Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016.
While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more
With the weather finally starting to resemble something quite like the start of autumn, drivers in Switzerland will now be in the process of switching from summer to winter tyres. To remind motorists of the change, the Swiss police in Basel-Stadt and Basel-Land challenged each other to a race to see who could fit the new tyres the fastest. Thanks to its viral success, the "Winter Tyres Challenge" has now gone nationwide.
October: The time of year to fit winter tyres in Switzerland
Anyone who has a vehicle registered in Switzerland will know the famous Oktober-bis-Ostern rule for tyres - the recommendation from the emergency services to fit winter tyres between October and Easter. While there is no legal obligation to fit winter tyres, the police say that drivers “must always maintain control of their vehicle”, something that is hard to do when slipping along an icy road in the mountains with summer wheels, so practically everyone does fit winter tyres.
To remind drivers that it is the season for switching, the police of Canton Basel-Land released a new viral video featuring two officers trying to change tyres in record time. The Formula 1-esque video saw them complete the challenge in an impressive one minut and 44 seconds:
At the end of the video, the Landschaft challenged their bitter rivals in Basel-Stadt to see how fast they would be able to complete the “Winter Tyres Challenge.” The video has gone down well with the locals, with one commenter asking whether they could book their car in for a tyre change.
Speaking to 20 Minuten, Basel-Land police spokesperson Adrian Gaugler said that they “are very pleased with the reactions to the video, because our goal was to bring the topic of winter tyres to the public as broadly as possible…Changing tyres is very important to ensure safety on the roads in all seasons.” He added that any company or police force across Switzerland is invited to participate in the challenge.
City of Basel responds, calling out rivals Zurich
It wasn’t long before their city-slicker rivals responded with their own video, with Basel-Stadt Police spokesperson Tosca Stucki trying the challenge all on her own - perhaps why her time was not as impressive:
At the end of the video, Stucki indulged in arguably an even bigger rivalry, challenging the Zurich Cantonal Police to beat the Baseler’s time. It wasn’t long before they sent a response:
With the brand-new record of one minute 32 seconds set by Canton Zurich, and with the force nominating their colleagues in the city police of Zurich, who knows how many police forces will take up the challenge, or who will finish the trend with the fastest time?