Executive Summary

The federal government and cantons inspected a total of 124,877 trucks, buses, and vans in 2025 – a stabilization compared to 2024 (−2 %). Of these, 25,868 vehicles were flagged, with around 5,500 cases resulting in driving bans. Control activities are structurally shifting from mobile police operations to stationary heavy traffic control centers (SVKZ), which enable more comprehensive technical inspections. Vans were inspected significantly more frequently in 2025 and show notably high violation rates.

Persons

  • ASTRA (Federal Roads Office)
  • BAZG (Federal Customs and Border Security Office)

Topics

  • Road Safety
  • Heavy Traffic Control
  • Technical Vehicle Defects
  • Competition Protection
  • Exhaust Emissions

Clarus Lead

The shift from mobile to stationary controls signals a strategic realignment of surveillance infrastructure: New centers in Oensingen and Giornico enable in-depth technical diagnostics, while traditional police operations decline. Particularly relevant is the 106 percent increase in exhaust opacity cases – an indicator of rising illegal engine manipulations that provide individual transport operators with competitive advantages and endanger climate performance. Vans as a growing segment in freight transport require intensified inspection density.

Detailed Summary

The nine heavy traffic control centers distributed nationwide recorded 55,244 vehicle inspections in 2025 – an increase of 9 percent compared to the previous year. This structural shift replaces decentralization through mobile police operations (−7 %) and customs controls (−12 %) with specialized stationary capacity featuring expanded technical capabilities.

Vans show disproportionately high violation rates: In the SVKZ, 5,331 vans were inspected (71 % more than 2024), of which 1,150 were flagged (62 % increase). In 324 cases, driving bans were issued – an increase of 115 percent. Technical defects overall increased by 18 percent to 8,282 cases. Particularly striking is the increase in exhaust opacity: from 177 to 365 cases (106 % increase). For vans alone, 149 cases were detected, compared to only 19 in the previous year. Elevated exhaust opacity indicates unauthorized manipulations of exhaust aftertreatment systems or engine control – interventions that cause competitive distortions and environmental damage.

Key Findings

  • Control volume 2025 stable at ~125,000 vehicles; violation rate at ~21 %
  • Structural shift: Stationary centers replace mobile operations for technically in-depth inspections
  • Vans as risk segment: 71 % more inspections, 62 % more violations, 115 % more driving bans
  • Exhaust manipulations in vans increased by 686 % – indicator of illegal engine modifications
  • Control statistics collected since 2008; publication by ASTRA since 2018

Critical Questions

  1. Data Quality: How is it ensured that exhaust opacity measurements in the SVKZ are standardized and calibrated? Do measurement methods differ between the nine centers?

  2. Selection Bias: Are vans deliberately over-represented in SVKZ inspections, or does the 71 % increase reflect genuine traffic growth? How does this ratio compare to trucks and buses?

  3. Causality of Exhaust Manipulations: The 686 % increase in van exhaust opacity – is this a genuine increase in illegal modifications or a result of intensified control activity in this segment?

  4. Enforcement Gap: With 5,500 driving bans – how many vehicles receive warnings or fines? What sanctioning mechanisms follow the detection of engine manipulations?

  5. Resource Allocation: The decline in mobile police operations (−7 %) – is this fully compensated by stationary centers, or do geographic control deficits emerge in regions without SVKZ?

  6. Competition Effects: How is it verified that van operators manipulating exhaust aftertreatment systems actually realize cost savings? Which market shares are affected?

Source List

Primary Source: Heavy Traffic: Targeted Controls Ensure Safety and Fair Competition – news.admin.ch, 26.03.2026 https://www.news.admin.ch/de/newnsb/jwXsecHHw2LWkEwP6fIxx

Verification Status: ✓ 26.03.2026

This text was created with the support of an AI model. Editorial Responsibility: clarus.news | Fact-Check: 26.03.2026