Driving in Switzerland as a Japanese driver
In Switzerland you drive on the right, the opposite of Japan, so the steering wheel is on the left and you go anticlockwise around roundabouts. With a Japanese licence you also need an International Driving Permit. At junctions without signs or road markings, traffic from your right goes first, even from a small side street.
Unless signposted otherwise, the limits are 50 km/h in towns, 80 on country roads and 120 on motorways. Watch for fixed, mobile, average speed and red light cameras.
Switzerland and Japan side by side
The rows in yellow are different from home.
| Rule | Switzerland | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Drive on the | Right | Left |
| Speed units | km/h | km/h |
| Alcohol limit | 0.05 | 0.03 |
| Holding a phone | Banned | Banned |
| Earphones | Restricted | Restricted |
| Turn on red | No | No |
| Unmarked junctions | Traffic from the right | Traffic from the left |
| Roundabouts go | Anticlockwise | Clockwise |
| Daytime headlights | Always on | When visibility is poor |
| Passing on the inside | Only in slow traffic | Banned |
The rules that catch Japanese drivers out
The most important first.
They drive on the right
In Switzerland you drive on the right. At home you drive on the left. The steering wheel is on the left, and in a manual car you change gears with your right hand. Habit puts people on the wrong side when they pull out of a car park or turn into a quiet street, so say it out loud for the first day. At junctions, the nearest traffic comes from your left, so look left first.
Roundabouts go anticlockwise
Roundabouts go anticlockwise here. At home you go clockwise. Give way to traffic already on the roundabout, which comes from your left, so look left as you enter.
You need an International Driving Permit
With a Japanese licence, you need an International Driving Permit (IDP) as well as your licence. A Japanese licence does not show its categories in Latin script, so carry an IDP with it. Switzerland accepts IDPs issued under the 1926, 1949 and 1968 conventions, so Japan's 1949 convention IDP is valid. An official translation into German, French, Italian or English is the alternative.
Motorway vignette
Every motorway and expressway needs a CHF 40 vignette, either a sticker on the windscreen or an e-vignette registered to your number plate. Driving without one costs a CHF 200 fine plus the vignette. Cars hired in France, including at the French side of Geneva airport, usually lack one.
Speeding is fined from 1 km/h
Every km/h over the limit is fined once the small tolerance is deducted. Fixed fines stop at 15 km/h over in town, 20 outside towns and 25 on motorways. Beyond that a prosecutor sets the fine, usually at least CHF 400, and from 21 km/h over in town, 26 outside towns or 31 on motorways you also lose the right to drive in Switzerland for at least a month.
The Raser offence
Driving 40 km/h over in a 30 zone, 50 over where the limit is 50, 60 over where it is 80 or 80 over on faster roads is a crime. It carries up to 4 years in prison, a driving ban of normally at least 2 years, and the car can be confiscated.
Radar detectors and camera warnings are banned
Carrying or using a radar detector is illegal, and customs can seize one at the border. Publicly warning of speed checks and using a phone or sat nav to warn of them are also offences, so switch off camera alerts.
Priority to the right
At junctions with no signs or markings, traffic from the right goes first. This is the default on every road that is not signposted as a main road, including most residential streets and 30 zones. At a junction with no signs, signals or road markings, give way to traffic coming from your right, even from a small side street. It's the opposite of home, where traffic from the left goes first.
Trams go first
Trams have priority over other traffic. Keep off the tracks, and at a tram stop without a passenger island stop until passengers have cleared the road.
Stop for pedestrians waiting at zebra crossings
At a zebra crossing without lights you must give way to anyone on it or waiting beside it who clearly wants to cross. Not stopping costs CHF 140.
You need a vignette
Motorways and expressways need a CHF 40 vignette, either a sticker on the windscreen or an e-vignette registered to the number plate. A few tunnels and car trains charge separately. One vignette costs CHF 40 and there are no daily, weekly or monthly versions. The 2026 vignette is valid from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2027.
10 more rules worth knowing
Lights on all day
Dipped headlights or daytime running lights must be on whenever you drive, and dipped headlights in every tunnel. Driving without lights by day costs CHF 40.
The 50 limit has its own sign
Passing the place-name sign does not by itself set 50 km/h. The urban limit starts at a round «50 generell» sign, which can be after the place-name sign.
Mountain roads and postbuses
On narrow mountain roads, the vehicle going downhill must stop and reverse to a passing place if needed. On roads signposted with a yellow post horn, follow the postbus driver's signals when passing is difficult.
No overtaking on the right on motorways
Pulling out to overtake on the right and cutting back in costs CHF 250. Passing on the right is only allowed with care in queues, on lanes signposted for different destinations and on slip lanes.
Snow chains where signposted
When the «snow chains compulsory» sign is shown, you may only continue with chains on at least two drive wheels. Ignoring the sign costs CHF 100.
Speed limits
Towns are 50 km/h here, slower than the 60 km/h at home. Country roads are 80 km/h here, faster than the 60 km/h at home. Motorways are 120 km/h here, faster than the 100 km/h at home.
Headlights on in daylight
Dipped headlights or daytime running lights must be on at all times, day and night. Dipped headlights or daytime running lights must be on whenever you drive.
What the car must carry
The car must carry a warning triangle, a child seat and snow chains (in some areas). Hire cars should have them, but check before you drive away, because the driver gets the fine.
Stick'AIR pollution-peak restrictions (circulation différenciée)
Only during declared pollution peaks: from 06:00 to 22:00, only vehicles with a Stick'AIR sticker of an authorised class may enter the central area. Swiss and foreign vehicles are both covered. Where: Central Geneva. A French Crit'Air sticker is recognised with the same class numbers. Stickers cost CHF 5 at garages and service stations in the canton. Check www.ge.ch/monStickAIR if a pollution peak is announced.
Drink driving
The blood alcohol limit is 0.05, and 0.01 for learner drivers and holders of a Swiss probationary licence, which lasts 3 years. That's higher than the 0.03 at home, but the safe choice is the same: if you drink, don't drive. The standard limit is 0.5 g/L in the blood or 0.25 mg per litre of breath.
Open Switzerland in the app, set to a Japanese licence, and keep all of this with you offline.
Open it in the appSpeed limits compared with home
The black marks show your limits at home.
Who goes first
Priority to the right
When your road has priority
Signs that look different from home
General 50 km/h limit
Start of the built-up area's general 50 km/h limit.
Stop
Stop completely and give way.
Roundabout
Roundabout. Traffic goes anticlockwise.
Signs you won't know from home
Proof that the CHF 40 motorway charge has been paid. Needed on every road that starts at the green Autobahn or Autostrasse sign.
Start of an expressway. The general limit is 100 km/h and a vignette is required.
End of the built-up area. The general limit outside towns, 80 km/h, now applies.
Start of a zone with a 30 km/h limit, usually in residential streets.
Junction ahead where traffic from the right has priority.
Your road is no longer a main road. Priority to the right applies again unless signposted.
Trams cross or share the road ahead.
Parking is allowed with a parking disc. Without a time on the sign, the blue zone limit of 1 hour applies on working days from 08:00 to 19:00.
Shown near border crossings to summarise the national limits.
Speed cameras
Switzerland uses fixed, semi-stationary, mobile, section control and red light cameras. There is no official camera warning sign, cameras usually give no advance warning, and mobile units can be hidden. Some cantons publish camera sites online. A camera fine goes to the registered keeper of the car, which for a Swiss hire car is the hire company. The keeper can name the driver, who then receives the fine. If you do not live in Switzerland and are fined at the roadside, you must pay on the spot or leave a deposit.
Before you drive
- Your driving licenceThe physical card, not a photo or a digital licence.
- An International Driving PermitRequired with your licence. Get it before you leave home.
- Your passportHire companies and police ask for ID.
- Warning triangleMust be easy to reach in the car. Set it up at least 50 m behind a stopped car, or 100 m on fast roads. Not setting it up costs CHF 60. Swiss law does not require a hi-vis vest or a first aid kit in cars.
- Child seatChildren under 12 need an approved child seat (UN R44 or R129) unless they are at least 150 cm tall.
- Stick'AIR pollution-peak restrictions (circulation différenciée)A French Crit'Air sticker is recognised with the same class numbers. Stickers cost CHF 5 at garages and service stations in the canton. Check www.ge.ch/monStickAIR if a pollution peak is announced.
- A vignette for the motorwaysMotorways and expressways need a CHF 40 vignette, either a sticker on the windscreen or an e-vignette registered to the number plate. A few tunnels and car trains charge separately.
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Switzerland for drivers from elsewhere
Sources: the official Switzerland sources listed on the Switzerland guide, checked 15 October 2026.