Switzerland considers cutting motorway speed limit to 80 km/h to save fuel
Switzerland is considering a temporary cut in the motorway speed limit from 120 km/h to 80 km/h to save fuel, as the country faces what officials call a "very tense" supply situation. Emergency diesel reserves were already released last week. Drivers heading to or through Switzerland should watch for changes.
Switzerland's Federal Office for National Economic Supply, which is responsible for making sure the country does not run short of essential goods, is weighing a temporary speed limit of 80 km/h on Swiss motorways, according to the newspaper Aargauer Zeitung. The normal limit on most motorways is 120 km/h. A consultation with other federal departments has been launched.
The office describes the fuel supply situation as "very tense". It has worsened over several weeks, and last Friday the release of compulsory emergency diesel reserves was authorised. A lower speed limit would "complement" those reserve releases and strengthen the savings, the office said, but it has not said how much fuel the measure would save; that is expected at the end of the consultation.
The disruption in the Persian Gulf is largely behind the shortage. The idea of an 80 km/h limit was first put forward by the Swiss Green Party when the war involving Iran broke out.
Meanwhile the federal government is asking people to use fuel sparingly, encouraging car-sharing, public transport and fewer leisure trips. Travellers planning to drive in Switzerland, including on transit routes to Italy, should allow more time and check official updates before setting off.