Swiss proposal would be among the most extreme anti-car laws anywhere
The Porsche 911 shown above could soon be a thing of the past in Switzerland. The land locked alpine European nation has a direct democracy system like the one in California that allows citizens to put forward legislative proposals. If they can get 100,000 signatures on petitions, the proposals go to a vote of the population. A move to drastically restrict cars spearheaded by the Swiss Green Party youth section has already gained 130,000 signatures. If the proposal passes a majority of the voters and more than half of the countries 26 states, it would ban all cars that weigh more than 4,820 lbs, emit more than 250 g/km of CO2, have a front end dangerous to pedestrians or that don't have a particulate filter for a diesel engine. Just to make sure that Swiss drivers don't flock to older cars that don't meet the new rules, all older cars would be required to be equipped with a governor that would limit them to 100 km/h. For what it's worth since this proposal system was introduced in 1848, more than 90 percent of them have been rejected by voters. Thanks to Jean-Claude for the tip!
[Source: Asphalte.ch]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tim 11:20AM (8/05/2008)
A "Direct Legislative Democracy" is 2 wolves and a sheep deciding what's for dinner. In a Direct Democracy, rights are not recognized as natural so they are given and taken away at the whim of the mob. This includes the right to exist.
A "Constitutional Republic" is where the sheep's natural rights are secured by law. The sheep has the right of speech so it can cry out for help and the right to arm itself so it can defend its rights including its right to exist.
If 51% of the public thought you should die, would you agree?
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GoodCheer 11:52AM (8/05/2008)
If 51% of the people think that a serial child rapist/murderer should die, but the constitution guarantees a right to life, should he die?
Mike!!ekiM 11:23AM (8/05/2008)
Wow, this must be the ONLY democracy not actually controlled by corporate interests in the world!
I would have set the kilometer limit around 125: 77 mph, to actually help get it passed.
It's good to see SOME group of people actually give Climate Change the Seriousness it Deserves.
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ML 12:48PM (8/05/2008)
I understand the concern behind such a proposal, but it smacks of restrictions imposed on personal freedoms. In every society, there are social classes and/or groups of peoples who try to regulate what other people can and cannot do, and it's rarely - if ever - healthy (German history, for example). The rich can afford huge gas-guzzling SUVs, the poorer classes cannot. So the poor try to put a social strangle-hold on the rich. Not a good idea. And, thankfully, most of these kinds of efforts don't succeed.
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Tim 2:33PM (8/05/2008)
Goodcheer (#2)
2 wrongs NEVER make a right. Thanks to the "war on drugs" and other victimless crimes, the US currently has MILLIONS of people in prison. Free these political prisoners where no violence occurred and there will be plenty of space and money left to incarcerate the monsters you describe for the rest of their natural lives. There is no cure for that kind of sickness.
You have the right to face your accuser, but how is this even possible if your accuser is "the state" or "the people"? Who are the REAL victims in these cases? Who is being injured? You have the right to make a fool of yourself, but you don't have the right to make someone else pay for it unless, you live in the United Socialist States of America. What has become of the land of the free and home of the brave?
There will be NO change after this next election cycle. “Change” is just a marketing slogan for the week minded sheeple and nothing more.
The Swiss are on the wrong track. You can't legislate morality. Only the free market can fix this problem effectively.
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Mike!!ekiM 8:26PM (8/05/2008)
I don't believe this is a "morality" issue, it's a survival issue. Uh no, you're right, the survival of the human race is a "moral" issue.
Mathieu 3:48PM (8/05/2008)
This will never pass. Swiss love their cars, especially large and fast german ones, too much to allow this to happen.
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Karl-Uwe Strunzen 10:37PM (8/05/2008)
Eeeks! The country wouldn't be run by car lobbyists and marketing people anymore but indeed by a law with the people's interests and future at heart! I shiver at the idea!!
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/12/08/bmw-daimler-and-porsche-win-worst-eu-lobbying-award/
Let's not forget that this "fad" didn't even exist in Europe only a few years back, and that this fad was brought over here (from the US) along with all the required marketing
In much of Europe today smoking is forbidden indorrs and in pubs etc because, among other reasons, your actions shouldn't be hindering the health of others, and even in the smoker's case the health costs are still shared among the public health costs.
As someone else has already pointed out, I'd be OK with these monstrosities if the tail-pipe exhausts were fed back into the vehicle. People have no right to emit 5+ times more than others for futile reasons. We're not talking ambulances or fire engines here....If you want to do it, it should only be with the exhausts affeting YOU alone. Otherwise we should go back to only a few years ago (in Europe) when this whole class of cars didn't even exhist....
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CH 2:46AM (8/06/2008)
I live in Switzerland and this proposal only gathered this much signatures by misleading the people on the streets. The first name of the proposal was "Anti-Offroad-Initative" but when you look at the list most SUV type cars emit less CO2 then normal cars and have a lower consumption but would be prohibited due to the front part being to dangerous for pedestrians. The Majority of the cars on the list are normal cars. For example there is a VW Golf (yes the R32) on the list and also some small diesel hatch from other manufacturers.
On a side note Land Rover would be forced to close business in Switzerland, Porsche could keep on selling the most basic Cayman and the most basic Boxster nothing else, Cadillac would remain with only the BLS in Switzerland...
...and the list goes on. The attention this idea gets in media is huge and even if the proposal gets abandoned (which I hope) the young green party will claim a big success for the proposal and will surely come out with something slightly different which will then be disguised again as something completely harmless.
If you are interested, here http://www.menschenfreundlicher.ch/d/ is the hompage for this proposal and here http://www.bastiengirod.ch/wp-content/upload/Autoliste_07_08_Ausfuehrungen.pdf is the full list of cars. Check for the ones which state "beschränkt zugelassen" at the last column.
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Noz 3:28AM (8/06/2008)
Good for the Swiss....perhaps it'll keep their country as clean, pretty, and nice as it was when I visited it a few years back. I'd love to live there because it's run the way a country should be run....people make decisions that are good for the country and good for their environment.
The rest can laugh at them for being "restrictive" and taking freedom of choice away. But sorry....I don't think dumbasses who drive around in SUV's, ignorant as hell, and not giving a damn about the next person, should be given those freedoms.
Perhaps the automakers will also start making cars that are not so retardedly inefficient and big...like the Land Rover...total POS.
One look at the air quality in LA and the amount of retarded idiots on the road and I say FK people's "freedoms." They whine all day about their kids this, their kids that....but not a single person here would give up a damn thing for their kids future.
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Andrew 7:04PM (8/07/2008)
Who cares what people decide to drive. Your ignorant for saying people are dumbasses for driving a SUV. This law is ridiculous. Banning SUVs will not save the planet.
Survival of the human race? Haha you have to be joking! Man made global warming is a farce.
We should care about our enviroment, but some things just go to far.
greenswede 4:10AM (8/09/2008)
What? Perhaps it would be a very easy task to find 100.000 that will sign a petition to ban the youth section of the Green party....
I read that the Swiss hate cars, but it is very easy to buy an AK-47 assault rifle... and the Swiss have no problems with this...
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John Smith 4:14PM (10/28/2008)
The whole global warming swindle stinks. When it was found out that water evaporation rates are actually dropping (at odds with global warming), global dimming was wheeled out.
When it gets warmer, it global warming, when it gets colder, it's global warming, but global dimming is thrown in.
This just goes to show the green lobby will just adapt their reasons to their agenda.
What they really want is for all of us to stop driving, heating our house, flying anywhere, turning on anything electrica or wear anything that's not made from local hemp, eat no meat and only eat fruit that you have grown from your own dung.
Only when we all live in straw lined holes in the ground and only eat the fungus that grows in the straw and never move beyond 10 meters from that hole and never, ever fart will they be happy.
Cause otherwise you are just a planet murdering bastard that selfishly jeopardises your and everybody's childrens lives for your own selfish desire to be warm, get to work and (you greedy pig) even take a holiday! Have you no shame?
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