dave_sw1

Off on a ski trip to Switzerland, had a few questions that I can't find answers too trawling posts.

I have an MY06 STI with HID lights. firstly, these are listed in the book as dealer change only - so do i need to carry a spare bulb, if French plod nab me for speeding etc?

Is there any difference in beam benders for HID lights? or is black electrical tape still doable!

I've read a few posts about how silly bridgestone 070s will be in the snow but not really got a choice there, have chains for emergency anyway. but looking forward to actually having a real reason to use the DCCD

Steve169

Im driving to Menorca in May ! well ok to the ferry port in Barcelona, I should prob be finding out this stuff

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

In my experience just carrying a bulb kit will do. If you buy a set for a standard subaru you'll have all the right bulbs etc for the rear and i doubt le fuzz will check for HID lights so as long as you have the standard kit in the car they should be happy.

Don't forget to buy the vignette for the swiss roads. they check at the border.

5t.

dave_sw1

thanks 5t just googled that, adding more cost to my trip seems we are the only country that lets everyone else drive here for free

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

No worries chap. enjoy the trip.

Re: Vignette - It isn't that much and valid for 12 months, essentially tax for the year. I reckon we should have them, £20 for two weeks. That way it would stop all the Polish motors driving around tax free and give the cops a reason to stop them. Accompany this with a law that requires all foreign vehicles in the country for twelve months to be UK registered (so they can get done for speeding and have to have MOT, insurance etc) and it means that they'd be forced to comply and save us a wedge in taxes and uninsured/foreign driver accidents.

5t.

Suresh

Summer tyres will be quite bad on snowy hills even with 4wd.
Drive carefully and have a great trip.

Where are you going skiing? I lived in Zurich for 7 years and have been to a lot of the resoorts down there with Verbier being a particular favourite. That said, we're off to Ischgl in Austria at the end of next week. Really looking forward to it.


P.S. I do quite a lot of motorway KMs on the continent and have never even been stopped, let alone had my bulb kit checked. I'd advise not to bother and just take the risk.

cster

Same here -
and I've been busted for speeding.

I tend to drive around on the foglights as I know the UK headlights do tend to p1ss off oncoming motorists. I don't think it is considered as "chavvy" over there.
I am sure there must be a better solution though.

dave_sw1

going to Verbier, so should be good- i've ordered a generic bulb kit that kinda looks the part for £2.99 in case, as for the beam benders, i'll risk some token electrical tape I think.

I am also going to take a trip here Pilotage Auto sur Glace - Aventures Mecaniques scooby ice rally school! can't wait.

yeah i've been warned my summer tyres will be like steam rollers in the snow so will be ultra careful.

anyone got any pointers on how sneaky french plod is? been to lemans a few times and seen them camped out every 5 miles with a radar gun, but thats kinda because they know the brits are coming. Was going to keep it around 90mph or less though, dont fancy doing a hamilton!

dave_sw1

Made it back alive! thanks for the info, roads were epic when not covered in snow.

nobody bother me or flashed me and only had black tape on the headlights. nobody checked for snow chains or bulbs etc (and we did get searched by customs) you do need the vignette thing for swiss roads or they make you buy it at the border.

oh yeah and a scoob on 245 17 bridgestone 070s is absolutely deadly on snow!

went up a hairpin alpine pass, no problem, 5 mph drifting round hairpins was awesome! however coming down the otherside was really really bad. basically no control, you can't brake! local dude in a big merc ML was flashing me to pull in as i was going so slow on a down hill bit. i just covered the brakes to slow down to a stop and pull in. the car swapped ends, the **** almost taking out the merc as he over took! scary stuff. he was giving me the ****** sign out the window, off he sped down to the next hairpin where he promptly understeered on ice straight into a tree! laugh? i nearly shat! much returning of gestures was done and when we crept past at 2mph, it looked like he was in for a new wing! muppet! anyway the moral is, if you have normal wide summer tyres on, and you want to bring your car back in one piece. don't go on snow!!! we had snow chains and tried to fit them, it was -7 deg outside, and you couldn't do it with gloves on, the wheels were 2inch deep in snow, and it proved a nightmare so we gave up and continued down without them scoob unscathed!

anyway anyone else thinking of a scoob ski trip, get winter tyres!

BMWhere?

You realised you probably p1$$ed that guy off so much that he then drove too fast in frustration! Its very annoying being held up by idiots who think they don't need to fit winter tyres and not using your chains because it was too cold is just irresponsible!

Its also illegal to drive in Switzerland, Austria and Germany without winter tyres if its cold, wet or snowy! If he had an accident, then as a witness you are legally required to stop at the scene! If the police had come and seen you're car without winter tyres, then you would probably be held responsible for his accident!

To be honest, I'll never understand why fitting winter tyres is not compulsory in the UK! They would prevent more deaths and serious injuries than any number of speed cameras will!

pete higham

he may have been done for not having winter tyres on but i doubt you could pin an accident on someone because the other driver got frustrated!!!

its his own fault and should have kept a cool head and maybe he wouldnt have put it into a tree

nice one dave, i would have laughed my *** off at the muppet

BMWhere?

Don't underestimate the Swiss!
1) The fact that he had just been overtaken by the vehicle which crashed would mean that he was 'involved' in the accident!
2) In the case of an accident in winter conditions, any involved vehicle which is not fitted with winter tyres automatically takes 50% of the blame for the accident regardless of fault - even if the vehicle wasn't directly involved!

Depending on how the other driver plays it, then more blame could be apportioned to the driver without winter tyres!

Steve Whitehorn

iTrader: (13)

Seconded

Suresh

Lesson learned about the winter tyres then. I live in NL and rented a set for a week last year. Cost abt 130 quid incl changeovers.

How was the ski trip? Did you tackle Mont Fort?

Beastie

iTrader: (2)

Switzerland
The Swiss regulations are similar to those used in France. There is no general obligation to use winter tyres, although most motorist associations highly recommend the use of winter tyres for insurance reasons. If an accident has been caused by the use of summer tyres during the winter months this can lead to liability on the part of the driver, regardless of whether or not they have fully comprehensive insurance. Snow chains and spikes are generally optional, but their use can be enforced through road signs. Drivers using spikes are not generally allowed on motorways. Again, 50km/h and 80km/h speed limits are in place, in and out of town.

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Who's to say this other driver was using winter tyres? Perhaps he was just a muppet and the only reason had hadn't already crashed was because dave was driving sensibly?

Merc ML? Could well be of the "i've got a big 4x4 so nothing can go wrong.... ooops" mentality. Not saying he was or anything, just a few people quick to put the blame on dave.

5t.

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

Steve, Alastair you are wasting your time trying to persuade the know it all Brit brigade so you may aswell stop trying.

BMWhere?

Yeah you're right Steve, clearly the fact that we both live on the Swiss border counts for nothing compared to their superior knowledge!

dave_sw1

just to clarify, he was about 150yrd down the road when he stacked it, and no i didn't have anything to do with it! he just duffed his wing into a tree. having seen a car spin not a minute earlier, it obviously didn't register with him that it was bloody slippy. when we drove past that same corner you could see his understeer tracks in the snow for a good 20yrds!. i'm no expert, but i'd say from the tracks in the snow he didn't have winter tyres either! I did have chains in the car, and not half a mile earlier there was absolutely no snow at all (it was only on the top of the hill) and we were looking for somewhere to stop to put the chains on(rather than the middle of the road) the guy was impatient, he was only behind me for like 30 seconds before he started flashing and all.

anyway, it was an awesome trip, Mont fort is an awesome view. I think next time i'll fly and hire some crappy polo with winter tyres and tick all the disclaimer boxes though!