Switzerland plans tougher fines for cyclists using phones

ASTRA recorded 184 serious accidents in 2025 linked to reckless cyclist behaviour of this kind. Switzerland’s Federal Roads Office now wants a more forceful response to riders distracted by smartphones and other devices. The agency is considering a higher fine for cyclists who ride with a phone “glued” to their ear.

The existing penalty is CHF 40, but the government has not announced the replacement amount. Any increase must pass through a consultation process, so the proposal remains at an early stage. The measure targets a familiar road-safety problem: a rider who looks away from traffic, loses awareness of surrounding vehicles, or cannot react quickly to a pedestrian or hazard.

ASTRA describes the goal as “targeted action against the use of smartphones and other sources of distraction”. That wording leaves room for a broader debate about how Switzerland should regulate attention on bicycles. A phone held to the ear is easy for police to identify, while other forms of distraction can be harder to define and enforce.

The proposal also arrives as cycling grows more prominent in Swiss towns and cities, where bicycles, e-bikes, cars and pedestrians often share tight spaces. The government’s consultation will determine whether the new penalty is proportionate and how it should be applied.

The proposed phone fine would sit inside an existing ladder of cycling penalties. Switzerland already fines riders CHF 60 for ignoring a red light, the same amount cited for cycling without lights on an unlit road. Riding on a sidewalk carries a CHF 40 penalty, as does failing to give pedestrians priority at a crossing.

Other offences cost less. A cyclist who fails to stop at a stop sign can be fined CHF 30. Entering a pedestrian zone improperly or ignoring an officially marked cycle lane can also lead to a CHF 30 fine. The current phone-use penalty, at CHF 40, is therefore below the red-light penalty and above several rules governing where cyclists may ride.

The comparison matters because a new amount would signal how seriously the federal government ranks distraction against other risks. A fine higher than CHF 40 could bring phone use closer to red-light violations. A modest increase would preserve the current structure while giving police a stronger sanction.

The rules already contain practical exceptions. Since 2021, cyclists may turn right at some red lights where a yellow arrow with a bicycle symbol permits it, provided they do not endanger or impede others. Children up to age 12 may ride on sidewalks where no cycle lane or path exists. Those details show why enforcement depends on circumstances, signs and road design, not only on the amount printed on a ticket.

Pro Velo has already rejected the direction of travel. The cyclists’ organisation is lobbying against the proposed increase and other harsher measures. It has said it will fight the government’s plan, although it has not explained whether that means a formal consultation response, a public campaign or another form of opposition.

The disagreement reflects a familiar tension in Swiss transport policy. Authorities want clearer consequences for conduct they associate with serious crashes. Cycling advocates must weigh those concerns against the risk of treating cyclists primarily as enforcement targets, particularly in cities where road layouts place several users in close proximity.

A higher fine could improve safety if it changes behaviour before a collision occurs. The deterrent effect would depend on whether riders know the rule, believe police enforce it and consider the penalty meaningful. A fine that rises on paper but is rarely observed may have little practical effect.

Enforcement also presents its own challenges. Police must distinguish a phone held to the ear from a device mounted for navigation, and identify distraction without creating unsafe stops in live traffic. The eventual consultation should clarify the conduct covered, the amount proposed and how authorities expect officers to apply the rule consistently across cantons.

The consultation will decide whether Switzerland is buying safer riding or a wider enforcement mandate. The government has established the problem it wants to address, and ASTRA’s figure of 184 serious accidents in 2025 gives the proposal a measurable safety rationale. It has not yet established that a higher fine alone will reduce those crashes.

The strongest case for the measure is straightforward: using a phone while moving can reduce a rider’s attention at exactly the moment traffic conditions change. A penalty can reinforce the message already embedded in Swiss rules on headphones, red lights, pedestrian crossings, cycle lanes and lights. The current framework treats cyclists as road users with duties, not as exempt participants in traffic.

The limits are equally practical. A fine cannot repair a dangerous junction, add a protected cycle lane or resolve conflicts between bicycles and pedestrians in crowded town centres. Nor does the source material provide evidence that larger penalties have reduced collisions elsewhere. That evidence should be part of the public discussion before the amount is fixed.

For cyclists, the immediate rule remains unchanged: the current phone-use fine is CHF 40. The next stage is consultation, followed by a decision on the amount and scope of any new penalty. Until then, Switzerland’s debate is about both road safety and the reach of policing on two wheels.