 Poster: A snowHead
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Driving to Saas Fee on Friday, Chunnel, Calais, Troyes, then into Suisse, Martigny etc
Am a bit of a laid back guy nromally so tend to just take things as they come
Someone suggested to me today that i might need to pay French motorway tolls and get a Swiss Vignette
Sorry for stupid question ..
Presumably on the French motorways we just hand over the credit card at the tolls - anyone any idea on the cost, or where i might look to find out ?
Also, is it true i can buy teh Swiss vignette in London before i go ?
Again, sorry for stupid / obvious questions
Steve
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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sev112, Can't really be sure but you will need around 30euro each way in France and they do take credit cards at the pay booths. When you cross the France/Swiss border you can pull in to a lay-by and pay the nice Swiss man 40CHF for a little sticker that he will put on your window and which will allow you to travel on Swiss motorways. The Swiss vignette is non-transferable and non-refundable I understand but it lasts for one whole Swiss year. 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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sev112, You can get the Swiss vignette before you go by post, but probably best not to this late. It's not a problem as you will be sold one at the border for the same price. I think it's about 40CHF. French tolls can be paid by cc but someone will probably let you know the current costs.
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Hi Steve,
You will need to pay tolls on the French motorways, you can use your credit card. Have a look at http://www.viamichelin.com/ for directions, it also gives you the cost of tolls on route although I don't know how accurate it is.
You can buy the Swiss vignette in advance from the Swiss travel centre http://www.stc.co.uk/ it costs £28.50. You can also usually buy them a bit cheaper on ebay or you can pay at the 'Douanes' post when you arrive in Switzerland, they are 40 Swiss Francs.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Can also get vignettes at service stations just before the border. I sometimes pick up my austria/switzerland ones at an ADAC store before I go. No idea is AA stores sell them?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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sev112, at this stage if you work in London you might be able to pick up the Swiss Vignette before you go, I think the Swiss Travel Centre has offices in Covent Garden these days, 30 Bedford Street, 1st Floor, London WC2E 9ED. Phone : 0207 420 49 00 but I don't know if they can do you the vignette from there to pick up, if they can it will be £28.50 and will last until I think the End of Jan next year (Possible £3.50 booking fee) Otherwise you can obtain one at any of the motorway border crossings, there will be somewhere nearby, in fact chances are that the Customs people will check as you cross over and if you don't have one stuck to your windscreen they will sell you one, for 40 ChF, failure to actually stick it to the glass results in a fine, likewise driving without one on the motorways results in a 100 ChF fine, you must place it in certain locations http://www.autobahnen.ch/index.php?lg=001&page=014 will give you the info.
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sev112, Was going to ask the same question myself this week  See you out there
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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halfhand, There is nowhere on my bike to stick it which is why I don't bother getting one 
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I keep reading about these, but I've never seen one, and never been offered one at the borders at Vallorcine, Geneva (coming in from Annemasse) or somewhere on the S German border - the German one was the only time I have used Swiss motorways, so I guess I was legal the other times and lucky not to get caught that time.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
you will need around 30euro each way in France
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that's more than a tad optimistic! viaMichelin tells you it will be 73 euros one way Calais to Chamonix.
You don't, of course, have to pay any tolls at all - but it will take you a lot longer if you avoid the motorways.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Quote: |
never been offered one at the borders at Vallorcine, Geneva (coming in from Annemasse)
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you can buy them at all borders but they're not thrust down your throat unless you're already on the motorway (for example at Bernex between Annemasse and Geneva). There, it is often impossible to get through without buying one, though sometimes when the border is busy you just drive through. It's a fair old risk - the fine is large and the Swiss police will show zero flexibility/tolerance of foreigners pleading ignorance.
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pam w, Couple of lads taking a trip with u a few years ago rented a car as it was cheaper than Swiss Transfer ticket.
Cost of Swiss Transsfer ticket = 130 CHF
Their first speeding Fine = 450 CHF
Fine for not having Vignettes = 1,000 CHF
Second Speeding Fine = 550 CHF
Doh
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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sev112, we've done that route a couple of times and crossed between Pontarlier and Vallorbe at the border crossing near Creux , the border peeps are there with the stickers as you are then very close to the swiss motorway but there can be queues. Swiss Travel Centre are very, very speedy, everytime I have ordered vignettes or transfer tickets from them I have had them the next day. I would order it today then you're sorted. Have a good trip 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Fattes13, yep the Swiss police have no sense of humour at all, and I understand can fine you on the spot, the advice I received from Swiss friends was to make sure that when driving you obey all the rules, I've also heard of people being fined for walking across roads away from official crossing points.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| D G Orf wrote: |
| I've also heard of people being fined for walking across roads away from official crossing points. |
Is that really true? If so how do you know where you can and cannot cross away from crossing points? (Presumably there are not crossing points on all roads in all places).
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| pam w wrote: |
| (for example at Bernex between Annemasse and Geneva). There, it is often impossible to get through without buying one, though sometimes when the border is busy you just drive through. It's a fair old risk - the fine is large and the Swiss police will show zero flexibility/tolerance of foreigners pleading ignorance. |
Bardonnex, Bernex is a tiny little village miles away from any motorway, or a French ski area in the HS.
the fine is 100CHF, controls are rare but that is because no Suisse person would dream of avoiding the vignette.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| sev112 wrote: |
| Presumably on the French motorways we just hand over the credit card at the tolls - anyone any idea on the cost, or where i might look to find out ? |
You take a ticket on entering and pay on exit, generally (don't know how much of a 'virgin' you are, so this may be obvious!) At many (I hesitate to suggest most) toll barriers, you can pay simply by putting a credit card into a slot - no need to actually hand it to anyone. Just remember that the pay booth, or machine, will be on the passenger side (if driving a right hooker).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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snowball, I'm not sure if the fine for crossing the road is true, but a friend of mine was stopped by Swiss Police when crossing a busy road not far from a pedestrian crossing, in his case he was given a good talking to and told not to do so again or he could be fined. Swiss tend not to lie about such things so I imagine if the police officer told him that he could be fined then it is a possibility.
I would imagine this was because a.) It was a fairly busy road and b.) My friend was within sight of a pedestrian crossing. I would assume that the argument was that by crossing such a busy road he was putting himself and others in danger when by walking 200M up the road he could have crossed at a much safer location, I don't suppose the police would have worried in a tiny village with quiet roads or in the middle of the country with no nearby crossing points.
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Bardonnex, Bernex is a tiny little village miles away from any motorway
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yes, of course, slip of the pen. I have friends with a place in Bernex.
I'm all for pedestrians being made to obey some rules. We have a number of shared cycle and pedestrian paths round here. The pedestrians tend to straggle across the whole path, with dogs, pushchairs, meandering kids on scooters, etc etc. Then look at you askance when you try to squeeze past on a bike, having slowed down to snails pace to avoid them all. You can imagine the dirty looks if cyclists came at them 4 abreast. We have a pedestrian underpass under our main road through Emsworth but people are too bone bloody idle to use it, and still try to cross at the roundabout, making a busy junction even more hazardous. One elderly lady was knocked down there and killed a couple of years ago. You'd think it would have discouraged the others, but no.
You can certainly get fined for jaywalking in the US.
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| pam w wrote: |
| Quote: |
Bardonnex, Bernex is a tiny little village miles away from any motorway
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yes, of course, slip of the pen. I have friends with a place in Bernex.
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I thought you'd bought one of those Chinese programmed GPS
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FAQ
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