Will parking soon only be legal for classic cars?
Well, we admit it, the title is a bit puffery. But in fact, parking (or parking) modern cars, especially when they take on the dimensions of an SUV with a width of almost two meters, carries a considerable risk of fines. In Switzerland, at any rate, the relevant legal article in the Signalization Ordinance (SSV) states:
"Markings for stationary traffic Art.79, 1ter: Where parking spaces are marked, vehicles may only be parked within these spaces. Parking spaces may only be used by the types of vehicles for which they are intended in terms of size; Art. 48, para. 11 applies to signaling."
Interpreted exactly according to the wording, a vehicle must therefore come to a halt in the space with all its extremities (including the rear view mirrors). An Audi Q7 with mirrors is well over two meters wide, many parking spaces measure just 1.8 meters, especially if space is tight or if nothing has been adapted for decades.
An Alfa Romeo Giulia SS, a VW Beetle or an Opel Kadett A may fit perfectly - even the rear-view mirrors, if they existed at all, used to be much smaller and mounted closer to the car - but even with more modern classics or cars with luxurious dimensions such as the Rolls-Royce Corniche, it gets tight. Parking space markings have simply not kept pace with the enormous growth in the size of the passenger car!
However, we can still give the all-clear. After enquiring with the Zurich city police, we were informed that in practice only vehicles whose wheels are not inside the space would be fined. Golf drivers can therefore breathe a sigh of relief, but large SUV owners will still have to look for large parking spaces. But these do exist from time to time, as our picture of the yellow Volvo (above) shows.
And it must also be said that the problemis not entirely new !
