Switzerland is gorgeous to ride in. Honestly, it feels unfair. Like every road is laid out just to show off alpine views and test how long you can hold your breath in a hairpin. But there’s one stretch you do not want to treat like your personal racetrack: the Gotthard Tunnel. Nearly 17 kilometers (about 10.5 miles) of enclosed monotony, hotter than the inside of your helmet after a July desert ride.
It’s a grind. Still, overtaking inside is strictly forbidden.
That didn’t stop one British motorcyclist earlier this year. Instead of choosing the pass, he dove into the tunnel and, well, decided to make his own entertainment. By the time he popped out the other side, he’d overtaken 47 vehicles. Two trucks, forty-five cars, and yes, in a zone where signs might as well read “Don’t even think about it.” That version of this saga was first reported by Motorrad Online.
Swiss police, of course, were waiting at the exit. The fines stacked up like poker chips: about €13,000 in total, plus a lifetime ban from riding or driving in Switzerland. A lifetime. That’s not a slap on the wrist—that’s the system saying, “Don’t bother coming back.”
Now, I sympathize a little. Sitting behind a line of traffic in a tunnel feels like purgatory on two wheels. But Switzerland doesn’t really do “sympathy” when it comes to traffic law. Their fines scale to income, their cameras are everywhere, and their prosecutors treat violations with the kind of seriousness Americans reserve for IRS fraud.
Back in the States? Different story. Sure, you’d get a ticket for passing half the tunnel, maybe even reckless driving if the cop was in a bad mood. But a lifetime ban? Not happening. Here, we’re used to a few mulligans—rolling stops, “five over is fine,” and the occasional mercy from a traffic cop who rides on weekends.
That’s the trade-off: Europe gets safer, more orderly roads. We get a little more freedom, a little more chaos. Sometimes it works in our favor, sometimes not. But at least if you screw up here, you’re not on the hook for the price of a brand-new Yamaha MT-09 with the fancy Y-AMT transmission. Which, by the way, this Brit could’ve bought outright instead of paying his fines—and still had some cash left for gas.
So yes, the Swiss system probably keeps more people alive. But I’ll stick with the American version: imperfect, forgiving, and a lot easier on the bank account. Just remember, if you ever get the itch to pass 47 cars in a row, save it for the open road, not a tunnel wired with cameras and calculators.
