Dipped and main-beam headlights: Swiss lighting rules

Daytime lights: compulsory since 2014

Since 1 January 2014, the general Swiss rule has required motor vehicles to be lit while driving in daylight as well as at night. In normal daytime visibility, daytime running lights or dipped headlights satisfy the rule (SVG Article 41; VRV Article 30). An ordinary car without daytime running lights therefore uses dipped headlights.

The rule covers cars, motorcycles and lorries. There are specific exceptions in VRV Article 30(2): vehicles guided by a person walking, vehicles with a maximum speed of 10 km/h or less, and vehicles first registered before 1 January 1970. These daytime exceptions do not remove the separate lighting requirements for darkness, poor visibility or tunnels.

Ordinary pedal cycles and other non-motorised vehicles have a different rule: lighting is required from dusk until daylight and in poor visibility. E-bikes are not covered by that daytime exemption; the daytime lighting duty has applied to them since 1 April 2022.

Driving an ordinary car without the required lights in good daytime visibility can attract a CHF 40 fixed penalty. Daytime lighting helps other people notice a vehicle earlier; it does not replace observation or give the driver priority. Motorcycles already had a daytime lighting duty before the general 2014 change.

When dipped headlights are required

Use dipped headlights from the beginning of dusk until daylight, whenever visibility is poor, and in every tunnel. The tunnel requirement applies during daylight and in an illuminated tunnel too. Heavy rain, snow, fog or a dark stretch in a storm may make dipped headlights necessary before it otherwise feels like night.

Daytime running lights are not a substitute in these conditions. Depending on the vehicle, they may leave the rear lights off; even when the rear lights are on, daytime running lights do not meet the dipped-headlight requirement. Sidelights alone are also insufficient while driving an ordinary car in these conditions.

Check the actual lighting mode. An automatic light sensor may respond to darkness without detecting rain or fog reliably. Select dipped headlights yourself when needed. An illuminated dashboard is not proof that the correct exterior lights are on.

Dipped headlights light a limited section of road ahead. Figures such as 50–75 metres are illustrative, not a guaranteed distance at which every hazard will be visible. Headlamp design and adjustment, the road, weather and the object all matter. Choose a speed that allows you to stop within the distance you can actually see, or within half of it where passing oncoming traffic is difficult (VRV Article 4).

Main beam: useful illumination, with a duty to dip

Main beam helps you see further along an unlit road where it can be used without dazzling others. The law permits it when needed, but says to avoid it in built-up areas where possible. A claimed reach of more than 100 metres is not a promise of useful visibility in every vehicle or situation.

VRV Article 30(3) requires you to switch off main beam in good time before meeting other road users, including pedestrians and cyclists, and an oncoming train running beside the road. It must also be off when you are following another vehicle or reversing.

A frequently taught distance of about 200 metres is only an illustrative practical reference, not a statutory threshold or permission to dazzle until that point. Dip sooner if the situation requires it, for example when another vehicle's lights appear over a crest. Judge the risk to the other road user rather than waiting for a measured distance.

Use a headlamp flash only where traffic safety requires a warning, not to pressure another driver or promise them a safe manoeuvre. After dark, warnings should be given by lights; audible warnings are reserved for emergencies (VRV Article 29). Automatic or adaptive main-beam systems assist you, but you still need to check that other road users are not being dazzled and intervene when necessary.

Which lights fit each situation?

For a parked multi-track vehicle outside a built-up area, VRV Article 31 specifies sidelights or parking lights on the traffic side. Vehicles without those lights use the lights required for their type. Reflectors are sufficient within built-up areas and on vehicles no wider than one metre. These lighting rules do not make an otherwise prohibited parking place legal: see parking and stopping.

Fog lights are for substantially reduced visibility

Front fog lights and rear fog lights may be used only when visibility is substantially reduced by fog, driving snow or heavy rain (VRV Article 30(4)). A damp road or ordinary light rain does not automatically meet that condition. The Swiss rule is expressed in terms of visibility; it does not prescribe one universal numerical visibility threshold.

A rear fog light is deliberately bright so that your vehicle can be seen through poor conditions. Turn it off when the conditions no longer justify it. Be alert to dazzling traffic following closely, particularly in a queue; use the lights according to the actual visibility and the vehicle's controls.

Fog lights do not replace the dipped headlights required in poor visibility. Main beam can reflect strongly from fog or snow and make it harder to see. Suitable dipped and fog lighting may help, but it cannot guarantee either visibility or freedom from glare: reduce your speed to the sight distance actually available.

Penalties and checks before setting off

The fixed penalty for an ordinary car driven without the required lights in normal daytime conditions is CHF 40. Driving without the required lights at night or creating a danger is a different situation and should not be treated as the same simple daytime offence. The traffic fines calculator explains the separate penalty topic.

Before setting off, make sure that the lights you need work and that lenses are clean. Know how to select dipped headlights, main beam and fog lights in the vehicle you are using. A faulty lamp needs attention; another lighting mode is not automatically a lawful replacement.

For your theory learning and practical preparation, connect the rule to an observable situation: entering a tunnel, rain beginning, a car approaching, or traffic appearing ahead. Select the correct lights early enough and check the indicator symbols. Do not rely on a memorised distance or the dashboard illumination alone.

Penalty reference: OBV Annex 1, items 323–324 distinguish daytime, an illuminated road at night and an illuminated tunnel, including the use of the wrong lighting mode.