A man in western Switzerland has lost his driving licence after he was caught driving with dog on his lap, according to reports.
Authorities in Neuchâtel suspended the man’s licence for a month after he was caught driving with his dog placidly resting on his knees.
The Corriere del Ticino newspaper said that if the incident had occurred on a highway instead of an urban road, the suspension would have lasted three months.
Neither the man nor his dog have been identified.
There are quite a few things to learn and remember when taking an exam for a driver’s licence, and it's even more daunting in a foreign language. These are the rules in Switzerland.
Whether you’re learning to drive in Switzerland or already have a licence from your home country but have to exchange it for a Swiss one (as you must do after 12 months of residency), you will have to take a test — certainly in the former case and likely in the latter one.
The rule is that if your licence was issued by a EU or EFTA country (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), you’ll be able to get a Swiss licence without having to take a driving test.
READ MORE: How to change over to a Swiss driver’s licence
This also generally applies to countries with which Switzerland has concluded an agreement to mutually recognise each others’ licences: Andorra, Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Morocco, Monaco, New Zealand, San Marino, Singapore, Taiwan, Tunisia, and the United States.
Nationals of all other countries — that is, whose foreign driver’s licences can’t be automatically exchanged for a Swiss one — will have to take a test.
What you should know:
The Swiss driving test includes a written exam and a practical road test. There is no such thing as a national test, with each canton administering tests and issuing licences (which, of course, are then valid across the country).
Applications for the theory and the practical exams are made at your local Road Traffic Office (Strassenverkehrsamt in German, Office Cantonal des Automobiles et de la Navigation in French, and Servizio della circolazione e della navigazione in Italian).
Addresses and contact information for each cantonal office can be found here.
Can you take the test in English?
In most cantons, theory exams are given in one of the national languages (German, French and Italian). Only a few — Bern, Glarus, Solothurn, St. Gallen, Thurgau, Neuchâtel, Schwyz, Vaud and Zurich — offer the theory test in English.
If you don’t live in one of these nine cantons and you are not fluent enough in German/French/Italian to take the test, a translator may be present, but only one who is certified by your local Road Traffic Office. Contact the department to ask where and how to find a suitable interpreter.
As for the practical driving test, you can request an English-speaking examiner, but there is no guarantee that you’ll get one.
EXPLAINED: How visitors to Switzerland can avoid driving penalties
At the very least, you should learn basic driving terms — such as right and left turns, lane change, parking instructions, etc. — in the local language.
These will be taught to you if you take your driving lessons in German, French, or Italian (rather than English), which may prove more difficult to begin with, but will prove useful when the time comes to pass your exams.
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