“Drivers who cause avoidable noise pollution with their vehicles can already be fined. But the police cannot carry out checks everywhere at the same time and need technical support.” This observation by the Swiss League against noise is clearly shared by many citizens, since its petition has collected nearly 20,000 signatures in three weeks.
The document and the signatures were submitted to the National Council and the Council of States on Monday. The text calls for the legal basis for the use of noise radars in Switzerland. “As experiences abroad show, these devices would ensure greater tranquility in cities and along Alpine passes,” considers the president of the league, Gabriela Suter.
This is not her first attempt. As a National Councillor, the socialist from Aargau already submitted an identical request to the Federal Council last June. In addition, she had previously submitted an initiative to ban any motorcycle whose noise level when stationary exceeds 95 decibels from circulation.
As for noise radars, they have been tested, particularly in Geneva. About a month ago, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) drew up an initial assessment: 70% of the vehicles detected as too noisy were motorcycles, 17% were cars and 13% were trucks and buses. One of the big questions that remains to be defined is the decibel limit that would lead to a fine. In one of her recent interventions, Gabriela Suter proposed 82 decibels, a value comparable to the noise of a noisy restaurant or even a factory.