speeding violations in just 51 minutes, an average of three speeders a minute. They found that around 37,6 percent of drivers were over the speed limit when on that section of the motorway.
On the more suburban road, called Pfeffingerring, the police recorded 176 speeding violations in 123 minutes. In all, in the space of two hours, five driving licences were revoked and 24 proceedings for “gross violation of traffic regulations” were initiated. In total, around 20.200 francs worth of fines were issued in August.
Speaking to 20 minuten, the head of the Aesch municipal police, Joel Beurret, said that their checks are mainly "on roads where an increased risk is to be expected - for example, the way to school." "The fact that the radar data indicates road sections where speeding is regularly exceeded, [means] the publication also serves to provide road safety," he concluded.